State basketball: Gonzaga Prep boys handle Federal Way; North Central boys upset No. 1 Auburn

This time of year, defense and teamwork can go a long way. It’s what Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre preaches – and with good results.

On Friday, the Bullpups did not shoot particularly well, and leading scorer Henry Sandberg contributed just six points – all in the first quarter – as he sat long stretches with foul trouble.

But as it has done so many times in the past in the state tournament for the Bullpups, defense and teamwork carried the day.

Brogan Howell scored 15 points, two off his season high, Nate Christy added 12 and third-seeded Gonzaga Prep beat sixth-seeded Federal Way 62-40 in a State 4A opening-round game at Central Valley High School.

“With Henry in foul trouble early, we gotta find out new ways to score,” Howell said. “It was just getting to the place at the right place at the right time. We got some easy buckets.”

“(Howell) is so quick,” McIntyre said. “He is an absolute defensive stopper, and he can take people out of what they are trying to do pretty much single-handedly, so he’s a huge weapon for us and has been all year.”

It was the sixth meeting in the past eight state tournaments between the perennial powers, and G-Prep leads the series 4-2. Federal Way had just 24 points after three quarters.

“(Federal Way) hits the glass so aggressively, it’s almost like any shot is like a pass to their own team,” McIntyre said. “So we really emphasized maxing out and limiting them to one shot and we did a tremendous job tonight.”

The win marks the 300th in McIntyre’s career.

“Things have really been coming together,” McIntyre said of the team effort. “The last month of the season, the kids have had great cohesion and we’re executing on both ends of the floor.”

Gonzaga Prep (20-5) advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome. Federal Way (16-7) faces an elimination game on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m.

G-Prep opened the game with a 16-2 run, with all five starters scoring . Howell matched Sandberg’s six points in the period, and Gonzaga Prep led 20-8 after one quarter.

The Bullpups missed their first six shots of the second quarter and the Eagles ate into their deficit, trimming it to five midway through the quarter. But Christy hit a turn-around bank shot, then completed a three-point play to make it a 12-point game again.

Federal Way was held to seven points in the quarter, and G-Prep took a 32-15 lead into halftime. Five players had four or more points for the Bullpups, led by Christy with seven.

The lead reached 20 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bullpups worked the shot clock to 8 seconds, then Christy hit Ryan Jackson with a bounce pass off a screen cut for a layup.“Our movement away from the ball has been so much better,” McIntyre said. “We’ve been building towards it and so we just keep talking to the kids – ‘Don’t stand and watch.’ We’re a motion system team, so everybody needs to be in motion.”

Howell had six points in the third quarter, and the Bullpups led 47-24 entering the fourth.“I think a lot of people underestimated us coming in. There wasn’t much hype around our names at the start of season,” Howell said. “We started out slow (this season), but we’ll just come in and show them we can do.”

Boys 3A

North Central 60, Auburn 54: Eli Williams scored 21 points and hit a big 3-pointer with 2:45 to go and the visiting eighth-seeded Wolfpack (19-5) upset the top-seeded Trojans (24-2).

North Central advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome. Auburn faces an elimination game on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

{p class=”x_gmail-p1”}”I didn’t need all this stress in my life, but you know what, it’s worth it,” North Central coach Robert Sacre said. “They’ve worked their tails off, and I am so proud. … They know where they want to go. I am proud of how these guys handled the pressure.”

{p class=”x_gmail-p2”}A close game the entire way, Williams’ 3 gave the Wolfpack some late breathing room.

“Oh my gosh, it was too good to be true.” Williams said. “Right when it left my hand, I felt like it was going in. … You just basically have got to throw it up and hope for the best.”

{p class=”x_gmail-p1”}NC has beaten two teams, Mt. Spokane and Auburn, which have resided in the top three in the state all season.“We are rolling right now. We are making some real good strides right now,” Williams said. “I feel like we can win a state championship – with our size alone.”

2A

Grandview 72, Rogers 63: Cameron Draculan scored 18 points and second-seeded Greyhounds (21-3) beat the visiting seventh-seeded Pirates (16-6).

Grandview advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at 9 p.m. at Yakima Valley SunDome. Rogers faces an elimination game on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Brady Krebs led Rogers with 22 points and Treshon Green added 13.

Pullman 61, Enumclaw 44: Champ Powaukee scored 19 points, Daniel Kwon added 16 and the ninth-seeded Greyhounds (17-6) eliminated 16th-seeded Hornets (16-9) in an opening-round game at Cheney HS.

Pullman, which scored 23 points in the second quarter, advances to an elimination game against eighth-seeded Prosser on Wednesday at 9 p.m. at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

2B

Colfax 53, Toutle Lake 32: Seth Lustig scored 15 points, Adrik Jenkin added 13 and third-seeded Bulldogs (26-0) beat the sixth-seeded Ducks (19-6) at West Valley HS.

Colfax advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at Spokane Arena. Toutle Lake faces an elimination game on Wednesday.

Girls

3AKennewick 63, Ridgeline 42: June Fiander scored 16 points and the 11th-seeded Lions (18-7) eliminated the 14th-seeded Falcons (15-11) in an opening-round game at Richland HS.

Grace Sheridan scored 17 points and Madilyn Crowley added 10 for Ridgeline. Kennewick advances to an elimination game on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.

2BColfax 57, Rainier 32: Brenna Gilchrist and Hailey Demler scored 13 points apiece, Lauryn York added 12 and the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (22-4) beat the fifth-seeded Mountaineers (22-4) at West Valley HS. Colfax advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at the Arena. Rainier faces an elimination game on Wednesday.

Davenport 50, Tri-Cities Prep 40: Clare Lathrop scored 14 points and the 10th-seeded Gorillas (16-9) eliminated the 15th-seeded Jaguars (12-11) at Cheney HS. Davenport advances to an elimination game at the Arena on Wednesday.