Another career night for Grayson, Kamiakin boys hang on for dramatic win

The evolution of Champ Grayson as an impact basketball player continued Friday night.

A week removed from setting a new career high of 21 points, the senior Eastern Washington football-commit showed that scoring output was no fluke, as he dropped a game-high 28 and the Kamiakin High School boys basketball team held off a late rally for a 65-62 win over visiting cross-town rival Kennewick in MCC play.

“I’ve just been able to get to the basket,” Grayson said of his second straight game with a career-high point total. “We’ve been getting some steals and pushing the ball, and I think it’s the way we’re playing, a lot faster, that’s allowing me to get in front of people and take it to the rack.”

The victory assured Kamiakin (11-4, 8-1) a season sweep over its city foes and, more importantly, the conference’s top 3A seed for the district playoffs with five regular season games still to play.

For Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely, having the easiest possible path to the state tournament is a nice boost, but these final games will still be crucial.

“Regardless of where we’re at, these next two or three weeks, we’ve gotta get better,” Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said. “And you know, I thought Tye Reppe gave us great minutes off the bench (six points, an assist, a block, a steal and a rebound in 13 minutes), and so guys like that have to keep getting better. You see Champ getting better, you see Tye getting better. That’s what takes your team to the next level.”

Jenner Norwood got it going early for the Lions (6-9, 2-7), scoring 11 points in the first quarter to lead them to a 23-12 advantage a minute into the second. But the Braves squared away some deficiencies on the glass and their zone started to create turnovers, at one point allowing them to score seven straight buckets in transition and 16 points in a row, ending the half on a 24-5 run, good for a 36-28 lead.

“Our defensive transition was really poor to start the game, Norwood was able to go right down the lane to get lay-ins,” Meneely said. “But I thought in the second quarter we really rebounded the ball well, and that allowed us to get out and run, and get some easy baskets. It was a really nice response from the kids on a night when we weren’t at our best.”

The teams were nearly even on the boards for the game (Kennewick held the 29-28 advantage), but Kamiakin’s 15-7 edge in the turnover department (keyed by 11 steals to Kennewick’s three) really helped break the game open.

Kennewick made some outside shots late and pulled back within a possession by closing the game on a 23-10 run. Grayson could have relieved some pressure at the outset, but he missed a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go.

Fortunately for the Braves, Norwood missed two contested 3-pointers on the other end, and Payton Flynn secured a defensive rebound as time expired to clinch the win.

“We missed some shots inside, we missed some free throws and they were able to come back,” Meneely said. “And then it came down to one of those scenarios you work on in practice where you’ve gotta defend the 3-point line and focus on not fouling. That’s not always easy to do, and I thought the kids did a great job. They forced tough shots at the end.”

Norwood’s scoring cooled after his opening flurry, but he still led Kennewick with 21 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Garrett Paxton keyed much of Kamiakin’s transition offense, recording four steals and pulling down five boards to go along with his 15 points. Jim Mohlman added 10 points for Kamiakin and led the team with nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

Kennewick: Hosts Hanford on Saturday, a team that on Friday lost its fifth straight game, 71-64 to Southridge. The Lions fell to the Falcons on the road 65-56 on Dec. 19.

Kamiakin: Plays at Walla Walla on Saturday. On their home floor, the Braves beat the Blue Devils 54-45 in December.

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Another career night for Grayson, Kamiakin boys hang on for dramatic win."