Central Valley, Lewis and Clark knocked out of State 4A boys tournament

TACOMA – It’s tough to win basketball games when you shoot 30 percent from the field and 15 percent from 3-point range.

Central Valley boys coach Rick Sloan reiterated that Friday afternoon after his Bears were bounced from the State 4A consolation bracket at the Tacoma Dome by the Issaquah Eagles, ending their season after a 54-46 setback.

“We just couldn’t hit our butt with both hands, that’s all there is to it,” Sloan said. “We couldn’t shoot the ball.”

Central Valley (20-7) hung around in the first half, never falling behind by more than six points, but the Bears never led. What was a 28-22 halftime deficit grew to 14 at the end of the third quarter when Issaquah senior guard Jason Crandall beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 45-31.

The Bears had a 10-2 run – with five points by senior guard Eli Emerson – to start the fourth quarter, clawing within six points, but the Eagles hit 7 of 8 free throws to put the game away.

“Just a couple of things didn’t go our way,” CV junior forward Ryan Rehkow said. “We battled, but there was just nothing we could do.”

Rehkow led the Bears with 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Josh Thomas added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three assists.

“I’m proud of how they battled,” Sloan said. “To shoot as poorly as we did and still be in the game is a tribute to the way they battled defensively. But the bottom line is, if you’re not making shots, you’re not going to win.”

Issaquah (22-4) was led by senior guards Scott Kellum, who had 18 points, and Crandall, who added 15 on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 shooting on free throws.

Union 78, Lewis and Clark 71 (OT): The Tigers fought back to forge a 59-51 lead with 3:34 to go in the fourth quarter. But careless errors allowed the Titans to force overtime. Lewis and Clark (20-8) got a huge game off the bench by seldom-used Cameron Underwood, who finished with 16 points, including 10 straight in the stretch that saw the Tigers build their lead. Lewis and Clark made 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range.