Eagles rise to top spot
For West Valley coach Jamie Nilles, Saturday games feel more like a mental game versus a physical one.
“Everyone plays tough Friday night games, so Saturday is always a little more about the mental game,” Nilles said. “It’s still physical, but everyone is a little tired so it is more about grinding it out mentally.”
When time expired Saturday in regulation, it was Nilles’ Eagles who managed to outwit Pullman, defeating the visiting Greyhounds 53-47 in a Great Northern League basketball game in which first place was on the line.
The Eagles (8-2, 5-0) and Greyhounds (5-6, 4-1) were tied for first going into the game after both teams dealt previously league unbeaten Medical Lake (6-5, 3-2) back-to-back losses Tuesday and Friday, respectively.
In the first half, the Eagles were 1 of 8 from 3-point range, but still managed to shoot 46 percent from the field. Pullman’s leading scorer, JT Levenseller, was held to four points, as the Greyhounds shot 31 percent from the field.
With the score tied at 10 at the end of the first quarter, WV’s Bryan Peterson made two quick buckets to open the second quarter.
The Eagles took a seven-point lead when Casey Sherrill, who led WV with seven points and five rebounds in the first half, had a layin and three-point play. The largest lead of the game came two minutes later, when Sherrill hit back-to-back shots to put the Eagles up 24-16.
“We’ve been waiting on Casey,” Nilles said of the 6-foot-1 senior guard. “He was pretty key for us in the first half. He stepped up and kept Pullman at bay.”
Pullman’s Jaime Fertakis and Levi Nordquist scored before Peterson hit the final shot as WV led 26-20 at the half.
At 30-23 in the second half, Levenseller caught fire, rattling off back-to-back 3-pointers to bring Pullman within one point. WV point guard Jordan Lupfer-Graham, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, led the Eagles on a 7-2 scoring run.
Lupfer-Graham nailed a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, as the Eagles took their second eight-point lead at 44-36. Pullman pulled within one point again, when WV’s Parker Flynn was called for an intentional foul at 46-43. Pullman’s Mark Ryan hit both free throws.
Pullman had chances to go ahead several times near the end, as the Eagles went 5 for 10 from the line down the stretch.
“We got them to miss two front ends of 1-and-1 situations,” Pullman coach Craig Brantner said. “But they did a good job crashing the boards, and that’s what it came down to. Those missed free throws were big opportunities for us.”
WV outrebounded Pullman 42-24.
Levenseller rebounded from a sluggish first half to lead all players in scoring with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 3 for 5 from 3-point range.
Peterson led the Eagles with 15 points and nine rebounds and Sherrill had seven rebounds to go with his 11 points.
“Sean Bernier and Don Perconti scored 21 points apiece, leading Clarkston (3-8, 3-2) past visiting Colville 88-82. Dustin McConnell added 19 points for the Bantams, who outrebounded the Indians 49-38. Tyson Luu scored 23 for Colville (5-5, 2-3). … Kevin McNeil scored 17 points and Richie Mullenburg and Brad Rumann each added 13 as Deer Park (5-6, 2-3) topped host Cheney (3-8, 0-5) 61-51. Brandon Hardie tallied 13 points to lead the Blackhawks. … Colton Curtis scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading Medical Lake (6-5, 3-2) to a 59-51 victory over visiting Riverside (4-7, 1-4). Ray Erwin added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals. Cody Stumph scored 14 for Riverside.