RICHLAND -- Frank Teverbaugh still knows a quality basketball team when he sees one.
The legendary Richland boys coach saw two of them on Friday night at Art Dawald Gym in Richland.
First, he was reunited with the 1972 Bombers squad that won the Class AAA championship in Seattle. Then, he got to see the more contemporary version beat Chiawana 69-49 in a CBBN 4A matchup.
"They hustled real good, they defended pretty good and they shoot 3's really good," said Teverbaugh after watching the Bombers shoot 26-of-57 (46 percent) and hold the Riverhawks to 20-of-61 (33 percent).
Before the game, the entire Richland team jogged over to where the 40th anniversary team was sitting in the stands and shook Teverbaugh's hand in tribute to Richland's last state championship team.
"They deserve congratulations. Forty years ago they did something that we're trying to do now," said Bombers post Nathan Streufert, who recorded 11 points and 13 rebounds -- five of them on the offensive end. "It's a blessing to be able to walk in their shoes."
Richland got a balanced effort both inside and out, with senior Tyrell Turner sparking the offense from the guard position. He led Richland with 18 points and added nine rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
"Tyrell and Colter (Quick) really came to play tonight. They made us go," Bombers coach Earl Streufert said. "I thought Nathan rebounded really well. He had a lot of big defensive boards, and he scored a little bit too."
Quick finished with eight points, all in the second half, and led the team with three steals.
"He made a couple really nice bank shots that were very Colter-esque," Streufert said.
Quick's last bucket of the game, a running jump shot from 18 feet out, pushed the lead to 64-52 with 3:12 left in the game.
Richland trailed only once, on Miquiyah Zamora's step-through drive in the lane on Chiawana's first possession to make it 2-0. But the Riverhawks hit just two of their next 14 shots and trailed 15-7 after the first quarter.
Things didn't get much better from there.
"Richland shot the ball very well, and our defense was putrid. Our effort and energy were absolutely zero," Chiawana coach Chad Herron said. "We made them look great inside. Streufert manhandled us, and their guard play was outstanding."
Alex Babinchuk did his best to keep things close, hitting 8-of-11 shots for a team-high 17 points, but the senior post couldn't do it all himself. He corraled an offensive rebound and got the putback in the fourth quarter, then hit a layin and drew the plus-one 1:30 later. But that only cut Richland's lead to 61-38 with 5:18 left to play.
"I was very pleased with Alex's effort. He played with great energy the entire game," Herron said. "Games like this should wake you up. There's no rest for the weary. We've got Davis (today)."
Payton Radliff and Adam Baker combined for 26 points in the Bombers' backcourt, hitting five 3s between them. Baker also pulled down nine rebounds.
CHIAWANA -- Torres 3, Downing 14, Z.Mendoza 3, Zamora 6, Alex Babinchuk 17, B.Mendoza 3, Perez 3, Knight, Briones, Hergert. Totals 20-61 6-17 49.
RICHLAND -- Tyrell Turner 18, Baker 12, Radliff 14, Streufert 11, Quick 8, Fuller 1, Eiden, Malone, Wheeler 5, Hilty. Totals 26-57 11-18 69.
Chiawana 7 12 13 17 -- 49
Richland 15 13 23 18 -- 69
Highlights -- Rebounds: C 41 (Babinchuk 11), R 42 (Streufert 13); 3-pointers: C 3x14 (Torres, Mendoza, Perez), R 6x18 (Baker 3); Turnovers: C 15, R 13; Assists: C 10 (Downing 5), R 10 (Turner 5); Steals: C 5 (Zamora 2), R 9 (Quick 3).
