District 6 boys basketball: Mt. Spokane protects home floor in district title game; North Central, West Valley earn bids to state

With both teams already punching their ticket to state, the District 6 3A title game between Mt. Spokane and Central Valley didn’t carry that “loser-out” drama. But that didn’t mean they didn’t want to cut down nets at the end.

Considering Mt. Spokane didn’t get a chance to do that last year on its home floor, the Wildcats were on a mission to not let it happen again.

Nalu Vargas scored 29 points, Jaden Ghoreishi added 19 and the top-seeded Wildcats ran away from visiting fourth-seeded Central Valley 79-56.

Mt. Spokane lost to North Central 64-59 at home in last season’s district title game.

“I cut down nets two years ago,” Vargas said. “We definitely wanted to get back here, especially at home.”

“Last year, we didn’t get the ‘dub,’ so we had to get this going,” Ghoreishi said. “It meant so much to us cause last year we couldn’t get it done, so this year it was personal. We had to cut the net.”

Vargas hit five 3-pointers and drove the lane effectively for buckets and free throws.

“I felt like (CV) wasn’t really worried about me,” Vargas said. “I thought I could take advantage of that and step up.”

“He is that quiet leader who just goes about his business and never changes his demeanor ever,” Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said. “I’m just so happy for that kid. He just stays in the moment and rises to the occasion year after year after year.”

Vargas is a three-year starter and has played in two state semifinals for Mt. Spokane.

“This is just another game for Nalu,” Wagenblast said. “That’s how he approached it today, and I’m really proud of him.”

The Wildcats got out to an 11-4 lead, but CV point guard Cameron Walls (16 points) hit 5 of 7 at the line and CV trailed 18-15 after one quarter.

Ghoreishi scored the first seven points of the second quarter – including a two-handed slam on an offensive rebound and a 3-pointer, and Mt. Spokane opened a double-digit lead. Vargas nailed a pair of 3-pointers later in the quarter, and Mt. Spokane led 39-28 at halftime.

A 13-4 run at the start of the third quarter made it a 20-point game and Central Valley never recovered.

“We were hopeful to come out and keep executing,” Wagenblast said. “CV does a really great job of scoring. … For us, we had to make sure we had great possessions. We stuck to playing together and executing.”

“CV’s a great team,” Vargas said. “But we’re still here, too.”

4A

Richland 76, Mead 67: Landen Northrop scored 32 points, Lance Horntvedt added 25 and the second-seeded Bombers (23-1) eliminated the third-seeded Panthers (19-6) in the district second-place game.

Nash Dunham led Mead with 23 points. Bryce Lynd had 19 points and Brady Thornton added 14.

3A

North Central 62, Walla Walla 56: Makai Daniels and Elijah Wright scored 16 points apiece, Trevelle Jones added 13 and the ninth-seeded Wolfpack (18-7) beat the third-seeded Blue Devils (13-12) in the district third-place game to secure a bid to state.

2A

West Valley 75, Grandview 70: Nathan Zettle scored 21 points, Noah Willard added 18 – all on 3-pointers – and the Eagles (20-3) beat the visiting Greyhounds (21-3) in a District 5/6 crossover to earn a bid to state.

Prosser 72, Pullman 57: Koby McGwire scored 32 points, and the Mustangs (19-7) eliminated the visiting Greyhounds (16-7) in a District 5/6 crossover. Vaughn Holstad scored 14 points; Daniel Kwon and Gavyn Dealy added 12 apiece for Pullman.

1A

Riverside 68, Wapato 63: Jake Graham scored 19 points, and the Rams (16-4) defeated the visiting Wolves (13-7) in a District 5/6 crossover game to earn a trip to state. AJ Garza led Wapato with 24 points.

2B

Freeman 66, Reardan 58 (OT): Colton Wells scored 27 points, and the Scotties (20-3) edged the Screaming Eagles (21-2) in the district title game at West Valley High School.

Jakari Singleton led Reardan with 20 points. Both teams qualified for state.

Colfax 58, Northwest Christian 46: Adrik Jenkin scored 18 points, and the Bulldogs (21-3) defeated the Crusaders (17-7) in the district third-place game at West Valley. Avi West led NWC with 22 points. Both teams qualified for state.