Mid-Columbia Roundup Jan. 7: Northrop, Sorn help Richland boys down Walla Walla

Cole Northrop led all scorers with 23 points, Riley Sorn had 19 points and 12 rebounds and the Richland High School boys basketball team continued its warpath through the Mid-Columbia Conference, leading wire-to-wire in a 72-48 win Tuesday at Walla Walla.

Richland coach Earl Streufert was impressed with the effort he got from his team on its lengthiest road trip in the MCC schedule, as the Bombers (7-3, 5-0) shot just under 52 percent from the field while holding the Blue Devils (3-6, 2-2) under 30 percent.

“(Walla Walla) always plays good at home,” Streufert said. “We probably played one of our best games from start to finish.”

The 7-foot-3 Sorn also had four blocks, and has shown major improvement through the early part of the season.

“He has been playing better every week,” Streufert said. “He’s playing to his strengths a little bit more and he’s becoming a better passer.”

The Bombers dished 16 assists — seven by Garrett Streufert — compared to the Blue Devils’ four, but Walla Walla won the turnover battle 11-7.

Mitch Lesmeister and Dexter Aichele led Walla Walla with 11 points each.

PASCO 68, KENNEWICK 61 (OT): Tied at 50 after regulation, the Bulldogs went on an 18-11 run in overtime for an MCC road victory over the Lions.

Diego Gutierrez had 18 points for Pasco (3-8, 3-2 MCC), which has won three in a row.

Estavan Cardoza added 17 points for the Bulldogs, who also got 12 points and five rebounds from Martin Arceo.

Kennewick (3-7, 0-4) which led 27-26 at the half, got 14 points from Isaiah Thornton, and eight points and six rebounds from Jenner Norwood.

CHIAWANA 52, SOUTHRIDGE 46: Matthew Kroner led all scorers with 14 points as the Riverhawks (4-8, 2-3) defeated the Suns in MCC action at Southridge.

Chiawana shot 20 of 34 from the free-throw line, while Southridge was 12 of 16.

Tristan Smith finished with 13 points for the Suns (0-10, 0-5). Southridge outscored Chiawana 27-23 in the second half.

KAMIAKIN 76, HANFORD 55: Isaiah Brimmer had 16 points and seven rebounds to help the Braves to a home win over the Falcons in Mid-Columbia Conference play.

Garrett Paxton added 14 points, four assists and three steals for the Braves (9-2, 4-1 MCC), who led 44-17 at the half.

Hanford went on a 38-32 run the the second half, but could not over the large deficit from the first half.

Ben Seaman led the Falcons with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds.

PROSSER 67, EAST VALLEY 54: As a team, the Mustangs didn’t have a particularly dynamic night on the road against the Red Devils, but Scott Blakney’s 32 points and 10 rebounds were more than enough to propell them to a CWAC victory.

Prosser (8-3, 6-3) got out to a good start with a 22-13 lead after the first quarter, and it relied on the 6-9 Blakney’s size and skill inside to salt the game away from there.

“He stepped up for us,” said Prosser coach Ryan Allen of Blakney, who also had four blocks. “We weren’t shooting very well, and he did a good job of controlling the paint for us.”

Noah Flores was the Mustangs’ second-leading scorer with 12 points.

RIVER VIEW 67, WARDEN 48: Baley Westberg, Abel Khatthavong and Kody Hamlin combined for 43 points, and the Panthers took control of the SCAC East with the home victory.

River View (7-2, 3-1) travels to play Columbia-Burbank (2-3 in league) on Tuesday in a matchup that could further shake up the tight conference race.

JR Delgado scored 15 points for Warden (8-3, 4-1), and Adam Richins 10. The Cougars still lead the SCAC East by a half game, but will likely have to beat River View on Jan. 28 when the teams meet in Warden.

COLUMBIA-BURBANK 46, KIONA-BENTON 40: Jermaine Broetje scored 24 points to help the Coyotes overcome a slow shooting night from the field.

Saul Quinones scored 15 points for the Bears (4-6, 2-3), who struggled in the paint and at the free throw line, knocking down just 4 of their 18 foul shots.

Burbank (5-5, 2-2) only shot 12 of 23 from the free throw line, but padded its lead late with some clutch foul shooting.

ELLENSBURG 71, OTHELLO 53: Kyler Villarreal scored 17 points for the Huskies (1-11, 1-9 CWAC) in a home loss to the Bulldogs (7-5, 5-5).

CONNELL 71, ROYAL 63: Austin Smith scored 22 points to lead the Eagles to an SCAC East road victory over the Knights.

Connell has won five in a row after starting the season 1-4. The Eagles are 3-2 in SCAC East play.

Royal’s Owen Ellis led all scorers with 24 points.

MABTON 49, TRI-CITIES PREP 41: The Vikings posted an EWAC road win over the Jaguars, who got 14 points from Max Nelson and eight rebounds from Isaiah Perez.

GIRLS

RICHLAND 60, WALLA WALLA 51: Kamri Von Oelhoffen scored 13 points, and the Bombers went on the road to win a key game between MCC Class 4A foes.

Richland (5-6, 4-1) led 25-19 at halftime and kept its distance from Walla Walla in a back-and-forth second half.

