Tri-Cities high school basketball teams are off to blazing hot starts

The Chiawana, Kamiakin and Richland boys basketball teams, as well as the Pasco and Kennewick girls basketball teams, are off to 4-0 starts in this early part of winter sports.

The Mid-Columbia Conference season just got under way last weekend with conference games.

Early season notes

• The Chiawana boys (1-0 in MCC play, 4-0 overall) have five — count ‘em, five — players averaging in double-figure scoring through the first four contests.

Connor Mendez, Taylor Perez, Cooper DeWitt, Jayden Martinez and Landyn Cantu are all averaging at least 10 points a game on a squad that averages 86.3 points a game.

Mendez has a game-high of 30 points.

This doesn’t even factor in junior Kobe Young, who has been sidelined with a broken foot but should be ready to play in January. Young already has a basketball scholarship offer from Idaho State University.

• Kamiakin’s boys haven’t played an MCC game yet. But Brian Meneely’s team is off to a 4-0 non-league start.

The Braves have four players averaging in double-figure scoring, led by center Kyson Rose’s 20.5 points. The other three are Messiah Jones, Trey Arland and Steven Westermeyer.

Rose has already committed to playing for Central Washington University next year.

• Wasn’t sure what to expect of the Richland boys in the early going.

Last year’s Bombers team went to state and was 23-5. But that team was senior heavy, with only then-sophomore Ben Fewel seeing any playing time for underclassmen.

So Richland head coach Earl Streufert has gone the other way this season, with just one senior on the roster and the rest underclassmen.

The Bombers have won three close non-league games over Lewis & Clark, Central Valley and Coeur d’Alene, and they stopped Southridge 60-47 on Saturday night.

• Adam Berg left his head coaching job at Pasco High in the offseason and took the Walla Walla head boys basketball job.

He’s got the Blue Devils off to a quick 2-0 start, and he has four players — Jacob Corom, Michael Cornia, Diego Jaques and Dylan Ashbeck — averaging in double digits.

• Southridge senior Tristan Smith, averaging 18 points a game for the 1-4 Suns, has the season’s highest-scoring output so far with 34 points in a game.

• Kennewick senior Ayoni Benavidez scored a career-high 33 points in the Lions’ 72-59 MCC season-opening win over Hermiston on Saturday night. Benavidez is averaging 29.5 points a game through Kennewick’s first four contests.

• That young Pasco girls squad, coached by Aaron Barcot, is off to a 4-0 start with sophomore Aniyah Heavans leading the way at 21.5 points a game. Two other sophomores, Taija Mackey and Mya Groce, are next in scoring at 11.8 points and 9.8 points.

• Daron Santo has the Kennewick girls off to a 4-0 start. The Lions are led by senior MeiLani McBee, who has committed to playing next year with the University of Hawaii. McBee averages 12.5 points a game, but is followed closely by Aislin Fiander at 12.3 points.

Both Madeline Gebers and Avery Fiander average 9.5 points.

• Chiawana’s girls basketball team lost a tough road game at Moses Lake on Dec. 7 by a 54-50 score.

But new head coach Mike Brown’s Riverhawks bounced back Saturday by beating Hanford 63-32 in their MCC season opener. In that game, junior Talia von Oelhoffen — who transferred in from Tri-Cities Prep — scored a season best 41 points.

• Here are the best matchups of the week in MCC play: Tuesday, Pasco at Kennewick girls, 5:45 p.m.; Friday, Pasco at Chiawana girls, 5:45 p.m.; Friday, Richland at Kamiakin boys, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Chiawana at Richland boys, 7:30 p.m.

College football

So the college bowl season begins this coming weekend, and from what I can tell, the Mid-Columbia will have connections to four teams and three bowl games.

Starting with the Frisco Bowl between Kent State and Utah State, with a 4:30 p.m. Pacific kickoff (on ESPN2) on Friday, Dec. 21.

Playing for Utah State (7-5) is true freshman defensive end AJ Vongphachanh, a Chiawana High School graduate. Vongphachanh has played in seven games for the Aggies, and has collected 17 tackles.

Richland High grad Aric Davison, another freshman, is an offensive lineman who is redshirting.

The Hawaii Bowl, set for 5 p.m. Pacific on Dec. 24 on ESPN, features BYU against Hawaii.

Playing for BYU (7-5) is defensive back Sawyer Powell, a Richland High graduate.

Powell has played in 10 games for the Cougars, starting in two of them. He has 18 tackles and a pass breakup.

Finally, the Cheez-It Bowl features Air Force against Washington State.

The game is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. kickoff on Dec. 27, and will be televised on ESPN.

Playing for Air Force (10-2) is linebacker Lakota Wills, a Richland High graduate. Wills, a junior, has battled injuries this season. But he’s played in eight games for the Falcons and has 36 tackles (six for loss), and two quarterback sacks. He also has a fumble recovery.

On the 6-6 WSU roster is offensive lineman Patrick Utschinski, a freshman from Walla Walla who is redshirting.

NWAC hoops

The Walla Walla Community College women’s basketball team was the only area community college squad that played this past weekend.

The Warriors, now 10-1, won the Bellevue College tournament, going 3-0 with a 59-47 win over Bellevue, an 82-40 blowout of South Puget Sound, and a 66-55 victory in the championship Sunday over Mt. Hood.

Dakota Patchen was the team’s standout over the weekend, scoring 46 points over the three contests.

In the title game, Prosser High grad Marissa Cortes led WWCC with a team-high 18 points.

WHL STANDINGS

Through Monday, Dec. 16

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Everett, 23 wins-6 losses-2 OTL-0 SOL-48 points

2. Portland, 22-6-1-3-48

3. Kamloops, 21-9-2-1-45

4. Spokane, 18-9-3-1-40

5. Kelowna, 18-10-1-2-39

6. Victoria, 16-10-2-0-34

7. Vancouver, 14-14-1-1-30

8. Tri-City, 12-14-2-1-27

9. Seattle, 11-17-2-1-25

10. Prince George, 7-20-1-3-18

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Edmonton, 22-6-5-2-51

2. Medicine Hat, 22-10-1-0-45

3. Lethbridge, 20-10-0-5-45

4. Prince Albert, 20-9-3-1-44

5. Winnipeg, 19-12-1-0-39

6. Calgary, 16-10-3-1-36

7. Saskatoon, 15-15-1-2-33

8. Brandon, 14-15-1-2-31

9. Red Deer, 12-17-0-3-27

10. Moose Jaw, 10-17-2-0-22

11. Regina, 8-18-3-1-20

12. Swift Current, 6-22-1-2-15

Last three Tri-City games

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Vancouver 4, Americans 1

Friday, Dec. 13 – Seattle 5, Americans 1

Saturday, Dec. 14 – Portland 8, Americans 1

Next three Tri-City games

Tuesday, Dec. 17 – Seattle at Americans, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Americans at Everett, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 27 – Portland at Americans, 7:05 p.m.

This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 5:00 AM.