Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale’s Matt Hockett was voted Player of the Year in the Southeast 1B League. Blake Jones of Garfield/Palouse got the upper hand the last time these two teams played, with an assist from his brother.
Matt Hockett’s brother did not play in that game.
The Jones boys and the Hockett brothers – along with their teammates – meet again Friday night at the Dietrich Dome in Walla Walla to decide the District Nine 1B boys basketball championship.
The winner this time gains entry to regionals, on the road to state.
Gar/Pal will play without senior Dawson Dugger, on crutches from a bruised femur suffered in the Vikings’ win over Oakesdale Feb. 8 to take league. For Oakesdale, Kit Hockett is back from a foot injury.
“It’s gonna be a tough matchup again (Friday),” said Garfield/Palouse Coach Steve Swinney. “For us, especially losing some of our chemistry with Dawson.”
The loser Friday will take the bus two-plus hours home, and return to Walla Walla the next day for a must-win game to keep their season alive – the last slot into regionals on the line.
Filling in for Gar/Pal’s Dugger will be a likely combination of sophomore Jaxson Orr, junior Kyle Bankus and/or freshman Caleb Zehm.
“Next man up, just got to keep rolling,” said Swinney.
As for the leaders in Friday’s district title game, Matt Hockett and Blake Jones are seniors. Kit Hockett and Austin Jones are juniors.
All four played significant roles last year as both Oakesdale and Gar/Pal made it through regionals to state at Spokane Arena. Gar/Pal (15-6, 11-1) lost on the first night, the Jones boys part of a late, narrow-miss comeback.
The Hockett brothers and Oakesdale’s four senior starters last year made it to the fourth day, finishing sixth.
But that was 2019. Getting back to state for either team this year is still a long, hard ways away.
The first stop is Walla Walla. Game time Friday is 7:30 p.m.
Looming behind Gar/Pal and Oakesdale (17-4, 10-2) is Prescott. The no. 3 district-seeded Tigers beat Oakesdale once this year, in Prescott – its gym confirmed as the hardest place to play in the league. The Nighthawks then beat them handily at home before a five-point comeback win last week in the first round of districts.
Whoever drops the district championship game Friday will likely have to beat Prescott one more time.
The Tigers will first play no. 4-seed Pomeroy Friday afternoon in an elimination game.
Garfield/Palouse 54
Pomeroy 33
After Pomeroy beat St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse in a neutral site-tiebreaker game for fourth place and the last entry to the district tournament, the Pirates went to Palouse for a first round game against the no. 1-seeded Vikings.
They went down, shooting 18 percent for the night while Gar/Pal’s Austin Jones scored 19 points with six assists and nine rebounds.
Evan Bartels scored 15 points to lead Pomeroy in the loss.
Oakesdale 60
Prescott 55
It came down to the blood uniform. And one was not enough.
Oakesdale and Prescott, who had split in the regular season, met Feb. 15 in the first round of the district tournament and split skin in the playoffs.
In the second quarter, chasing a loose ball near mid-court, the Nighthawks’ Simon Anderson and Ryan Henning collided. Their heads hit. Both bleeding, they soon went to the locker room to be further tended to and Oakesdale assistant Kevin Young retrieved the “blood uniform” – an extra set teams bring to games in case a jersey or shorts get contaminated by blood.
Both Anderson and Henning needed one – and since the J.V. team’s season was over, more uniforms were available.
Through halftime, then back on the bench for the third quarter, Henning and Anderson were worked on. Eventually both players went back in the game, then came out again, as bleeding continued.
Young, Athletic Director Ken Lindgren, EMT Heidi Henning and Whitman County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Cooper all lent a hand for the cut-work on the sideline.
On the floor, Oakesdale was in fight. Down by seven points in the third quarter, they trailed by three at the start of the fourth. The Nighthawks tied it at 41-41 with five minutes left and took control, somewhat, holding until the end.
“It was never really in hand until the final seconds,” said Carl Crider, Oakesdale coach.
No. 3-seed Prescott hit nine three-pointers in the loss. The last time they played Oakesdale they made zero.
No. 2 district-seed Oakesdale went 15-of-19 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Matt Hockett scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth.
Kit Hockett added 13 points for Oakesdale (17-4, 10-2).
Omar Velazco led Prescott (13-7, 9-3) with 17 points.
Pomeroy 56
St. John/Endicott/ LaCrosse 33
In a tie-breaker at neutral-site Colton Feb. 13 to decide fourth-place in the Southeast 1B league, the winner to advance to districts – after Pomeroy and SJEL split two games in the regular season – this time Pomeroy handled the Eagles.
“It was a tough way to end the season. We picked a bad night to not play very well,” said SJEL Coach Mike Stubbs. “Credit to Pomeroy, they had a good defensive scheme.”
Kameron Greenhalgh led St. John/Endicott/ LaCrosse with 15 points while Trent Gwinn scored 24 for Pomeroy.
SJEL lost to the Pirates on the road 57-47 in December followed by a 49-42 win at LaCrosse in January.
“For what it’s worth, this score does not define how close these teams are,” said Stubbs.
The loss marked the end of the SJEL careers of Owen Swannack, T.J. Harder and Dylan Campbell. Their class had not played in any postseason basketball until this year.
“This appearance in this playoff game will do us a world of good next year,” Stubbs said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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