Norwood has another big night, but not enough for Kennewick boys in district opener
Jenner Norwood led all scorers with 23 points, but the Kennewick High School boys basketball team dropped a back-and-forth game to the visiting North Central Indians, 51-46 on Friday in the opening round of the District 8 Class 3A playoffs.
Kennewick isn’t eliminated from playoff contention, but it now faces an uphill climb. The Lions play at the loser of Friday’s game between Rogers and Kamiakin in Kennewick, at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 in a loser-out game, needing to win three straight to advance to regionals.
North Central was locked in defensively early on, allowing just a 2-point bucket and a free throw to Norwood in the first quarter to take a 12-3 lead after the opening period. Kennewick rallied to lead by two at halftime, but the Indians pulled away from there.
Isaiah Lockett led North Central with 14 points and Rashawn Lemery added a dozen. The Mt. Spokane Wildcats will try to beat the Indians for the third time this season, at 7 p.m. Friday in the district semifinal at Mt. Spokane.
ROGERS 80, SOUTHRIDGE 74 (OT): A night after beating Shadle Park in the 3A district play-in game, the Suns went on the road and nearly upset the Pirates, falling in overtime.
Dante Ragsdale tied for the game-high with 33 points for Southridge and Anthony Jackson drained four triples to add 19. The Suns (7-14) outscored the Pirates 17-8 in the third quarter to take a four-point lead into the final period, but a high-scoring final 8 minutes of regularion saw the teams head into OT knotted at 66-all.
Jahlil Frans scored 33 points and Maks Babich 25 to lead Rogers (9-12), which won the extra session 14-8.
Top MCC seed Kamiakin hosts Rogers at 7 p.m. Friday in the district semifinals, while Southridge awaits the loser of Friday’s other semifinal, between North Central and Mt. Spokane, for a loser-out game next week.
Dustin Brennan: 509-582-1413, @Tweet_By_Dustin
This story was originally published February 6, 2018 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Norwood has another big night, but not enough for Kennewick boys in district opener."