Lions look ahead to Spokane, despite opening loss

RICHLAND — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions (18-3) suffered a loss to the DeSales Irish 80-69 Saturday in the opening round of the 1B state basketball tournament. Despite the loss, Head Coach Emerson Ferguson was proud of how his players battled.  

“We did what we normally do, which is the battle,” Ferguson said.  

It was a shootout from the tipoff as DeSales pulled ahead, but the Lions remained on their heels. The Lions matched the Irish’s quick paced style of play, only trailing by three at halftime. Throughout the second half, the Irish were able to capitalize on turnovers and fouls to build a respectable lead over the Lions. DeSales was efficient from the field, not missing often, which helped them secure the win by the end of regulation.  

“A lot of shots didn't fall our way tonight,” Ferguson said. “We kind of got out hustled a little bit, and that's not something that normally happens, but it's alright, the guys never quit, and we kept fighting. My takeaway is that the boys are fighting.” 

DeSales was efficient out of the gate, but the Lions were competitive and kept it tight throughout the first quarter. MLCA/CCS was effective forcing turnovers and pushing the pace in transition. After a buzzer beater two-pointer by Johnny Ferguson, the Lions only trailed 21-18.  

The Lions remained competitive in the second quarter, going shot for shot with the Irish. Additionally, they drew several fouls that got them to the free throw line. By halftime, they trailed 39-36 as they kept the pressure on DeSales.  

DeSales came out fast in the third quarter, as they took a 50-41 lead. However, the Lions kept battling back into the game as they won several tip drills to take possession of the ball. Alongside Johnny, Max and Dennis Gulenko helped MLCA/CCS cut the deficit to 50-47.  

“That's what the boys do... they battle, and so I wouldn't expect anything less,” Ferguson said.  

Despite their best efforts, the Lions made a couple of errors the Irish could capitalize on to take a 57-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  

The Irish took full grasp of the momentum in the fourth, as they sunk shot after shot from midrange and the three-point line. The Lions kept battling and showed flashes of promise but ultimately it was not enough as DeSales secured the win in Richland.  

“They shot the lights out. (DeSales shooting) percentage... I couldn't tell you what it was, but I guarantee it was pretty up there. It seemed like everything went in, and it's hard to battle against that. We missed some shots that we should have made, which would have kept the game even closer,” Ferguson said.  

Despite the loss, the Lions are still in the running for a state title. They will travel to Spokane to play 12-seed Touchet at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Numerica Veterans Arena. As they look ahead, Coach Ferguson said he just wants his players to focus on improving from this game forward.  

“We just want to learn from this and fix those mistakes,” he said. “We got a couple days before we head up to Spokane. We're going to fix those (mistakes) and then maximize the things we did well to get ready to go up to Spokane and to try to come home with a trophy, and we want that. We want the biggest one, just like everybody else, and so that's the goal.” 

BOX SCORE: 

MLCA: 18-18-13-20: 69 

DSLS: 21-18-18-23: 80

    The Lions’ Max Gulenko boxes out a DeSales player as he eyes a rebound during their game Saturday.
  

    The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions’ James Robertson (14) gets fired up after scoring a basket in the final seconds before halftime against DeSales.
  

    Dennis Gulenko (32) shoots a free throw for the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions during their state opener against the DeSales Irish Saturday.
  

    The Lions’ bench erupts after a big play by one of their teammates Saturday.