Bears claw past Titans

No matter the sport, Austin Rehkow finds a way to perform in clutch situations.

His latest installment took place at the Arena when he made 11 straight free throws in the fourth quarter to spark the Bears to a 53-45 win over the University Titans in Greater Spokane League boys basketball play Tuesday.

A basket by Rehkow in transition off a nice feed from Adam Chamberlain allowed unbeaten and third-ranked Central Valley to knot the score at 43-43 with 1 minute, 58 seconds remaining.

Then Rehkow made 10 straight foul shots in the final 1:31 as the Bears staved off the upset-minded Titans.

“That was the difference in the game,” said CV coach Rick Sloan, whose unbeaten Bears improved to 13-0 overall, 11-0 in league. “He stayed patient and down the stretch we wanted to get the ball in his hands”

Rehkow, who made a 67-yard field goal last fall in football, finished with a team-high 19 points, 15 coming in the fourth. He also had seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.

The Bears needed everything they got from Rehkow to offset U-Hi senior sensation Brett Bailey, who finished with a game-high 26 points and 15 rebounds.

It was a splendid game from start to finish between the Spokane Valley rivals.

CV used an 11-0 run in the first half to open a 26-15 lead before the Titans (7-6, 6-5) tightened the gap to 26-20 by halftime.

The Titans seemingly drove to the basket on every possession in the third quarter and were rewarded with a 35-34 lead going into the final period.

U-Hi’s biggest lead came at 43-39 when Conor Linehan hit a 3-pointer with 4:22 to go.

A basket by Chamberlain followed by Rehkow’s lone field goal of the final quarter tied it at 43-43, setting the stage for Rehkow’s last-minute free-throw exhibition.

Mt. Spokane 58, Ferris 54: Andrew Mendez came off the bench to score 12 points for the Wildcats (6-7, 5-6) and spark the upset over the visiting Saxons (9-4, 7-4).

Tanner Kissinger led Mt. Spokane with 13 points and Stu Stiles added 11. Jeff Pierce had seven assists.

Jensen Rye led Ferris with 21 points and Cody Benzel had 18.

Both teams shot poorly from the free-throw line. Ferris made just 6 of 15 foul shots to Mt. Spokane’s 4 of 12.

Gonzaga Prep 60, Lewis and Clark 56: The visiting Bullpups (11-2, 10-1) led 50-38 early in the final quarter before the Tigers (5-8, 4-7) pulled within three points with 1:27 to go.

Brendan McClary led G-Prep with 17 points and Jake Groh added 11. Dean Richey led LC with 25 and Connor Hojnacki added 15.

Mead 62, North Central 37: The visiting Panthers (9-4, 7-4) featured balanced scoring.

Three Panthers reached double-figure scoring. Gunnar Kayser led with 13 points, William McPhee had 11 and Patrick Deubel added 10.

Ryan Hauenstein led NC (0-13, 0-11) with 10 points.

Mead made 23 of 53 shots from the field to NC’s 10 of 41.

Shadle Park 68, Rogers 62: The visiting Highlanders (6-7, 5-6) rallied in the fourth, outscoring the Pirates (2-11, 1-10) 27-16.

Four Highlanders reached double-figure scoring. Knutsen led with 18 points and Morgen Barnes, George Pilimai and Alvin Welch had 10 each.

Amaujae Daniels led Rogers with 21 points, Carson Murray had 14 and Melik Hampton added 13.