Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale freshman guard Ryan Henning shoots in the second half of a 54-30 home win over Pomeroy.
Coach Carl Crider asked if he was ready and no. 11 got up and went and sat on the open bleachers in front of the scorer's table at the Oakesdale gym.
The Southeast 1B league standings hung high on the wall behind him. At 2:52 left in the first quarter, the buzzer buzzed and Matt Hockett stood and jogged into the game to applause.
Making his first game appearance this year Jan. 18 after injuring an ankle in football [for Colfax, in a co-op agreement with a 1B school without a football team], the starting point guard was back. Nearing the end of the quarter, Hockett drove into the key and hit a shot at the buzzer for a 20-11 lead over Pomeroy.
At the end of the second quarter, with .06 on the clock before halftime, he hit a shot from the top of the key for 31-17.
The Nighthawks were complete again – and the league standings on the wall that showed a tie with Garfield/Palouse may see an effect.
"It's real nice having (Hockett) back," said Crider. "A good athlete, real strong, he puts our whole team in more of an attack mode."
Oakesdale went on to win 54-30 over Pomeroy.
"A really good, solid team effort," Crider said of the game. "From the tip to the end, the type of performance you want to see as a coach."
Hockett had not played since last February, in a home district playoff loss to Garfield/Palouse.
He left the court with a stress fracture in his foot and did not play in Oakesdale's next game – an upset loss to Touchet which ended their season.
Afterwards, Hockett wore a walking boot for eight weeks.
He wore another for six weeks this fall after the ankle injury from football.
Then, on a Friday night at home, as a junior, he returned.
"People in the community know him, a good kid, likes sports and works hard," Crider said.
With Hockett gone, other Oakesdale players got more time on the floor.
"We've developed into a more legitimate nine-man rotation," Crider said. "It gave guys more experience that they wouldn't have had."
Pomeroy (4-5, 6-10) is now coached by Chris Wolf, who took over after Brian Koller bowed out after last season, serving as head coach since 2009-10. Koller, also a former basketball coach at LaCrosse, was a student teacher at Oakesdale when Crider was in class as a high school freshman.
Oakesdale 52-Prescott 50
On Saturday, Oakesdale rode the bus to the Tigers' den, a place with a growing reputation as a tough gym for visitors to win.
Garfield/Palouse lost at Prescott by nine points Jan. 12 after beating Oakesdale in Palouse the night before.
A week later, the Nighthawks suited up at Prescott and it went to the wire.
"It was what we expected down there. A very intense and quick and fast-paced game," said Crider.
Prescott got up by nine early as Kieron Anderson went to the Oakesdale bench with two first quarter fouls.
In the second quarter, the Nighthawks' Kit Hockett shot 6-of-7 from the field and the game was tied at halftime.
At the end of the third quarter, it was tied again.
Oakesdale's Wesley Castanon was on his way to 4-of-6 for three-point attempts in the second half.
Into the fourth quarter, with four minutes left, the Nighthawks led by five points.
Prescott cut it to three.
When an Oakesdale shot missed the rim, Anderson saved it, sending the ball to Hockett, who hit a two-footer before the shot clock.
The Nighthawks led 52-47.
Prescott's Fernando Lopez answered with a three-pointer to cut it two points.
With 45 seconds left, Oakesdale turned the ball over running the shot clock down.
The Tigers took the ball down floor and Anderson blocked a shot out of bounds.
Prescott possession, they penetrated into the lane, the ball was knocked away, Oakesdale's Castanon got it and was fouled.
The Nighthawks threw a long inbound and it was over, 52-50.
"Pretty satisfying," Crider said. "A really high-level game. Pretty well-played by both sides."
Oakesdale had beaten the Tigers by 18 points at home in December.
Is Prescott a legitimate contender for the Southeast 1B league title?
"They are definitely there at the top of the league with the top teams," Crider said.
Pomeroy 54-Colton 34
Colton took the bus to Pomeroy Saturday, Jan. 20, and lost to the Pirates as Jace Gwinn scored 26 points to counter an earlier setback to Colton.
Pomeroy pushed their record to 6-10, 4-5 in league as freshman Trent Gwinn added 13 points.
For Colton (7-9, 3-5), Reece Chadwick led with 13 points while Parker Druffel scored six.
Garfield/Palouse 82-St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse 30
Playing at Palouse Jan. 20, the Vikings totaled 20 steals in a league win over SJEL.
Ely Hawkins led with 14 points while Riley Pederson pulled out of a shooting slump to score 14 as well. Chais Anderson led the Eagles with eight points.
Garfield/Palouse 50-Colton 29
Gar/Pal got its third win this season over the Wildcats Jan. 19 in Colton, holding their opponents to five points in the first half. Ely Hawkins led Gar/Pal in the game with 14 points.
Blake Jones, Tanner Anderson and Jacob Anderson all scored eight points.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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