MLCA/CCS comes out with road victory over Devils

WILSON CREEK — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions (11-7) earned a 66-40 road victory over the Wilson Creek Devils (13-4) on Thursday evening. It was a hard-fought matchup that tested the skills of both teams throughout. 

“Nothing’s given, you’ve got to earn everything,” said Lions head coach Emerson Ferguson. “When we’re on the road, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot and we just have to be prepared for it and we’ve got to make sure that we have the right mindset and come out to earn it.” 

The game started out very close as MLCA/CCS pulled ahead in the first quarter, but Wilson Creek stayed close behind in score to only be down by three at the end of the quarter. The second quarter went similarly as the Devils remained competitive, but the Lions slightly extended their lead to enter the half 31-24.  

The Lions began to pull away in the second half, scoring their highest-scoring quarter in the third to outscore the Devils 19-11. MLCA/CCS put up a strong defensive front in the fourth quarter to seal the deal and gain a win against their conference rival. 

“(The game) was rough,” said Ferguson. “We didn’t get a lot of shots to fall, so we had to scrap and claw and really just refocus in the second half. Luckily, we were able to do that and walk out of here with a victory.” 

He said the turning point for the Lions came from their shift in energy coming out of halftime. The higher energy allowed MLCA/CCS to gain more defensive stops, which completely changed the dynamic of the game. 

Coming off a physical game like Thursday’s is something that helps the players understand there are going to be challenging games and as the playoffs approach, they will have to be prepared to play more games such as this, said the Lions coach. 

“Those games aren’t going to be blowouts, those games are going to be close games, they’re going to be hard-fought games and very physical,” said Ferguson. 

Ferguson said that as the Lions round out their season, it will be important to focus on each upcoming game and prepare for each team that lies ahead.  

Devils head coach Caleb McMillan said this was a very good matchup as his players kept up a tight first two quarters. During those quarters, Wilson Creek executed their game plan of slowing down the game and playing tough defense. 

The struggle came in the second half, when the Devils tried to make a run to catch up, but the Lions gained the opportunity to really pull ahead and gain the victory. Despite the loss, the Devils coach said he has great confidence in what the team can accomplish down the stretch. 

“(MLCA/CCS) is a state tournament quality team and it proves to (the Devils) that they can play with those guys. They shouldn’t have to doubt themselves,” said McMillan.  

Both teams played games Friday, with the Lions falling to Inchelium 49-54 and the Devils falling to Oroville 29-45. MLCA/CCS remains on the road Tuesday to face the Soap Lake Eagles and Wilson Creek heads out to play Waterville-Mansfield. Both Tuesday games start at 7:30 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

MLCA: 14-17-19-16: 66
WCRK: 11-13-11-5: 40 

    MLCA/CCS junior Treyson Kast leaps up past the Wilson Creek defenders to add two points to the scoreboard.
  

    Aiden Valline, a Wilson Creek senior, looks to shoot for three against the Lions during Thursday’s home game.
  

    Lions junior Kevin Jorgenson aims for the hoop during a free throw against Wilson Creek.
  

    Wilson Creek junior Kevin Robles takes a free throw shot during Thursday’s matchup.