Gonzaga Prep’s boys oust Chiawana

The Gonzaga Prep boys basketball team defeated Chiawana 64-39 on Friday night in a subregional loser-out meeting between Greater Spokane League and Mid-Columbia Conference teams at Gonzaga Prep.

The Bullpups (19-4) will head to Ferris tonight at 7 to square off for a regional berth.

The Saxons lost to the second-ranked Richland Bombers 81-64 on Friday.

G-Prep used a series of timely runs to pull away from the Riverhawks (10-10) and secure the chance to go to regionals.

Back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the first quarter gave the Bullpups a 15-9 lead.

The next run came over the first 4:19 of the second quarter, when they outscored Chiawana 11-2. Gonzaga Prep went into the break with the 28-18 lead.

A 13-4 stretch for the Bullpups in the opening minutes of the third quarter pushed the lead to 19. Chiawana cut the lead to 15 thanks to a tip-slam by Deion Singleton with just less than 3 minutes left in the quarter.

Gonzaga Prep’s Sam Dowd answered right back with a 3-pointer from way behind the arc on the ensuing possession and the Bullpups headed into the fourth quarter with the 48-30 lead.

The Riverhawks failed to eat into the G-Prep lead and the Bullpups cruised down the homestretch for the win.

Dowd finished the night with 20 points, four assists and six steals to lead Gonzaga Prep in all three categories. The senior guard is excited to face Ferris tonight in what will be the two teams’ third meeting this season.

“Revenge,” Dowd said. “They’re coming off a tough loss, so they’re going to be playing with a chip on their shoulder.

“It’s going to be one of those battles. They beat us by one (last time) and we’re going to come out hard.”