Rogers Saves Gsl With Upset But Top-Seeded Mead, Lc, CV Fall To Big Nine Teams At Aaa Regional

The Big Nine assumed just a little too much.

After Pasco and Eisenhower used their bulk to batter the top two seeded teams from the Greater Spokane League Tuesday night, a sweep was predicted.

Kamiakin came through, but Richland could not. Thank you, Rogers. The tenacious Pirates surprised the Big Nine champion and district tournament second seed, beating Richland 56-53 at Pasco to close out the first round of the Lamb Weston Eastern AAA Regional boys basketball tournament.

Kamiakin, top-seeded out of the Big Nine, rolled past Central Valley 64-45 in Richland.

However, for the second straight year, the best of the GSL came up short at Eastern Washington University. First, by blocking the first two shots of secondseeded Lewis and Clark, Pasco intimidated the Tigers enough for a 53-49 upset.

Then, top-seeded Mead blew a 10-point lead in the blink of an eye, and 6-foot-4, 260-pound Malcolm Stewart made a dramatic and improbable tip-in at the buzzer as Eisenhower devastated the Panthers 69-67.

“We’re playing pretty good night now,” Eisenhower (14-9) coach John Felton said. “We play in a tough league. That’s pretty obvious right now.”

Rogers 56, Richland 53 It was obvious to everyone but the Pirates (12-10), who handled all the pressure the highly regarded Bombers (20-4) could provide.

Richland went on a 10-0 run early in the third quarter, but Rogers matched it before the quarter ended. And Ryan Metcalfe, who dove on a loose ball when the Bombers were going for a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds, hit two free throws to secure the upset.

The difference was defense - typical for Rogers - as Richie Fischer harassed 5-8 Neal Robertson, the Big Nine’s leading scorer at 17 points per game, into 4-of14 shooting. Robertson scored 11 points.

The key was responding to Richland’s run.

“That just showed the guts of the kids,” Rogers coach Rick Mergenthaler said. “They’re not going to quit, they’re not going to give up. They haven’t all year.”

Pasco 53, Lewis and Clark 49

It was a case of the beginning of the game affecting the end as 6-8, 250-pound Godfrey Davis of the Bulldogs (14-9) swatted away the first two shots of the Tigers (15-8).

With LC trailing 51-49, Paul Menke’s driving layup with 8 seconds left that would have tied the game bounced away, and Davis secured the win with two foul shots a second later.

“I think the big guy had an effect on us,” LC coach Glenn Williams said. “That may have stayed in the back of their minds.” Pasco 12 13 16 12 - 53 Lewis and Clark 12 10 14 13 - 49

PASCO Tippett 2 0-0 5, Sugden 2 0-0 4, Collins 4 0-0 11, Fielding 1 1-2 3, Herron 2 0-0 5, Thorne 3 2-2 9, Fine 1 0-0 2, Hultgren 0 0-0 0, Davis 6 2-2 14. Totals 21 5-6 53.

LEWIS AND CLARK Lynch 0 2-2 2, Stueckle 0 0-0 0, Olson 3 0-0 6, Homer 3 6-9 12, Kane 3 0-0 6, Mencke 9 5-7 23, Haynes 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-18 49.

3-point goals - Tippett, Collins 3, Herron, Thorne. Total fouls - P 16, LC 14. Fouled out - none.

Eisenhower 69, Mead 67

Even more frustrated were the Panthers (17-6), who capped a 14-2 run with the first basket of the second quarter to lead the Cadets 20-12. The lead swelled to 13 in the third quarter, and was 63-53 with 3:35 to play.

Then Mead’s roof caved in. Ross Hansen hit a long 3 with 3:18 to play, and a 3 by Si Stuber at the 2:22 mark tied the game at 67. Mead handed John Salausa the inbounds pass for an bucket after Hansen’s 3. Jason Smith scored on a fast break for Mead, but Hansen buried a long 3 to make it 65-61 with 2:58 remaining. Adam Morris made two foul shots for the Panthers, but Salausa swished a 3 and Jeff Pilkington missed the front end of a one-and-one before Stuber tied it.

