Mead Boys Net First Outright Title In Gsl

Mead’s Class of ‘95 completed its steady climb up the ladder and on Friday night stood at the top, cutting down the nets at the Coliseum as Greater Spokane League boys basketball champions.

“It’s nice to accomplish it; it’s a testament to the kids,” Mead coach Jim Preston said after the Panthers clinched the title with a 56-50 win over University.

“A lot of them came in when the program was struggling. I knew they would be in the hunt, but the way this league is…”

Before this senior class entered Mead, the Panthers were 3-13 in the league. As sophomores they were fifth with an 8-8 mark and last year finished third at 11-5. With wins in their final two games, the Panthers would improve another three games as they move two spots up in the standings.

This is Mead’s first outright GSL championship. The Panthers tied Ferris for the 1988 crown for their only other title when all-time leading GSL scorer Jeff Brown was a junior.

Friday’s action at the Coliseum ended when John Kane hauled in a length-of-the-court pass and scored at the buzzer to give Lewis and Clark a 63-62 win over Ferris, the Tigers’ first victory over the Saxons since their first meeting of the 1990-91 season.

And Rogers clinched a tie for the final playoff berth with a 60-56 win over Central Valley.

Mead’s title didn’t come easy as the Titans (4-10,6-12) took a 27-26 lead at halftime. But the Panthers (12-2, 14-4) hit their first four shots of the third quarter and opened a 35-29 gap. By controlling the boards, Mead went up 44-35 entering the fourth quarter.

We weren’t overlooking them, it just seems like every time we play an early game (3:45 p.m. start) we come out slow,” Mead senior post Jason Smith said as his teammates cut down a net. “At halftime, he (Preston) told us to block out and play better defense. Our man-to-man defense was kind of late. We’ve been talking about this for a couple of days.”

A 7-0 surge pulled U-Hi within 49-46 with 3:45 to play, but the Titans missed their next six shots and ran out of time.

“In the third quarter we came out a little flat defensively,” U-Hi coach Jay Humphrey said. “We changed defenses again and got within three and I thought we were right there, then we missed some easy ones. We’ve got to be doing something right to get those shots, they just didn’t go in.”

“Jay’s team played with a lot of intensity,” Preston said. “They have a lot to play for. But we’ve won a lot of close games, that’s a testament to the players. When the game gets tight, they’re able to stay focused. Some teams tighten up, but they never did.”

The Titans are involved in a battle for the final playoff spot between four teams separated by two game with two remaining.

Terry Donovan led Mead with 14 points, hitting two key 3-pointers in the third quarter when the Panthers outscored U-Hi 18-8.

Kelly Hineman had 15 for University, eight in the second quarter when the Titans gained the lead.

Mead 56, University 50

University 12 15 8 15 -50

Mead 13 13 18 12- 56

UNIVERSITY Burningham 1 0-0 3, Jeffries 0 0-0 0, Johnson 3 0-0 6, Wetzel 2 0-0 4, Dewey 1 0-0 3, Stark 3 0-0 6, Hineman 4 4-4 15, Carlson 2 4-4 8, Allen 2 1-1 5. Totals 18 9-9 50.

MEAD Morris 0 0-0 0, Naccarato 0 0-0 0, Donovan 5 1-2 14, Armitage 4 0-0 8, Long 2 3-4 7, Smith 5 3-4 13, Pilkington 2 1-3 5, Castaneda 4 1-5 9. Totals 22 9-18 56. 3-point goals - Burningham, Dewey, Hineman 3, Donovan 3. Total fouls - U-Hi 19, Mead 13. Fouled out - none. Technical foul - Smith.

Lewis and Clark 63, Ferris 62

The Tigers (9-5, 13-6) ended an eight-game losing streak against the Saxons (8-6, 11-7) when Kane avoided landing out of bounds as he snagged the long pass from Paul Menke and flipped in a little shot from the lane on the left baseline as the buzzer went off.

Scott Stocum, who had made just one of five previous free throws, swished a pair with 3 seconds left to put the Saxons on top.

Lewis and Clark 10 13 22 18 - 63 Ferris 13 15 20 14 - 62

LEWIS AND CLARK Osborne 0 0-0 0, Lynch 2 1-2 5, Stueckle 2 0-0 4, Olson 4 0-0 8, Homer 6 2-4 16, Kane 5 3-7 13, Mencke 5 7-8 17, Haynes 0 0-2 0. Totals 24 13-23 63.

FERRIS Bursch 0 0-0 0, Coulter 2 0-0 4, Freeman 0 0-0 0, Hardan 5 2-3 13, Gix 1 1-2 3, Henneberry 1 1-2 4, Oenning 2 0-0 4, Harmon 9 1-1 19, Stocum 5 3-7 13, Weatherred 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 8-15 62.3-point goals - Homer 2, Hardan, Henneberry. Total fouls - LC 17, F 19. Fouled out - none.

Rogers 51 Central Valley 47

Alfred Muse and Richie Fischer had 14 points each as the Pirates (6-9, 8-9) held off a late comeback by the visiting Bears (8-7, 10-9).

Muse held CV’s leading scorer, Jeremy Nesbitt, to 2-for-20 shooting.

Central Valley 8 8 15 16 - 47 Rogers 13 9 15 14 - 51

CENTRAL VALLEY Nesbitt 2 7-10 12, Graczyk 0 0-0 0, Schuh 3 3-5 10, Jensen 2 1-1 5, Williams 1 0-0 2, Platt 3 0-4 6, May 4 1-2 9, Courchaine 1 1-2 3. Totals 16 13-24 47.

ROGERS Muse 7 0-1 14, Fischer 5 2-2 14, Metcalf 2 0-0 4, A. Olson 0 0-1 0, J. Olsen 0 0-0 0, Mergenthaler 3 0-0 9, Smith 2 2-2 6. Totals 19 8-9 51.3-point goals - Nesbitt, Schuh, Fisher 2, Mergenthaler 3. Total fouls - CV 11, Rogers 22. Fouled out - Mergenthaler.

Gonzaga Prep 62, North Central 49

Joe McFarland scored 15 points as the visiting Bullpups (9-5, 11-7) took an early 10-point lead and rolled past the Indians (4-10, 6-12).

Gonzaga Prep 18 13 16 13 - 62 North Central 10 11 14 14 - 49

GONZAGA PREP Strahl 3 1-2 7, Kocharhook 0 0-0 0, Thielman 1 0-0 2, Herrin 2 4-6 9, Jordan 2 4-4 9, Powell 0 4-4 4, Sweeny 2 1-1 5, McFarland 5 5-7 15, Knight 4 3-3 11. Totals 19 22-27 62.

NORTH CENTRAL Lake 0 0-0 0, Rosengrant 0 0-0 0, Blanchat 1 0-0 3, Etter 0 0-0 0, Kuhlman 4 3-4 14, Holdren 6 4-5 16, Kapelke 3 1-2 7, Johnson 4 1-2 9, Blotsky 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 9-13 49. 3-point goals - Blanchat, Kuhlman 3, Herrin, Jordan. Total fouls - GP 17, NC 26. Fouled out - Kapelke, Blanchat.