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PASCO -- Richland coach Earl Streufert could only be an interested bystander at the end of Saturday's CBBN 4A first-round district boys game at Pasco.
Out of timeouts and his team down by one in the dying seconds of overtime, he watched and trusted that what he'd drilled over the past four months would pay off.
"I had no control over it," Streufert said. "I could only watch and enjoy."
And what Streufert saw, he could definitely enjoy.
Sophomore Calvin Douglas rattled in a 6-foot fadeaway from the right block with 4.2 seconds left, and Pasco (13-8) was unable to get a final shot off as the Bombers (13-7) pulled out an 81-80 victory to clinch an Eastern Regional berth.
Richland heads to third-ranked Eisenhower on Tuesday night for a semifinal game.
"He'd had some good looks earlier that didn't go in," Streufert said of Douglas, who scored just eight points. "But down the stretch, he made a couple of good defensive plays, got a couple of big rebounds. Our whole team just bowed their necks and made a couple of plays when we needed to."
Douglas' basket capped a final minute of uninterrupted "Can you top this?" big plays.
It started with Brett Jacobs' driving bucket with 57 seconds left for Richland, tying the game at 76.
Anthony Scales then went coast-to-coast to put Pasco back on top with a layup with 47 ticks left.
Jacobs followed with a deep 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give Richland a 79-78 lead with 33 seconds left.
Then Gabe Villafan, who hadn't taken a shot all game, nailed an 18-footer from the free-throw circle with 16 seconds left to give the Bulldogs the lead again.
Finally, the Bombers broke the press and got the ball to Clint Smith on the right wing. He bounced it inside to Douglas, who at 6-foot-6 towered over his defender and got a clean look at the basket.
After a timeout, Pasco had one last chance, but Robert Montao fumbled a desperation pass from Scales and lost the ball in traffic as time expired.
"It was just back and forth all game, but we kept our cool at the end," said Jacobs, who scored a game-high 26 points. "Emotionally, this was an awesome game. We played our hearts out, and if we'd had to play (a loser-out game) Tuesday, we'd have been a little down."
Instead, it's the Bulldogs who face that potential season-ending game Tuesday on their home court, where they'll play Moses Lake in a winner-to-regionals game.
"We have to take care of business Tuesday night," said Pasco coach Chad Herron. "In the playoffs, you can't afford to have an emotional hangove. We have a group of kids who are very tough. They know a regional berth is at stake, and I think they'll rebound well."
The game was tight throughout. Richland briefly held an eight-point lead in the second quarter, but Pasco quickly erased it with a 10-2 run to forge a 28-28 tie with 4:21 left before halftime.
Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way until Jeramie Streicher buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:50 left in regulation, giving Pasco a 71-66 lead.
Smith hit two free throws to get Richland within three. Jacobs converted a three-point play with 1:08 left to tie the game at 71, and neither team scored on its final two possessions to set up overtime.
Scales led Pasco with 25 points, while Montao added 23 and Streicher 13.
Smith finished with 18 points for Richland, with Jamison Rowe adding 14 points and seven assists and Ben Vedder chipping in 11 points off the bench.
RICHLAND (81)
Brett Jacobs 26, Rowe 14, Smith 18, Dunford, Douglas 8, Radliff 4, Hilty, Vedder 11. Totals 32-67 12-21 81.
PASCO (80)
Anthony Scales 25, Uvay 7, Griffin 8, Montao 23, Streicher 13, Negron 2, Villafan 2. Totals 31-54 10-15 80.
Richland 22 16 15 18 10 -- 81
Pasco 18 19 18 16 9 -- 80
Highlights -- Rich 5x15 3pt, Pas 8x20; Rich 32 rbs, Pas 30; Rich 8 TOs, Pas 11; Michael Dunford 7 rbs; Calvin Douglas 7 rbs; Jamison Rowe 7 asts; Ismael Uvay 8 rbs; Robert Montao 5 rbs, 6 asts, 4 stls.
* Rene Ferran: 509-582-1526; rferran@tricityherald.com. Read his prep sports blog at tri-cityherald.com/sports/blogs/reneblog/
