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YAKIMA -- At one point in the third quarter, Tri-Cities Prep senior Jon Campbell sneaked a peek at the scoreboard during Thursday's 1B state quarterfinal contest.
The Jaguars led by 20 at that point and were well on their way to a 57-39 victory over Wellpinit to put them in the semifinals for the first time in school history.
"I was nervous coming into the game, so seeing that score really relaxed me," Campbell said. "We still had to go hard, but this was a lot better than yesterday."
The Jaguars (19-6), who had to rally from a double-digit deficit in Wednesday's first-round win over Clallam Bay, won their fifth straight playoff game.
They will face second-ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline (21-4) at 6 p.m. today, assured of taking home hardware for the second time in as many state trips.
"We can't settle with just taking home hardware," said senior Sergio Lopez, one of four Jaguars in double figures with 13 points. "We're not done yet."
Prep is one of three area teams playing in this evening's semifinals -- a group that does not include the two-time defending champion Sunnyside Christian boys, who were beaten at the buzzer by Cusick 51-49.
The SSC girls and the Moses Lake Christian boys moved on to the semifnals.
The Jaguars are making their state run without senior Ryan Mercado, their leading scorer during the season (10.2 ppg) who is academically ineligible. Campbell replaced him in the starting lineup, and the adjustment affected Prep in the first half of Wednesday's game.
But if Campbell continues to play as he did Thursday -- a pest at the top of the 1-2-2 zone, he had seven steals and also dished out four assists -- Mercado might have a tough time getting his starting job back if he is reinstated today by school officials.
"We know with Jon out there, he's not going to give us the scoring Ryan gave us," said Prep coach Joe Perez. "But Jon looks for his defense. We'll get turnovers."
Wellpinit, ranked No. 3 in the state, had 20 in Thursday's game that Prep converted into 22 points.
"Our defense set up our offense," said Campbell, who was one off the single-game tournament record for steals. "We're always watching WSU games, and we want to be just like them."
The Jaguars used a pair of big runs to take control. The first, an 18-5 run that stretched over 6 minutes of the first half, gave them a 26-10 lead with 5:27 to play before halftime.
The second came in the third quarter -- a 13-0 run capped by a layin by Andrew LeBrun that gave Prep a 43-16 lead and allowed Campbell and company to relax.
The Jaguars held Wellpinit senior Cody Flett to 13 points, 10 below his season average, and the Redskins shot just 38 percent (16-of-42).
"We just had to go out and play hard-nosed defense, because we knew our offense would take care of itself," said Lopez, who also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. "We wanted to disrupt their offense and get out on the 3, and the
1-2-2 allowed us to do that."
Will Hoppes led Prep with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. LeBrun added 12 points and Antonio Ledesma 10.
Tri-Cities Prep 57, Wellpinit 39
WELLPINIT (39)
B. Flett 5, Auld 2, D. Ford 6, Cody Flett 13, Seyler 10, Wynne 3, Wynecoop, C. Ford. Totals 16-42 1-4 39.
TRI-CITIES PREP (57)
Will Hoppes 16, Campbell 4, Ledesma 10, LeBrun 12, Lopez 13, Gerlitz, Foust 2, Magaa, Loftus, VerSteeg, Pederson. Totals 23-54 9-13 57.
Wellpinit 7 7 8 17 -- 39
Tri-Cities Prep 19 11 19 8 -- 57
Highlights -- Wel 6x20 3pt, TCP 2x5; Wel 28 rbs, TCP 32; Wel 20 TOs, TCP 9; C.Flett 7 rbs, 4 stls; Sergio Lopez 9 rbs, 4 asts; Jon Campbell 7 stls, 4 asts; Andrew LeBrun 6 rbs, 3 asts.
