Kamiakin boys, Pasco girls rank among best in WA state basketball in early standings

Brian Meneely and Aaron Barcot each have something going as the high school basketball season nears the halfway point.

Meneely watched his Kamiakin boys basketball team pull away in the second half Tuesday night to win 70-49 at Richland in a showdown between two of the Mid-Columbia Conference’s top squads.

Meanwhile, Barcot’s Pasco girls basketball team ran away from Kennewick 66-47.

And while both the Kamiakin boys and Pasco girls are on top of their respective MCC standings — and right now, among the best in the entire state of Washington — there is still plenty of time left in the season.

As Meneely said, “It’s a six-week race to the playoffs. Other teams are going to get better.”

▪ In Kamiakin’s case, the Braves are now 6-0 in MCC play (9-1 overall), and they entered Tuesday’s contest coming off a near-scare 74-72 win over Chiawana last Saturday.

In that game, Kamiakin held what looked like an insurmountable halftime lead, only to see the Riverhawks rally by out scoring the Braves 54-34 in the second half.

On Tuesday, Kamiakin led Richland 26-20.

“It was kind of a rock fight in the first half,” admitted Meneely. “There was a lot of emotion out there. Nobody has played in front of that size of crowd in a long time.”

The key was Kamiakin outscoring Richland 44-29 in the second half, and the Braves had three players with double-doubles: Jacob Bilodeau had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Trey Arland added 17 points and 11 boards, and Oregon State-bound Tyler Bilodeau had 16 and 10.

It was the first time the Bilodeau brothers each had double-doubles in the game this season.

“Jacob is one of those kids who is kind of a grinder,” said Meneely. “He’s worked hours on his game. I’m really happy for him. You could see it coming in practice.”

The other problem for Richland — now 6-1 in MCC play (8-3 overall) — was its poor shooting percentage from the floor. The Bombers were just 6-for-35 for the night, or 17 percent.

“We played them tough, but we could not make a shot,” said Richland coach Earl Streufert. “(Sophomore Josh) Woodard was the only consistent scorer.”

Woodard finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds.

“I told them after the game that games like this expose your weaknesses,” added Streufert. “We have to find ways to run a better offense and score the basketball. Effort was not an issue, but execution against an experienced and talented team is key and we did not have that tonight.”

▪ Meanwhile, Chiawana raised its record to 4-2 in MCC play (7-3 overall) on Tuesday, beating Hermiston 104-60.

Riverhawks coach Chad Herron only used seven players — one player has covid, another has the flu, a third has strep throat, and a fourth is injured.

But those seven who played all scored in double figures, led by Connor Mendez’s 22 points and Cash Callaway’s 20. Chiawana also outrebounded Hermiston 43-18.

▪ Meneely also cautioned about Kennewick, which is 4-2 in the MCC, and 5-4 overall.

”I think Kennewick is gonna be a pain in the rear this season,” said Meneely.

Lions coach Bradyn Leyde is just starting to get his group of state final football players into basketball shape.

▪ Barcot’s Pasco girls are 5-0 in MCC play, and 8-0 overall.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in the WIAA’s RPI index for Class 4A, are beating teams by an average of 21 points a game.

Pasco has four players — four! — averaging in double-digit scoring. The first three are seniors Mya Groce (19.1 points), Taija Mackey (14.5) and Taleya Maiden (12.5).

Junior Leanna Lepe is averaging 10.0 points.

Mackey is especially fun to watch, as she has consistently been a double-double machine with rebounds. I have witnessed over the years her grabbing 20 rebounds in games.

And in all honesty, I haven’t seen a Pasco girls team this strong since the late 1980s John Shimek teams, with Debbie Sporcich, Kelly Fifer, and the Tebay sisters, Chanda and Kara.

That being said, Mike Brown’s Chiawana Riverhawks (5-1 MCC, 8-2 overall), Amy Westerfield’s Richland Bombers (5-2, 8-2), and first-year coach Jay Ego’s surprising Hermiston Bulldogs (4-2, 8-3) might have a say in the final standings.

▪ In fact, the big game this week is Friday, when Pasco visits Chiawana at 5:45 p.m.

It will be the first of two regular-season matchups between the two schools.

The Bulldogs will also play host to Hermiston at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Big weekend for Pasco.

Standings

▪ MCC boys basketball through Jan. 11:

Kamiakin 6-0 MCC, 9-1 overall

Richland 6-1, 8-3

Chiawana 4-2, 7-3

Kennewick 4-2, 5-4

Hanford 2-3, 3-6

Southridge 2-4, 3-6

Walla Walla 1-4, 2-6

Hermiston 1-5, 1-11

Pasco 0-5, 0-9

Tuesday, Jan. 11: Chiawana 104, Hermiston 60; Hanford 69, Southridge 55; Kamiakin 70, Richland 49; Kennewick 67, Pasco 45.

Wednesday, Jan. 12: Kennewick at Shadle Park, 6 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 14 (all games at 7:30 p.m.): Kennewick at Hanford; Pasco at Chiawana; Southridge at Kamiakin; Walla Walla at Hermiston.

Saturday, Jan. 15: Hanford at Walla Walla, 5 p.m.; Hermiston at Pasco, 5 p.m.

▪ MCC girls standings through Jan. 11:

Pasco 5-0 MCC, 8-0 overall

Chiawana 5-1, 8-2

Richland 5-2, 8-2

Hermiston 4-2, 8-3

Kennewick 3-3, 5-4

Kamiakin 2-4, 6-4

Hanford 1-4, 5-4

Southridge 1-5, 4-5

Walla Walla 0-5, 1-8

Tuesday, Jan. 11: Chiawana 82, Hermiston 47; Hanford 55, Southridge 38, Pasco 66, Kennewick 47; Richland 74, Kamiakin 48; Walla Walla 52, Pendleton 48.

Friday, Jan. 14 (all games at 5:45 p.m.): Kennewick at Hanford; Pasco at Chiawana; Southridge at Kamiakin; Walla Walla at Hermiston.

Saturday, Jan. 15: Hanford at Walla Walla, 3 p.m.; Hermiston at Pasco, 3:15 p.m.