District 8 4A boys: Cooper Dewitt scores 17 points and Chiawana edges Ferris in 4A loser-out

Chiawana 61, Ferris 57: Cooper Dewitt led four in double figures with 17 points and the Riverhawks (21-2) eliminated the Saxons (13-10) in a District 8 4A loser-out at the Toyota Center on Friday.

Chiawana will play in the district second-place game on Saturday.

Kobe Young added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Riverhawks.

Zach Fleming led Ferris with 17 points and Cole Omlin had 13.

“We’re upset, we’re disappointed, obviously,” Ferris coach Sean Mallon said. “I know we’ve got kids who showed a lot of maturity through circumstances a hell of a lot more tough to deal with than basketball, you know I mean? So I think this is a group that really keeps things in perspective.”

Jackson Floyd buried a pair of 3s in the first quarter and the Saxons led 16-2 after one.

Cooper Dewitt had seven in the second quarter and Connor Mendez’ steal and layup gave it Chiawana a 34-30 lead at intermission.

Dewitt popped a pair of 3s on consecutive possessions and Chiawana opened a nine-point lead midway through the third. But Cole Omlin picked up a couple of buckets late in the quarter as Ferris went on an 8-2 spurt.

Zach Fleming scored on back-to-back possessions early in the fourth and Ferris took a 50-49 lead.

But Jayden Martinez stole an inbound pass and hit a short jumper and Young backed Omlin down for a bank shot to put Chiawana up four with a minute left. Dewitt hit a pair at the line to seal it.

“There were a lot of points in this year where we could have kind of packed it in and given up and it would have honestly, in some ways, been kind of understandable,” Mallon said. “But credit to our guys, man. They show up and they fight every day and they persevere and they take care of each other and it’s a group I’m unbelievably proud of.”