Sparts, ‘cats to face off in top two showdown

The top two hoops squads in Whitman County League boys square off Saturday night as Rosalia heads south to the cozy confines of the Colton gym.

Both teams have played well of late, with Rosalia using a balanced scoring attack to slice through league play and Colton riding the white hot shooting hand of center Dustin Patchen.

Unbeaten in league play, Rosalia swept both its games over the weekend, gunning down host Pomeroy and visiting Tekoa/Oakesdale.

After posting big wins all season, the Spartans ran into a game against their Nighthawk neighbors, but walked away with a 48-40 win.

SE 1B Boys Standings

Rosalia 10-0 15-1

Colton 8-2 10-6

Garfield/Palouse 6-4 8-7

St. John/Endicott 5-5 7-7

LaX/Washtucna 3-7 6-10

Pomeroy 3-7 4-11

Tekoa/Oakesdale 3-7 4-12

Touchet 2-8 3-12

Nathan Richards and Flash Hodges put up 11 points each to top Rosalia scorers. Gunner Joseph Tampien had 21 points for Tekoa/Oakesdale.

Friday, the Spartans made quick work of Pomeroy in a 63-29 blowout. The Spartan offense put up 40 quick points in the first half, and they took over the last 16 minutes to ice the game. Nathan Richards put down 20 for the Sparts, and D.J. Brown added nine points on three 3-pointers. Justin Ruark’s eight points topped Pomeroy.

Second place Colton had a five-game win streak snapped Saturday night in a 57-44 double overtime marathon loss at Touchet.

Led by Patchen’s 17 points and 19 rebounds, the Wildcats rallied throughout the game to make up for a first quarter in which they only scored three points. They finally closed the gap to force the extra time. Touchet spent most of overtime on the free throw stripe, hitting 17 of 20 charity shots to ice the game.

Jake Hodenfield and Matt Kates led the Indians with 16 points apiece.

Friday, the Wildcats turned up the heat in the third quarter to pull away from visiting LaCrosse/Washtucna 73-51. Patchen again led the Colton squad with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jake Aune had 21 to top LW.

Garfield/Palouse grabbed hold of third place in league standings after a pair of close wins.

Saturday, the Vikings had enough in an overtime session, brought on by a wild fourth quarter attack by St. John/Endicott, to post a 69-66 road win.

Garfield led by eight points with just under two minutes left in regulation when the Eagle press began to click. SJE capitalized on GP turnovers and led by three points with seconds left. Viking gunner Blake Slocum, who finished with 26, sank a trey at the buzzer to send the game into a fifth period.

Mason Van Lith led the Eagles with 22, and Joey Kucklick tallied 14. J.B. Lange added 17 for the Vikings.

Gar/Pal Friday capitalized on last minute free throws to put down Tekoa/Oakesdale 53-45 in a close-fought battle for SR 27 supremacy.

Slocum again had the hot hand for the Vikes with 21, and Race Martin chipped in 16. Joseph Tampien paced Tekoa/Oakesdale with 14 points.

While St. John/Endicott was sunk by Slocum’s buzzer trey Saturday night, the Eagles used their own last second heroics Friday night to eke past visiting Touchet 43-42.

With seconds left, SJE forward Cole McCanna plucked off a Touchet inbounds pass, ran the length of the court and laid it in for the final score. The Eagles had trailed by 10 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

Eagle Ben Harrison put up a game high 17 points. Jake Hodenfield had 14 points for the chiefs.

LaCrosse/Washtucna ran into a stout second half Pomeroy defense Saturday night in a 57-27 home loss. Leading by one at the break, the Pirates tightened the screws on the Tigercats, giving up only seven points in the second half.

Chris Wargo’s 10 points topped the T-cats. Shawn Beale had 15 to lead Pomeroy.

SATURDAY SCORING

Rosalia 48- Tekoa/Oakesdale 40: 9/10 16/11 9/5 14/14: Nathan Richards 11, Flash Hodges 11, Jared Hereford 9, Damien Loucks 8, Scott Eberle 7, Tom Carrothers 2. TO: Joseph Tampien 21, Max Mueller 8, Joe Gaines 6, Lance Lindgren 3, Cory Schulz 2.

Touchet 57- Colton 44 (2OT): 13/3 6/11 8/10 7/10 23/10: Jake Hodenfield 16, Kates 16, Hines 10, Flores 9, Huesby 4, Webber 2. Colton: Dustin Patchen 17, Josh Straughan 10, Jake Straughan 8, Taylor Spence 5, Steve Eacker 4.

Garfield/Palouse 69- St. John/Endicott 66 (OT): 8/11 13/10 15/13 24/26 9/6: Blake Slocum 26, JB Lange 17, Nathan Cocking 8, Race Martin 7,

Lopez 4, Steven Griffin 4, Chad Redman 3. SJE: Mason Van Lith 22, Joey Kucklick 14, Ben Harrison 13, Kyle Raynor 9, Cole McCanna 6, Dallas Schluneger 2.

Pomeroy 57- LaCrosse/Washtucna 27: 11/8 12/14 21/5 13/2: Beale 15, Feider 10, Ruchert 8, Wolf 8, Ruark 6, Fitzgerald 4, LaMunyan 4. LW: Chris Wargo 10, Austin Summers 7, Jake Aune 4, Matt Stubbs 3, Jeff Zimmer 2, Sam Harder 1.

FRIDAY SCORING

Rosalia 63- Pomeroy 29: 25/12 14/5 9/3 15/9: Richards 20, DJ Brown 9, Hereford 6, C. Brown 6, Carrothers 5, Gelhaus 5, Hodges 4, Eberle 4, Jacobs 2, Brown 2. Pomeroy: Ruark 8, Wolf 5, Feider 4, LaMunyan 3, Fitzgerald 3, Lueck 2, Ruchert 2, Beale 2.

Colton 73- LaCrosse/Washtucna 51: 15/10 27/21 18/6 13/14: Du. Patchen 24, Ja. Straughan 17, Jos. Straughan 15, Spence 6, Druffel 2, Da. Patchen 1. LW: Aune 21, Summers 10, Jed Zimmer 6, C. Wargo 4, Harder 4, Hannas 2, Stubbs 2, J. Wargo 2.

Garfield/Palouse 53- Tekoa/Oakesdale 45: 10/10 9/8 11/10 23/17: Slocum 21, Martin 16, Cocking 9, Lange 3, C. Redman 2, Griffin 2. TO: Tampien 14, Mueller 8, Schulz 7, E. Gaines 6, J. Gaines 3, Lindgren 3, Tallman 2.

St. John/Endicott 43- Touchet 42: 11/15 11/10 7/10 14/7: Harrison 17, Van Lith 11, McCanna 6, Schluneger 3, Kucklick 3, E. Raynor 1. Touchet: Hodenfield 14, Hines 8, Flores 8, Kates 7, Huesby 3, Weber 2.