The Hanford boys basketball team was expected to challenge for a Mid-Columbia Conference championship this year, but a cold start left MCC fans wondering about their chances of a favorable playoff seeding.

But after the Falcons’ 64-53 home win over Walla Walla completed a weekend sweep, Hanford might be the last team anybody wants to face.

“Our seniors had a players-only meeting, and they decided to get more serious about doing what it takes,” Falcons coach Paul Mayer said. “We got some good lifts from guys like Jalen DeVine and Matt Jones this weekend.”

Hanford senior Joe Douglas led all scorers with 23 points, but the Blue Devils threatened to dampen the Falcons’ mood after a big win in Richland on Friday.

“(Walla Walla) shot the ball really well in the first half. They hit their first four 3-pointers,” Mayer said. “They took a 10-point lead in the third quarter before we got going. We talked to the guys about moving better and working harder on offense.”

After trailing 32-26 at the half, the Falcons outscored Walla Walla 38-21 in the second half to win going away.

Tanner Cranor led the Blue Devils with 16 points. Gabe Porter added 15.

WALLA WALLA — Tanner Cranor 16, Toon 5, Klicker 5, Gabe Porter 15, Thonney, Eggart, Hagen 6, Arias 4, Gilmore 2, Warriner.

HANFORD — Joe Douglas 23, Dobken 4, J.Watson 14, DeVine 7, Hannew, Heid, Sutey 7, Jones 9, K.Watson.

Walla Walla 22 10 16 5 — 53

Hanford 19 7 26 12 — 64

Richland 83, Kennewick 54: Nathan Streufert scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Bombers bounced back from a loss Friday to knock off the host Lions in MCC action.

Devven Ramos’ 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals led Kennewick.

RICHLAND — DeVries 15, Baird, McCullough 2, Beo 10, Radlif 17, Broeske 2, Hilte 16, Streufert 21.

KENNEWICK — J. Wuol 6, Rutledge, Mueller 15, Fernandez, Westover 7, Bogou 4, DeWitt, Mulna, Conde 6, Plew, Ramos 16, Y. Wuol.

Richland 21 9 26 27 — 83

Kennewick 9 4 21 20 — 54

Highlights — Streufert 10 rebounds. Devven Ramos 10 rebounds, 4 steals; Mueller 6 rebounds.

Kamiakin 49, Pasco 47: The Braves overcame the crushing news of losing starting guard Javan Williams to a broken foot by hanging on for a key MCC home win over the Bulldogs.

Williams injured the foot 1 1/2 minutes into last night’s win over Southridge and will be lost for the rest of the season.

“I feel so bad for the kid. He’s just snakebitten,” Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said of Williams, whose football season also ended prematurely because of an injury. “He’s a big piece. You don’t just replace 9 1/2 rebounds a game and the defensive player of the league.”

But Cooper Clyde stepped up with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists against zero turnovers to provide some stability in Kamiakin’s backcourt.

“I’m proud of the kids for being able to deal with adversity,” Meneely said.

Miguel Torres scored 11 points to lead Pasco, which had a chance to win the game on a last-second 3-pointer from De’Drain Miller. But Miller’s shot bounced out.

PASCO — Brown 8, Arroyo 5, Figueroa 8, Cardoza 6, Ballardo 6, Miller 1, Miguel Torres 11, Murillo, Cobain 2, Young, Cruz. Totals 17-52 12-15 47.

KAMIAKIN — Robertson 9, Clyde 17, Joseph, Holle 3, Petsch 3, Bayles 4, Fowler, Gurney 13. Totals 19-46 5-7 49.

Pasco 7 12 11 17 — 47

Kamiakin 16 11 11 11 — 49

Highlights — Cooper Clude 6 rebs, 5 assists, 0 turnovers; Gurney 7 rebs; Robertson 8 rebs.

Southridge 60, Chiawana 48: Austin Molt had a career-high 28 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter, to lift the Suns to an important MCC victory over the visiting Riverhawks.

“We were on a little bit of a skid, and we need to get working toward the playoffs so it was good to get a win like this,” Southridge coach D.J. Traver said. “The boys needed this to get going into districts.”

Wesley Henderson led Chiawana with 12 points.

CHIAWANA — Ferris 1, Cazier 2, Avery 4, Wren 4, Rausch 6, Ellsworth 4, Briones 8, Koval 8, Henderson 12, Penny. Totals 18-44 10-18 48.

SOUTHRIDGE — Molt 28, Mandell 3, Vorheis 8, Farrell, Getchell 6, Trott, Lopia 4, Haberling 11, Hunt, Cross, Schafer. Totals 21-44 11-18 60.

Chiawana 8 16 12 12 — 48

Southridge 19 7 21 13 — 60

Highlights — Spencer Vorheis 13 rebounds.

Columbia (Burbank) 38, Connell 35: Chris Ryckman scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half to rally Columbia-Burbank to a 38-35 SCAC East win over Connel on Saturday in Burbank. The Eagles led 15-5 after the first quarter and 21-16 at the half, but it was all Coyotes from there.

