Bierlink hits 2K points, as Jacks overcome Huskies

QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (4-13) defeated the Othello Huskies (6-10) 77-52 on Saturday as Pierce Bierlink hit 2,000 career points.   

“He's probably one of my hardest-working players I've ever coached, and he's just a gym rat; he loves getting in there. I think he knew coming into the season that he's capable of scoring big points,” head coach Scott Bierlink said.   

After a slow start in the first quarter that saw the Huskies take a 19-12 lead, the Jacks bounced back in the second to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. It was a competitive game in the third quarter, but the Jacks maintained their lead, outscoring Othello 21-17. The Quincy defense dug in to close out the game in the fourth quarter, holding the Huskies to 10 points and securing the win.   

“This was kind of a must-win if we wanted to stay alive for the playoff picture,” Scott said. “You don't want to put too much pressure on the players, but they needed to know the situation. (I’m) really proud of our effort; they didn't shoot it very well, but ... I think our defensive energy was pretty good. Great team effort for us, and that was a game we needed to win.”  

The Huskies found their rhythm in the first quarter, outscoring the Jacks 19-12 behind LJ Nunez, Quade Gonzalez and Kingston Valdez. Scott credited his defense for stepping up in the second quarter and giving the Jacks a jolt of momentum. After a three-pointer by Pierce, Erick Zepeda, Nash Bierlink and Jose Buenrostro started knocking down shots inside and from midrange.   

“We made a few adjustments, those adjustments seemed to work, and we had some players step up and put the ball in the hole,” Scott said.   

After holding the Huskies to six points in the second quarter, the Jacks took a 33-25 lead heading into halftime. Quincy rode their momentum into the third quarter as Zepeda and Cristian Ruiz knocked down shots. Pierce added to his point total with seven free throws in the third.   

When he hit 2,000 points, the game took a brief pause to recognize his accomplishments. According to Scott, Othello offered to do so prior to the game.   

“We knew he was 18 points away, I kind of joked with (the announcer) and said, ‘If he doesn't get it, we’ve got probably zero chance to win this game.’ We knew where he was at, and they were able to stop the game ... They came out and scored the next four or five points and I thought, ‘Oh, boy, here we go.’ Then we were able to get it back on track, but an awesome accomplishment for Pierce,” he said.   

At the end of the third, the game was still within reach for the Huskies at 54-42. However, the Jacks stood their ground to finish the game strong in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 23-10.   

Pierce finished with 30 points and was 100% from the free-throw line, drilling all 15 shots from the stripe. When Pierce was being double-teamed, Zepeda stepped up to facilitate the offense with seven assists. Nash also contributed to the Jacks' win with 12 rebounds.

The Jacks are currently in last place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference but still hold out hope to sneak into the postseason, Scott said. Their next game is Jan. 23 when they host the Ephrata Tigers (3-11) at 7 p.m. He is hopeful his players can ride this momentum in this final stretch of games.   

“That's obviously a huge game with playoff implications for it, and obviously, they're our rivals. We want to beat them. I think Saturday's game was huge for giving us confidence as we're moving into the (final) stretch run here, and we want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season,” he said.   

BOX SCORE:  

QNCY: 12-21-21-23: 77  

OTHL: 19-6-17-10: 52 

    The Jacks’ Erick Zepeda (3) prepares to inbound the ball against the Huskies earlier this season. Zepeda had seven assists in their win against Othello Saturday.
  

    The Jacks’ Jesus Armando Carillo (23) shoots a free throw during their game against Grandview earlier this season. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said Carillo is a key player for them on defense.
  

    Juan Tovar (3) and Josh Lawson (24) box out Nash Bierlink (11) as they try to rebound the ball during their game earlier this season.