Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Pomeroy beats Colton on the road to meet Tigercats in Friday’s final
LaCrosse-Washtucna senior forward Jed Zimmer looks for the ball to come to him Saturday night in a 48-44 playoff win. Zimmer and the Tigercats advance to play Pomeroy for the title.When asked what the difference was between the playoff game they just won in Gar-Pal’s gym and the one on Jan. 19 which they lost 55-42, L/W’s Jed Zimmer gave his answer.
“Well I wasn’t there, so,” he said.
He was just stating a fact, indicating it was a question he couldn’t do justice to since he was out sick that week.
At the same time, it was an answer just as well, because Zimmer had 14 rebounds (eight offensive) and 12 points to be a difference-maker throughout Saturday night’s 48-44 win.
“I just tried to keep the ball up high (underneath),” said Zimmer. “Every time I put the ball on the ground it got stolen.”
The Tigercats kept a four-and-six-point lead in the first half until the third quarter, when a series of turnovers led to Gar-Pal going ahead by four. The game ended when pick-pocketed L/W senior guard Alec Fleming hit two free-throws with 10 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
Junior guard Darcy Stamper led the team with 14 points.
“Gar-Pal does a good job of putting you in uncomfortable situations,” said Tigercats coach Mike Jones. “We had to calm some kids down.”
The game began tight and stayed that way.
Late in the second quarter, L/W’s Sam Harder threw a pass into Zimmer who hit a four-footer for 16-11 before Gar-Pal’s Tyler Thurman drove the lane and Zimmer slapped his shot off the gym wall.
Nearing the half, the Tigercats’ Joey Guske sent the ball into Zimmer underneath for 23-17. Guske delivered the ball back into Zimmer on the next possession and he was fouled and sent to the line.
He missed the shots, however, and Gar-Pal scored next to make it 23-19 at halftime.
In the third quarter, L/W built their rebounding advantage.
Fleming tore down an offensive rebound and passed to Stamper for a two-footer and seven-point lead.
Gar-Pal answered right back, though, cutting the lead to one on a drive by Jesse Lopez. A Gar-Pal fast break cut it to one-point again before a Viking free throw tied the game at 30.
Gar-Pal’s freshman point guard Matt Holbrook stole a ball and scored and L/W soon got called for five seconds on an inbound.
The stinging Gar-Pal applause came down.
Starting the fourth quarter, the Vikings had the lead, 34-32.
Gar-Pal forced another steal on the perimeter and scored.
Could L.W. calm down?
Stamper dribbled into the key, planted both feet with a hop and went up and made a six-footer. Then he passed to Riley Roberts for a nine-foot shot from the lane to tie the score at 36-36.
Stamper then dribbled into the lane for another shot, 38-36.
It didn’t last. Gar-Pal’s Holbrook downed a three-pointer for 39-38 Vikings.
Another turnover by a nervous Fleming begged the question; how many mistakes had L/W tallied in this game? How many for Palouse?
Palouse was cruising on virtually no turnovers while it appeared L/W guards might have eaten some concession-stand popcorn at halftime (and not wiped off their hands).
L/W senior Matt Stubbs switched out for Fleming at point guard.
On the sideline, Tigercats’ coach Jones directed his team to go to “dribble entry,” meaning for the point guard to dribble the ball straight to a forward such as Stamper, to avoid the potentially dangerous pass.
Stamper missed the next Tigercats shot, but Zimmer was there for the rebound and putback, 40-40 with 3:48 left.
Gar-Pal’s Holbrook downed another three-pointer for the lead before the Tigercats’ Justin Wargo scored on an offensive rebound and putback to cut the Gar-Pal lead to one. Wargo then hit a 10-footer from the side of the lane on the next possession to give L/W the lead, 44-43.
Gar-Pal forced another turnover, then made one free throw for a 44-44 tie with under two minutes to go.
On Lacrosse-Washtucna’s next possession, they pulled down two offensive rebounds before Zimmer scored to put the team up by two with 1:18 left.
At the one-minute mark, a Gar-Pal player traveled while open under the basket.
The Tigercats took possession again as the clock dwindled, Gar-Pal knocked the ball loose, it bounced around like a pinball before Wargo secured it with 16 seconds left.
Gar-Pal fouled Fleming to send him to the line for two free throws with 10.4 seconds left.
He made the first, Gar-Pal called timeout.
He made the second for a 48-44 victory.
Fleming’s two clutch shots effectively sent the Tigercats to the district final this week in Colfax.
It is a game that seemed especially unlikely last Thursday night at LaCrosse, when, in a first-round matchup against Rosalia, the Tigercats trailed by seven points with three minutes to go.
They were able to pull it out with a couple key steals, a Wargo three-pointer and made free throws at the end.
“We were very fortunate to be in Gar-Pal Saturday,” said Jones.
Zimmer, a senior, has concentrated on basketball as his sole sport since a back injury during football freshman year prevented him from continuing. He could do events in track and field but in the spring there is a lot of work to do on his parents’ ranch and farm near LaCrosse.
But the spring is far off, it’s winter now and L/W will suit up against Pomeroy in Colfax Friday night to decide the district championship.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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