Nwc Pulls Upset, Holds Off Reardan

Basketball is a game of seconds. Or, as in the case of Tuesday night’s Northeast B District boys basketball nightcap, a game of split seconds.

Northwest Christian (16-9 overall and the Panorama League’s fourth seed) upset No. 2-ranked and Bi-County League top seed Reardan 45-43 after Travis Tichenal failed to launch his successful 3-point attempt before the end of regulation.

Tichenal’s shot almost spoiled an outstanding evening for the Crusaders’ Jeremy Affeldt, who scored 26 points on 11-for-13 field-goal shooting.

Affeldt did his best work down the stretch. With 1:20 left, the 6-foot-2 junior calmly nailed two free throws to put his team up 45-40, and with 55 seconds left he entered a scramble in the corner of the court and somehow came up with the ball for a steal.

Andy Crouch also played well for NWC, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. No other Crusader scored more than three points.

“They have been the key players and leaders for us this year as far as point production,” said Crusaders coach Danny Beard. “This was supposed to be a down year for us, but … we’ve really come together.”

Reardan had won 14 of its last 15 games, and was hurt by a subpar performance from guard Robb Soliday. Soliday scored 10 points on 3-for-16 shooting.

NWC 45, Reardan 43

Reardan 14 8 11 10 - 43

NWC 12 9 15 9 - 45

REARDAN Kiger 10, Graham 4, Ro.Soliday 10, Rh.Soliday 3, Titchenal 3, Eastman 7, Krupke 6, Lane 0, Eller 0.

NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN Mortlock 0, Dygert 0, West 3, McCormick 0, Affeldt 26, Klaja 3, Crouch 13, Smith 0.

Republic 45, Valley Christian 41

Republic (21-3) narrowly avoided a similar upset, as the Tigers needed four Mark Rickard free throws down the stretch to edge Valley Christian (12-13).

Rickard scored 26 points to help his team overcome Jeremy Sandin and the Panthers. Sandin scored 19 points in the game, including his team’s first 15, and grabbed 15 rebounds in the losing effort.

Jason Baldwin scored 15 to help Republic advance to face Northwest Christian Thursday at 7:45. Valley Christian drops into the loser’s bracket and faces elimination against Reardan Thursday at 3:15.

Valley Christian 11 12 10 8 - 41

Republic 6 17 8 14 - 45

VALLEY CHRISTIAN Decker 2, Stager 0, Teterud 2, Spuler 4, Sears 4, Asbury 10, Sandin 19.

REPUBLIC Hanks 0, Baldwin 15, Rickard 26, Grimm 0, Kuchenmeister 2, Michaels 0, Wilson 2.

GIRLS

Reardan 47, Selkirk 25

Turnovers were the keys to both girls games. In the opener, Reardan (14-7) forced 21 turnovers in the first half and rolled to a victory over Selkirk (17-7).

Katie Supinger scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds for the Indians, while Molly Carlson led all players with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Rangers. Lisa Bocook had six steals for Reardan, which held Selkirk to 11-for-42 shooting.

Reardan 13 11 10 13 - 47

Selkirk 6 6 6 7 - 25

REARDAN Bocook 7, Krupke 7, Schwartz 0, C.Jayne 0, Holwegner 4, Guhlke 5, Rohner 7, Soliday 2, P.Jayne 2, Evans 0, Turner 2, Supinger 11.

SELKIRK Dickinson 7, Jennings 0, Barnes 0, Sharp 0, Smith 0, Grass 0, Weaver 0, Koontz 0, Dury 1, Porter 2, Carlson 13, Jones 2.

St. George’s 55, Liberty 34

St. George’s forced 23 turnovers in the first half and 35 for the game as the Dragons (18-6) dominated the Lancers (11-13).

Melissa Harvill had 13 points, 10 assists and seven steals for St. George’s, which advances to face Reardan Thursday at 6 p.m.

Dawn Trowbridge led all scorers with 18 for the Dragons. Gena Neihart was the only double-figure scorer for Liberty, which plays Selkirk in a loser-out contest Thursday at 1:30.

Liberty 6 4 14 10 - 34

St. George’s 11 9 18 17 - 55

LIBERTY Pittmann 0, Cory 4, Neihart 10, Polione 0, Farka 6, Bothman 2, Short 4, Cornwall 0, Prince 0, Gardner 0, Adams 0, Torguson 8.

ST. GEORGE’S Alsaker 0, Davis 4, Chill 0, Boutz 2, Webster 0, De Niro 0, Swift 2, Trowbridge 18, McKelvey 1, Routh-Corker 10, Appling 5, Harvill 13.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Today’s NEB games Today’s NEB games Boys Game 5-Selkirk (19-6) vs. Liberty (16-8) (loser out), 3:15 p.m. G6-Almira/Coulee-Hartline (18-3) vs. St. George’s (22-2) (winner to state), 7:45 p.m. Girls G5-Northwest Christian (15-9) vs. Columbia (13-11) (loser out), 1:30 p.m. G6-Almira/Coulee-Hartline (15-7) vs. Wilbur-Creston (21-1) (winner to state), 6 p.m.