Lions win fourth straight Central Washington 1B district title

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Cascade Christan School boys basketball team won their fourth consecutive Central Washington 1B District 6 championship Feb. 21 with a 49-26 win over Waterville-Mansfield. The Lions were among local teams looking to qualify for the state tournament over the weekend. 

State seeding was announced Sunday after the Columbia Basin Herald had gone to press. Lions coach Emerson Ferguson said seeding determines who is guaranteed a trip to the state tournament – in the case of MLCA/CCS, a return to the Spokane Arena — and who has to play their way in. 

“In the final seeding, if we’re in the top eight, then we’re already going to the (Spokane) Arena,” Ferguson said Friday. “And I anticipate that we have a really good chance to be in the top eight.” 

The Lions will play in the opening round, which is at various sites around the region and the state. They’re 19-2 on the season, coming off a third-place state finish in 2024. 

Ferguson said there are a couple of keys to the Lions’ success. 

“We take a lot of pride in our defense. That’s our goal, is to play solid, sound defense. We know we can score, but can we stop the other team from scoring?” he said. That’s really what I attribute it to, is that all the boys buy into the defense. That and the experience.”  

The MLCA/CCS roster has one senior and a lot of juniors and sophomores, Ferguson said, but that’s a little misleading. 

“A lot of these guys have been playing varsity for two to three years. Or even longer,” he said. “There’s been a lot of games in that time. We’ve had a lot of wins, and they have experienced a lot – which is, I think, what contributes to our continued success.” 

Other schools saw successes in district play:

Boys  

Other teams throughout the Basin were on the court, looking to play their way into the tournament.  

The Moses Lake High School boys played Davis Saturday for the right to advance to the state tournament; the score was unavailable at press time. The Mavericks advanced with two wins in the Big 9 tournament last week, an 81-55 win over Eastmont on Tuesday and an 80-65 win over Eisenhower on Thursday. 

Royal and Almira/Coulee-Hartline each qualified for the state tournament with wins in their district tournament semifinals. The Knights defeated Zillah 73-59 on Friday to take the District 5 1A title. The Warriors played DeSales Saturday for the District 6 1B championship, but the score was not available at press time. 

Girls 

The Soap Lake girls played Pateros Saturday to determine who would be advancing to the state tournament. The Eagles defeated Wilson Creek 27-20 on Feb. 20 for the chance to play for a state berth. 

Almira/Coulee-Hartline also played Saturday for a state berth, with the loser of its game with DeSales going home. 

    Max Grindy (25), Almira/Coulee-Hartline, splits the defense. The Warriors have advanced to the first round of state tournament play.