Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Vikings boys, Sanderson
Vikings boys, Orfe
Gar/Pal junior Caden Sanderson angles for the baseline against Mt. Rainier Lutheran's Adam Bailey.
A 13-point comeback in the third quarter put Garfield/Palouse in a position to advance to Spokane in an elimination game last Saturday, but they could not finish it off, their season ending at Pullman High School at the hands of Mt. Rainier Lutheran.
Tying the score at 39-39, the game stayed tight through the fourth quarter to under a minute left when Gar/Pal’s Tanner Anderson came back into the game with four fouls.
The Vikings pushed the ball up the floor and worked it around, bouncing it into Ely Hawkins, who took the ball up for a close shot and missed. On MRL’s ensuing possession, junior post Adam Bailey caught a pass at the top of the key and put up a three-pointer, his only of the game.
Down, 56-51. Time out Gar/Pal with 24 seconds left.
Back on the floor, the local crowd in a roar, Vikings sophomore forward Blake Jones drove the baseline and passed in again to Hawkins, the ball deflecting off an MRL shin.
On the inbound, Gar/Pal’s Austin Jones threw a high pass to Hawkins who leapt for a shot, missed, came down with his own rebound and hit for 56-53 with 18 seconds left.
Mt. Rainier Lutheran (Tacoma) threw the ball in and Anderson fouled Bailey in a press, fouling out. Caden Sanderson took his place and Bailey hit the first free throw for a four-point lead.
The next shot went up, whistle, lane violation.
Still a four-point game, Austin Jones rushed the ball up-court with 14 seconds to play and passed to senior Daniel Orfe for a shot from the top of the key. Off, but he got the rebound on the deflection and put it up again from two feet closer. The backboard lit up and the buzzer went off just as the shot dropped in: 57-55 Mt. Rainier Lutheran.
Blake Jones led the Vikings in the loss with 17 points while Hawkins scored 13, Anderson 10 and Orfe 8. Bailey led the Hawks with 21 points while Jullian Pandell had 20 and Jack Shannon 12.
MRL advanced to state at Spokane Arena.
Comeback
In the game’s first half, late in the second quarter, the Hawks pushed their lead as high as 34-18 before Gar/Pal coach Steve Swinney switched to zone defense and Hawkins scored on a two-footer inside with a foul and free throw. On a last possession, the Vikings worked it around and into Anderson underneath. He faked, went up and shot – off the bottom edge of the backboard.
MRL led 34-21 at half.
When the third quarter began, so did the comeback. Blake Jones three-pointer cut it 36-29 then a pass from Orfe to Jones made it 36-31. On defense, MRL guard Shannon, a senior, went up for a shot underneath and Hawkins jumped with him, hands straight up, cleanly smothering the ball. The two players landed back on the floor as Hawkins wrenched the ball away for a steal.
Back up the court, Austin Jones bounced a one-handed pass to his brother Blake who hit the shot, making it a three-point game.
Then Hawkins drew a charge on Bailey in the key.
Tanner Anderson hit from inside to cut the margin to one point with 2:58 left in the third quarter.
After Blake Jones hit a 12-footer from the baseline to keep at two, Anderson stole a Hawks’ pass high off the top of the key and bolted downcourt for a lay-in: tie game, 39-39.
Back and forth now, Gar/Pal working the ball inside – Hawkins driving the baseline for a four-footer, 41-42, Anderson underneath for 43-43.
His fourth foul came next and Coach Swinney pulled him for Sanderson.
The fight continued.
MRL’s guard Pandell hit two free throws to put the Hawks up five. He then drove into the key, Sanderson stepped in front of him and hit the floor – charge on Pandell.
Gar/Pal had possession again, passing the ball around until Sanderson found Hawkins for an inside score and foul.
The lead was back down to two and the stage set for the last three minutes.
In the end, Mt. Rainier Lutheran advanced meet No. 5-seed Pomeroy in Spokane, which lost to no. 4-seed Yakama Tribal 56-50 Feb. 23 in Yakima. Pomeroy-MRL was to be another elimination game. The winner of that reaches the state quarterfinals.
Senior guard Daniel Orfe takes the ball up for a shot in his last game for the Vikings. He finished with eight points in the loss.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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