Tri-Cities basketball teams already dominating regional playoff tournaments
The Mid-Columbia Conference swept the Greater Spokane in the first day of District 8 Class 3A basketball tournament play on Tuesday.
That guarantees the MCC of at least one state regional playoff berth in each the boys and girls tournament.
Here’s a look at the boys games:
Game 1: Southridge 69, North Central 51 (loser out): Donavyn Perry scored a game-high 26 points, while Tristan Smith added 19, as the visiting Suns (8-13) ousted the Indians (3-18).
Southridge visits Kamiakin on Friday.
Game 2: Kennewick 72, Rogers 52 (loser out): Ayoni Benavidez scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished off five assists to lead the host Lions (14-6) over the Pirates (5-16) in an elimination game.
Blaine Chavez added 17 points for Kennewick, which travels to Mt. Spokane on Friday.
Tournament schedule
Friday, Feb. 14
Game 3 – Southridge at Kamiakin, 7 p.m.
Game 4 – Kennewick at Mt. Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb 21
Toyota Center, Kennewick
Game 5 – Winner 3 vs. winner 4 (winner No. 1 to state regionals), 2:15 p.m.
Game 6 – Loser 3 vs. loser 4 (loser out), 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22
Toyota Center, Kennewick
Game 7 – Loser 5 vs. winner 6 (winner No. 2 to state regionals, loser out), 1:45 p.m.
3A girls games
Game 1: Kamiakin 50, North Central 39 (loser out): Regan Clark had 23 points and Nikole Thomas added 12, as visiting Kamiakin (5-16) eliminated the Indians (7-14).
The Braves will visit Kennewick on Friday.
Game 2: Hermiston 73, Shadle Park 35 (loser out): The host Bulldogs (14-7) had three players in double-figure scoring – Jazlyn Romero with 16 points, Mia Hernandez with 14, and Jayden Ray with 13 – as they ousted the Highlanders (6-15).
Hermiston must travel to Mt. Spokane on Friday.
Tournament schedule
Friday, Feb. 14
Game 3 – Kamiakin at Kennewick, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Hermiston at Mt. Spokane, 5 p.m.
Friday, Feb 21
Toyota Center, Kennewick
Game 5 – Winner 3 vs. winner 4 (winner No. 1 to state regionals), 12:30 p.m.
Game 6 – Loser 3 vs. loser 4 (loser out), 9 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22
Toyota Center, Kennewick
Game 7 – Loser 5 vs. winner 6 (winner No. 2 to state regionals, loser out), 12 p.m.
2A CWAC basketball
In the girls district tournament Tuesday, Selah beat Wapato 54-46, and Grandview topped Ephrata 48-36 — both loser-out contests.
That sets up the following Thursday district games: Selah at Prosser, 7 p.m.; and Grandview at Toppenish, 7 p.m..
• Prosser had one player on the first team for both boys and girls basketball as the All-CWAC teams were announced this week.
Junior Haden Hicks was named to the boys first team, and sophomore Halle Wright was a first-team selection for girls.
Among those named to the boys second team were Grandview junior Nicholas Gutierrez and senior teammate Nate Garza, as well as Prosser senior Calvin Maljaars.
Prosser senior Saul Quinones and Othello sophomore Jorge Buenrostro were boys honorable mention selections.
On the girls’ side, the following area athletes were named to the CWAC girls second team: Grandview senior Bailey Duis, Grandview freshman Jazmine Richey, Othello freshman Annalee Coronado, and Prosser senior Gabby Olivarez.
Prosser sophomore Leila Taylor was honorable mention.
Selah garnered both MVP awards. Junior Noah Pepper was named boys MVP, while freshman Kylie Sherman earned the girls MVP honors.
Toppenish’s coaches, Jo Jo Mesplie (boys) and Brad Baker (girls), were named CWAC coaches of the year.
1A SCAC
The favorites all won their first-round SCAC boys basketball tournament games on Tuesday.
La Salle beat Kiona-Benton 82-42, River View trounced Cle Elum 74-47, Royal squeaked by Naches Valley 45-41, and Zillah ran past Wahluke 84-43.
It means that La Salle will visit River View at 7 p.m. Friday in a winners bracket semifinal, with the winner earning a 1A state regional berth.
In the other semifinal, Royal will visit Zillah at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, as part of a doubleheader. The Royal girls will take on Zillah at 6 p.m., in a first-round girls district game.
In Friday’s scheduled boys’ loser-out contests, Ki-Be will host Cle Elum, while Wahluke visits Naches Valley. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
• Besides the Royal-Zillah matchup, the other three girls district contests on Thursday are as follows: Cle Elum at Warden, 7 p.m.; Naches Valley at Connell, 6 p.m.; and River View at La Salle, 7 p.m.
Notes
• Columbia Basin College’s athletic department raised $56,000 for athletic scholarships and facilities development at its 14th annual CBC Hall of Fame Banquet on Jan. 24 at the Byron Gjerde Center on campus.
The latest induction class into the hall consisted of 1972 wrestler Don Draper, 1975 wrestler Dave Butts, and the 1962 Junior Rose Bowl team.
CBC athletic director Scott Rogers said 18 members of that football team attended the event.
• Richland’s Gary Cannell recorded his first ever hole in one on Jan. 30 at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla. Cannell used an 8-iron to cover the 140-yard No. 8 hole.
• Othello’s Isaiah Perez was named the CWAC’s Upper Weights MVP this week as the All-CWAC Boys Wrestling team was released.
The senior Perez, a two-time state champion, is the favorite for a third title at 285.
Also making the first team, at 145 pounds, is Othello junior Arturo Solorio.
Toppenish’s John Cerna, whose team has dominated this season, was named CWAC Coach of the Year.
Toppenish senior Haiden Drury was named Lower Weights MVP.
• Tri-Cities Prep’s Jacob Levy and Sunnyside’s Patrick Gallagher both tweeted that they will play football this coming fall for the University of Puget Sound.
• Hanford senior DB Gabe Martinez tweeted that he has an offer to play football at Kansas Wesleyan University.
• Walla Walla girls basketball senior Rian Clear scored her 1,000th career point last week. Clear scored most of those points as an underclassmen at Pullman High School. This has been her only season at Wa-Hi.
• Kamiakin grad Samantha Raines has been dominant enough in the women’s pole vault event for Eastern Washington University that she has been named Big Sky Conference women’s field athlete of the week for two consecutive weeks now.
• St. Martin’s University pitcher Brandi Schoessler, who played for Wa-Hi and Walla Walla Community College, was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball pitcher of the week for the period Jan. 27 to Feb. 2.
• The Tri-Cities Water Follies organization announced Tuesday that the annual H1 Spring Training session will be held in Lampson Pits on Saturday, June 6, this year.