Smith missed a shot with 2 minutes left, and the Cadets went for a final shot. Pilkington stole the ball with 20 seconds left and drove for the go-ahead layup, but his two-handed scoop, identical to Mencke’s on the left side of the basket, missed with 17 seconds showing. It didn’t look like Ike would get up a potential winning shot, but suddenly, after a desperation heave, the ball was careening off the backboard and the massive Stewart flicked it in.

“They made the big shots down the stretch and we didn’t,” Mead coach Jim Preston said.

Eisenhower 12 16 15 26 - 69 Mead 18 20 17 12 - 67

EISENHOWER Reeves 1 0-0 2, Salausa 5 0-0 11, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Hansen 7 0-0 18, Stuber 2 2-2 7, Wynch 1 2-2 4, J.Stewart 0 0-0 0, Tobius 1 0-0 2, McDonald 5 0-1 10, Erickson 0 0-0 0, M.Stewart 7 1-4 15. Totals 29 5-9 69.

MEAD Morris 0 2-3 2, Naccarato 1 0-0 3, Donovan 1 3-7 5, Armitage 2 4-5 8, Long 5 2-2 13, Smith 5 6-8 16, Pilkington 4 0-2 8, Castaneda 4 4-4 12. Totals 22 21-31 67.

3-point goals - Hansen 4, Stuber, Salausa, Naccarato, Long. Total fouls - E 24, M 10. Fouled out - none.

Kamiakin 64, Central Valley 45

The size of the Braves (19-4) did in the Bears (11-13). Ryan Turping, a 6-6 senior, poured in 25 points, and 6-8 sophomore Jon Carlisle 19.CV, which lost to Kamiakin in the second game of the year, lost to LC twice in overtime, the second time a triple overtime during the regular season.

Central Valley 18 8 11 8 - 45 Kamiakin 19 11 17 17 - 64

CENTRAL VALLEY Je.Nesbitt 8, Larson 3, Graczyk 0, Jo.Nesbitt 3, Schuh 13, Jensen 8, Williams 0, DelMese 0, Platt 8, May 2, Warnock 0.

KAMIAKIN Robinson 2, McCloud 2, Williamson 10, Turping 25, Carlisle 19, Mitchell 0, Gray 0, Kukilnski 0, Hazel 1, Eakin 0, Wright 1, Giesa 4.

3-point goals - Schuh 2, Je.Nesbitt, Larson, Jo.Nesbitt, Williamson 3. Total fouls - CV 16, K 14. Fouled out - none.

Rogers 56, Richland 53 Rogers 18 9 12 17 - 56 Richland 14 15 10 14 - 53

Rogers - Spencer 5 2-2 12, Muse 4 6-7 14, Fischer 4 1-2 9, Metcalf 3 2-2 8, Olson 0 0-0 0, Mergenthaler 3 2-2 9, Smith 1 0-1 2. Totals 21 13-18 56.

Richland - Spohr 1 5-6 7, Eric Buck 1 2-2 4, Mark Bone 1 0-0 2, Robertson 4 1-2 11, Damien Nash 4 1-2 10, Doug Schultz 9 1-2 19, Cahill 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 9-14 53.

3-point goals - Mergenthaler, Robertson 2, Nash. Total fouls - Rogers 16, Richland 18. Fouled out - Fischer, Cahill.

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AAA boys Friday’s second round at Richland Lewis and Clark (15-8) vs. CV (11-13), loser out, 4 p.m. Richland (20-4) vs. Mead (17-6), loser out, 5:30 p.m. Pasco (14-9) vs. Kamiakin (19-4), winner to state, 7 p.m. Rogers (12-10) vs. Eisenhower (14-9), 9 p.m.