DISTRICT 8 4A
By Kevin Dudley, Special to NWPrepsNow.com
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A week ago, the Mead Panthers ended the regular season with a third straight loss and had the fifth seed heading into the District 8 4A playoffs.
Today, they wake up as district champions after winning three games in four nights against top teams to claim the Greater Spokane League’s No. 1 seed in the 4A regional playoffs.
The Panthers defeated the host University Titans 56-47 to take the championship.
Mead travels to take on the Mid-Columbia Conference top seed next Friday while U-Hi meets a to-be-determined opponent. Richland and Chiawana settle the title tonight.
In an elimination game, No. 2 Central Valley tripped top-seed Lewis and Clark 58-57.
Mead 56, University 47: Max Hess led the way for the Panthers with 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Will McPhee finished with 11 points, while Josh Richter added 10.
Mead coach Glenn Williams said playing three games in four nights reminded him of the state tournament – a tournament that is not out of the question for the Panthers anymore.
“You’re playing all these games in succession and you just have to find the energy,” Williams said. “The energy is out there. You just have to uncover it and find it, and the kids did.”
The Panthers – in control for much of the game – needed to uncover some energy after U-Hi went on a quick 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter. The Titans got within five but Williams used a couple of timeouts to talk to his team, and the team listened.
“We had to slow down a little bit offensively and kind of regain our composure,” Richter said after cutting down the nets with his teammates and classmates. “We needed to move the ball and run the clock. On the defensive side, we had to get the boards and make sure we were blocking out the big men and not giving them second chances.”
The Panthers used a 9-0 run to close out the first quarter and gain momentum. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by reserve Spencer Dodd aided the Panthers’ cause.
Dodd, who finished with eight points, and fellow sophomore Dedrick Pakootas didn’t play heavy minutes, but they provided solid playing time and depth for the Panthers, allowing the team a healthy rotation.
“Spencer hit some threes, made good shots and understood when he had a mismatch and went right to the post,” Williams said. “Those are two sophomores that will be really good players.”
While Hess led the team offensively, his defense caught the eye of his coach.
“He was leading us, he was blocking out the best he’s ever done in his entire life, and that was huge,” Williams said.
Robert Little led the way for U-Hi with 13 points. Spencer Matt also finished in double figures, adding 10 points.
U-Hi was without six-foot-five forward Noah Martin for much of the second half due to foul trouble. The Panthers took advantage of Martin’s absence on both ends of the court.
Central Valley 58, Lewis and Clark 57: The top two seeds were relegated to a loser-out game instead of the marquee matchup, with the visiting Bears (17-5) building a 14-point lead through three quarters and holding off the hot-shooting Tigers (16-6). CV travels Tuesday to meet the MCC No. 2 seed in a loser-out game. Michael Hannan led CV with 24 points and eight rebounds. Naje Smith led LC with 21 points, including a shot from halfcourt at the buzzer.