“Coming up here, it’s always nice to leave this place with a win,” Richland coach Cindy McCoy said. “(Walla Walla) Coach (Conor) Fish does a great job with his program, and they play very disciplined.”

Taryn Webb (11 points), Hailey Stevens (10) and Maysun Wellsandt (10) scored in double digits as well for the Bombers.

Faith Hoe scored 15 points to lead the Blue Devils (2-7, 1-3), and Lauren Hoe had 12.

KAMIAKIN 79, HANFORD 41: Oumou Toure scored 27 points, and the host Braves raced past the Falcons (2-9, 0-5) in MCC play.

Continuing her emergance into the spotlight for Kamiakin (10-1, 6-0), Symone Brown was the was the second-leading scorer with 11 points. The sophomore forward had 21 points and seven rebounds Friday in the Braves’ 75-52 win at Chiawana.

Mackenzie Beaver scored a dozen and was Hanford’s only player in double digits.

CHIAWANA 49, SOUTHRIDGE 37: In a game where both teams shot a lowly 31 percent from the field, the Riverhawks’ ability to get to the free throw line and knock down their chances from the charity stripe earned them a road MCC victory.

Chiawana (7-4, 4-1) made 15 of 20 (75 percent) free throw attempts compared to Southridge’s 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) effort.

Kenedy Cartwright led the way for the Riverhawks with 11 points. Clare Eubanks and Kenzie Cordray each had nine.

Sami Sanders scored a game high 15 points for Southridge (4-6, 1-4).

KENNEWICK 56, PASCO 48: Meilani McBee had 14 points, and the Lions ended a three-game skid with a home win over the Bulldogs in MCC action.

Kennewick (4-5, 2-2 MCC) used a 29-21 first half run to take control off the game, and were able to stay one step ahead of Pasco (4-7, 2-3 MCC).

Bella Gutierrez had 13 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Julissa Perez and Lexi Montelongo each had 10.

RIVER VIEW 60, WARDEN 39: Aaliyah Anderson scored 25 points — 15 of which came in the 19-0 third quarter — and the host Panthers kept their undefeated SCAC East record in tact.

River View (9-1, 6-0) was tied with Warden at halftime before shutting the Cougars out in the third period.

Bailey Whitney led Warden (3-8, 1-4) with 14 points.

River View will go on the road Tuesday to play Columbia-Burbank, which sports a 10-0 record this season after beating Kiona-Benton Saturday.

COLUMBIA-BURBANK 59, KIONA-BENTON 32: Jadyn Johnson scored 13 points, and Ali Martineau and Monica Mares each had 11 to lead the Coyotes (10-0, 4-0 SCAC East) to a road win over the Bears.

Maloree Calzadillas had a game-high 15 points for Ki-Be (5-6, 3-2), which trailed 31-13 at halftime.

MABTON 61, TRI-CITIES PREP 49: Emma Slahtasky and Alyssa Monteon combined for 30 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Jaguars dropped an EWAC road game to the Vikings.

Mabton rolled to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and kept its lead throughout.

Emily Dickson added 11 points and 15 rebounds for TCP (1-3 EWAC), while Monteon had five steals.

Britnee Guerrero led the Vikings (8-3 overall) with 16 points.

Boys swimming

KENTRIDGE INVITATIONAL: Hanford finished sixth and Richland 12th in the team standings at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Richland senior Cole Westendorf won the 500-yard freestyle in a Class 4A state-qualifying time of 4 minutes, 40.92 seconds and took second in the 200 free, earning a state cut of 1:45.52.

Richland also qualified a relay for state, placing ninth in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:23.49. Westendorf swam the leadoff leg and was followed by Addison Pollick, Kyle Prigge and Jeff Kern.

Hanford was bolstered by two state-qualifying relays. The Falcons were fourth in the 400 free (3:20.88) and sixth in the 200 medley (1:42.96).

Hanford’s Skyler Younkin qualified for the 4A state meet with his seventh-place time of 1:48.95 in the 200 free. He was second in the 100 butterfly (51.45).

Another Falcons sophomore, John Markillie, was third in the 500 free with a state-qualifying time of 4:49.62. He earned another third-place finish in the 200 individual medley (2:02.13).

Wrestling

The GUTCHECK: Kamiakin’s Austin Almaguer (120 pounds) and Jacob Olson (170) both placed third at The GutCheck at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion in Bremerton.

Olson pinned Keegan Dorsey of Bonney Lake in the third-place match, while Almaguer posted a 9-6 decision over Jack Latimer of Camas.

The Braves finished sixth in the team standings with 120.5 points, while Southridge was 24th with 62 points. Toppenish won the team title with 173 points, just edging Curtis (168.5).

Joey Chavez placed fifth at 132 pounds for Kamiakin, while Cyle DeLeon was eighth at 152.

Southridge’s Zayid Al-Ghani finished sixth at 170, having to injury default (shoulder) to Tristen Cook of Homer in the fifth-sixth place match.

Al-Ghani posted a 5-2 decision over Cook in the quarterfinals, but a 15-5 loss to Alex Stuart of Curtis in the semifinals, matched him up with Cook in the consolation bracket.

This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia Roundup Jan. 7: Northrop, Sorn help Richland boys down Walla Walla."