Vc Caps Run Toward State Berth

District 7-B boys

Valley Christian’s 3-S Club has waited four years to earn the school’s first berth to the State B tournament.

All they needed, it turned out, was a fourth ‘S.’

Sophomore Eric Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to put sixth-ranked VC ahead to stay, then added two free throws with 5 seconds left during a 65-62 win over No. 2 Curlew at the District 7-B tournament.

The balanced Panthers, with seniors Michael Spuler, Brian Sears and Derek Sandin scoring in double figures, qualified for their first state tourney. VC meets St.

George’s on Saturday night for the district title.

Curlew must defeat Republic at 7:45 tonight to advance to state for the first time since its 1972 championship.

Smith and Spuler, half of the 4-S Gang, both said they felt the game was theirs when VC outscored the Cougars 16-4 to open the second half. The Panthers played aggressor despite having their three inside players tagged with four fouls apiece.

“We had other people who could do it,” Spuler said.

Curlew made a final run with 3 minutes left in the game, twice trimming a nine-point deficit to one. Jeremy Groth, who scored 26, hit a 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left to put the pressure on Smith to hit his free throws.

“I just prayed the whole time,” Smith said of his strategy.

Valley Christian 65, Curlew 62

Valley Christian 16 13 20 16 - 65

Curlew 12 24 7 19 - 62

VALLEY CHRISTIAN - J.Decker 3, Smith 13, Spuler 14, Sears 15, B.Decker 5, Evans 5, Sandin 10.

CURLEW - G.Olsen 18, Groth 26, Edwards 5, J.B.Olsen 10, Prazak 1, Cribby 2, Stotts 0.

St. George’s 56, Odessa 50

Odessa (16-9) finished with a decided edge in field goals made and rebounding, but that’s where the Tigers’ advantage ended.

St. George’s (19-7) used its superior speed, outside shooting and touch at the free-throw line to advance to its second district championship game and fifth state tourney. The Dragons won the district title in 1996, the year they finished second at state.

For coach Jennifer Mountain it’s been an unexpected ride. The ‘96 Dragons boasted an all-senior starting lineup, yet this one includes two juniors and a freshman.

One of the juniors, Tom DePonty, rode the bench at state two years ago. On Thursday, he hit four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points.

“The 3-pointer is a big part of our game,” said DePonty, whose back-to-back 3’s late in the first quarter helped erase Odessa’s 12-5 lead. “We’ve lived and died by it, and we’ve been living by it lately.”

Freshman Drew Moser added three 3-pointers for St. George’s, which finished 8 of 21 from long range.

St. George’s, a 67-percent freethrow shooting team, hit 13 of 15 in the final 4:24 to stop the Tigers from rallying.

“A lot of people didn’t expect us to be here,” Mountain said. “But these guys worked their tails off and believed in themselves. That’s the main thing.”

Odessa’s leading scorer, Ryan Floch, scored 13 in the second half after the Dragons’ 1-2-2 zone held him to one basket in the first half. Floch also had 14 of his team’s 32 rebounds.

Odessa, which starts four juniors and one sophomore, plays Almira/ Coulee-Hartline at 3:15 p.m. today in a winner-to-state, loser-out.

Odessa 12 6 13 19 - 50

St. George’s 13 9 18 16 - 56

ODESSA - Kramer 4, Weber 0, G.Schafer 10, Shaw 0, Floch 15, Hardung 0, Jeske 12, Luiten 0, Pitts 7, Z.Schafer 0, Walter 0, Praetorius 2.

ST. GEORGE’S - Blume 5, Longenotti 0, Dhillon 11, Taylor 0, Moser 11, Davis 0, Helms 0, DePonty 20, Spencer 2, Yi 0, Witherspoon 2, Thomsen 5.

Republic 49, W-C 46

Chad Dinkins scored 11 of his 20 in the fourth quarter as the defending state-champion Tigers (19-6) stormed back from a 15-point deficit to eliminate the Wildcats (14-9) at Spokane Community College.

Kenny Gliddon, Kris Kuchenmeister and Danny Hanks combined for 21 rebounds for Republic, which made the most of foul trouble to four Wildcats starters. Sorrell Katich hit 6 of 9 from the floor for W-C.

Wilb.-Creston 11 16 10 9 - 46

Republic 10 9 13 17 - 49

WILBUR-CRESTON - B.Marchand 11, Villars 6, Grant 0, Leonard 0, Samuels 10, Nelson 4, Katich 15.

REPUBLIC - Davenport 10, Dinkins 20, Gliddon 4, Hanks 5, Kuchenmeister 8, Russell 2.

ACH 59, Selkirk 45

Brandon Leander hit 8 of 14 field goals to lead a 54-percent effort as the Warriors (16-10) eliminated the Rangers (19-7) at SCC.

Leander and Tom Dormaier added six rebounds apiece to lead a 29-20 advantage.

Selkirk’s Russell Lopes and Tim Farris combined for eight 3-pointers.

Selkirk 11 11 5 18 - 45

ACH 9 15 13 22 - 59

SELKIRK - Farris 19, Huffine 5, Gere 0, Lopes 15, Pyeatt 2, White 0, Yellowjohn 4, Hodges 0, Reed 0, Edwards 0, Carlson 0, Damron 0.

ALMIRA/COULEE-HARTLINE - Evans 0, Dormaier 10, Thomas 9, Elder 9, St. John 2, Pate 6, Higginbotham 0, Leander 16, Emerson 2, Gwinn 0, Neilsen 0, Durrant 5.

, DataTimes