“Our defense was really solid the last three quarters,” Burbank coach Todd Schumacher said. “We took the lead in the third and didn’t give it up, but it was never comfortable.”

Brendon Holst, who led the Eagles with 14 points, watched his last-second shot to tie the game miss at the buzzer.

CONNELL — Brendon Holst 14, Davidson 4, Erickson 2, Borgens, Li 1, Chase 2, Taylor 7, Syrie 1, Hopkins 4.

COLUMBIA-BURBANK — Chris Ryckman 22, McBride 3, Wattenburger 2, Koopman, Majia, Scott, Boulds, P.Romm 4, Barajas 4, Schrimsher, Miller, J.Romm 4.

Connell 15 6 5 9 — 35

Columbia (Burbank) 5 11 11 11 — 38

River View 38, Warden 36: Dakota Rogers was 8-of-9 from the line and scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Panthers to the SCAC East road victory.

Rogers is the seventh different River View player to lead the team in scoring this season.

RIVER VIEW — Brown, Bartlett 8, Moore 3, Williamson 3, Marshall, Hand 4, Cooper, Rogers 15, Anderson 5.

WARDEN — L. Reyes 5, Cole 10, Morales 6, Marks 11, J. Reyes 2.

River View 5 14 11 8 — 38

Warden 12 7 8 9 — 36

Ephrata 58, Prosser 56: The Mustangs nearly completed a mighty comeback, coming within two points of erasing a 19-point, fourth-quarter deficit before falling to the visiting Tigers.

Mason Schutt sparked the comeback, scoring 13 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers.

EPHRATA — Clement 3, Clark 7, Johnson 2, Lange 2, Jake Laird 12, Neilson 14, Dylan Benthem 18.

PROSSER — Durbin 3, Raap 6, Mason Schutt 21, Killian 10, Frank 6, Flores 6, Hamilton 2, Blair 2, Aaberg.

Ephrata 15 13 19 11 — 58

Prosser 10 8 10 26 — 56

Tri-Cities Prep 60, Waitsburg-Prescott 50: Josh Guajardo filled up the stat sheet with nine points, eight assists, seven steals and a pair of blocked shots, lifting the Jaguars to a Southeast 1B home win over the Cardinals.

“They started making a run in the third quarter, but we came back,” Tri-Cities Prep coach Joe Perez said. “We needed a weekend like this.”

The Jaguars completed a weekend sweep after a 49-38 win over Dayton on Friday night. Guajardo led the team in scoring against the Bulldogs with 13 points.

Against W-P, it was Anthony Perez who paced the team with 13 points. Owen Lanning led the Cardinals with 15 points.

WAITSBURG-PRESCOTT — Eastman 8, Estes 6, Gibbons, Deal 4, Acevedo 7, Dozer, Owen Lanning 15, Alexenko 2, LeRoue 6, Dozer 2, Bartlow.

TRI-CITIES PREP — Anthony Perez 13, Hingson 4, Larson 2, Loftus, Montelongo, Guajardo 9, Bailey Rivas 12, Brady Versteeg 12, Westerfield 6, Ledesma 2.

Waitsburg-Prescott 11 13 18 8 — 50

Tri-Cities Prep 19 15 16 10 — 60

Highlights — Brady Versteeg 9 rebs, 4 blocks; Josh Guajardo 8 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks.

Colton 70, Liberty Christian 52: Jake Straughan’s 30 points led the visiting Wildcats past the Patriots in Southeast 1B action.

Mike Olson scored 13 for Liberty Christian, while Jared Hoey pulled down seven rebounds and Isaiah Ojeda dished out four assists.

COLTON — Robertson, Jake Straughan 30, Dovorak 6, Damon 2, Druffer 3, Patchen 23, Weber, Meyer 4.

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN — Ojeda 6, Whittler 3, Peterson 10, Mike Olson 13, Godwin, Hoey 4, Koglin 6, Conoway, Steele 10.

Colton 20 12 22 16 — 70

Liberty Christian 16 11 10 15 — 52

Highlights — Jared Hoey 7 rebounds, Isaiah Ojeda 4 assists, Brandon Peterson 3 assists.

Sunnyside Christian 61, Bickleton 35: Alex Brewer had 20 points to lead Sunnyside Christian to a Columbia Gorge League road victory over Bickleton.

Nathan Powers led Bickleton with 13 points, while Taylor Brown had seven rebounds.

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN — Alex Brewer 20, Martin 2, Holf 5, Brent Bosma 17, Broesma 10, Cervantes 3, Scheenstra 4.

BICKELTON — Nathan Powers 13, Lowe 2, T.Roberts 6, Clinton 4, J.Roberts 5, M.Powers 4, Brown 1.

Sunnyside Christian 12 18 17 14 — 61

Bickleton 8 6 8 13 — 35

Highlights — Taylor Brown 7 rebs.