Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009

4A boys: Pasco falls to LC in 2OTs; Richland wins

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

PASCO -- Chad Herron didn't have it in him to be too upset.

Had the Pasco basketball coach known ahead of time his sharp-shooting charges would be a frosty 5-for-33 from behind the 3-point arc against a big, athletic crew like Lewis & Clark, he never would have expected the Bulldogs to come up a buzzer-beater short in two overtimes.

Taylor Eglet's jumper from just inside the 3-point line swished home as the scoreboard hit zeros, leaving host Pasco with a disappointing albeit thrilling 75-73 loss in Tuesday's first round of the 4A Eastern Regionals.

"I love the way our kids fought," said Herron, whose Bulldogs (16-9) face a loser-out game Friday (7 p.m.) against Davis at Toyota Center. "They showed a lot of heart tonight. The ball was not going into the basket like it usually does, but they fought hard."

The Tigers (14-10), playing in their first regional tournament since 1999, will play Walla Walla in a winner-to-state semifinal Friday.

Robert Montano, Anthony Scales and Ismael Uvay combined for 57 points for Pasco and also split time guarding Sean Hoffman, Lewis & Clark's impressive 6-foot-7 post who finished with 21 points and 21 rebounds.

Hoffman had a good seven or eight inches on whomever was guarding him and threw down three dunks in the first half. But he was held to just seven points in the second half and overtimes, with Pasco's diminutive defenders slapping away passes.

Scales finished with seven steals, and Andre Griffin had four to go with six assists.

"We knew they had good foot speed, but I was real impressed with their hand quickness," said Lewis & Clark coach Jeff Norton. "And they battled hard against Hoffman."

LC's Levi Taylor scored a game-high 28 points, combining with Hoffman to do the heavy lifting for the Tigers. But Eglet, who finished with seven points, took the big shot.

It didn't look like the visitors would need such drama, leading by nine to start the fourth and by seven with 5:20 left in regulation. Pasco's first and only lead came when Uvay reached over LC's trees and tipped in a rebound with 1:46 left in regulation.

Taylor scored five quick points for the Tigers to start the second overtime, but Pasco roared back as Jeramie Streicher canned the team's second 3-pointer of the half and James Negron scored off a feed from Montano for a 70-all tie with 52 seconds left.

The two teams traded free throws and baskets, with Montano providing the final tie at 73 on a drive with 7 seconds left.

Pasco's plight wasn't made any easier with Scales and Griffin, the team's top two defenders, on the bench after picking up their fifth fouls in the first and second overtimes, respectively.

Despite shooting 15 percent on 3s -- they missed 11 in a row during one stretch -- the Bulldogs stayed in the game at the free-throw line, hitting 22 of 32 compared to 8 of 16 for LC.

The Tigers had their own problems, getting coaxed into Pasco's up-tempo style and getting away from their inside-out game.

"That was the No. 1 goal, not get caught up in that," Norton said. "That game was a horrible matchup for us and a horrible matchup for them. It was going to be a battle."

A battle and a thrill, according to Uvay.

"Too much intensity," he said. "You don't think about it. You just think about basketball for 32 minutes. Tonight, it was 32 minutes and two overtimes."

LEWIS & CLARK (75)

Levi Taylor 28, Davenport, Ehlo 6, Eglet 7, Poland 7, Bond 6, Hoffman 21. Totals 31-65 8-16 75.

PASCO (73)

Robert Montao 20, Scales 19, Uvay 18, Griffin 6, Negron 3, Streicher 5, Villafan 2. Totals 23-67 22-32 73.

Lewis & Clark 18 16 14 9 6 12 -- 75

Pasco 13 16 10 18 6 10 -- 73

Highlights -- LC 5x15 3pt, Pas 5x33; LC 48 rbs, Pas 38; LC 18 TOs, Pas 5; Sean Hoffman 21 rbs; Taylor Eglet 6 rbs, 5 asts; Austin Ehlo 8 rbs, 5 asts; Ismael Uvay 10 rbs; Andre Griffin 6 asts, 6 rbs; Montao 9 rbs; Anthony Scales 6 rbs, 7 stls.

Richland 54, Gonzaga Prep 45

SPOKANE -- Brett Jacobs hit three first-half 3-pointers, and Richland was 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half in building a 33-27 lead it never relinquished in a first-round 4A regional victory.

"It was a great road win for our guys," said Richland coach Earl Streufert, whose team plays Eisenhower in a winner-to-state semifinal Friday at Toyota Center. "I'm proud of Brett. He'd been struggling a little bit lately, and to put them in was awesome."

Jacobs and Calvin Douglas scored 14 points apiece.

Douglas also grabbed 13 rebounds, and Clint Smith chipped in 13 points -- including a three-point play that put Richland up 42-36 after three quarters.

RICHLAND (54)

Radliff 6, Brett Jacobs 14, Rowe 4, McCargar, Dunford 3, Gr. Gallinger, Smith 13, Hilty, Ga. Gallinger, Vedder, Calvin Douglas 14. Totals 17-44 14-21 54.

GONZAGA PREP (45)

Fisher 5, David Stockton 13, Kelly, Sarbaugh 1, Hanson 5, Nicholas 12, Long 8, Hellenghal 1. Totals 17-49 8-14 45.

Richland 16 17 9 12 -- 54

Gonzaga Prep 15 12 9 9 -- 45

Highlights -- Douglas 13 rbs; Clinton Smith 8 rbs; Stockton 5 stls.

Walla Walla 55, Davis 44

WALLA WALLA -- Michael Weisner hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, and Walla Walla held Davis without a field goal in the period in building a 28-17 halftime lead en route to a first-round 4A regional win.

Gary Winston scored five of his team-high 17 points in the decisive period, in which Wa-Hi outscored Davis 13-2.

DAVIS (44)

Devonte Luckett 19, Henderson 11, Mendoza 2, Lopez 2, Marquis 3, Chapman, Trimble 7, Hata, Miner, Winckler. Totals 17-53 5-6 44.

WALLA WALLA (55)

Gary Winston 17, Heitzmann 4, Richards 3, Hessler 6, Weisner 15, Clothier, James, Arias 10. Totals 21-50 6-12 55.

Davis 15 2 16 11 -- 44

Walla Walla 15 13 15 12 -- 55

Highlights -- Dav 5x17 3pt, WW 7x15; Luckett 11 rbs; David Trimble 5 asts; Colton Arias 10 rbs; Winston 9 asts.

Eisenhower 71, Wenatchee 52

YAKIMA -- Taylor Elmo scored 20 points to lead four Eisenhower players in double figures, and the Cadets led 22-11 after one quarter in winning a battle of CBBN division champions in a first-round regional game.