Nighthawk boys take down Eagles in overtime

DAYTON - On Feb. 15, the Oakesdale Nighthawks boys basketball team beat the Yakama Nation Tribal Eagles 55-53 off a Jackson Perry buzzer-beater to advance to the Feb. 17 consolation bracket final against Pomeroy.

Oakesdale held the advantage early but Yakama Nation Tribal was able to keep within reach and the Nighthawks went into the second quarter up 14-8.

The Nighthawks scored seven quick points in the first 2:30 of the second quarter to go up double-digits and help the Eagles scoreless until 1:36 to go in the first half, where Yakama Nation scored two quick buckets to go into halftime trailing 23-12.

Oakesdale continued to build on its lead in the early stages of the second half, going up 31-15 with 4:12 to go in the frame.

Yakama Nation Tribal would then go on a 9-2 run to get back within single-digits with 1:23 left in the third quarter. The fourth quarter began with Oakesdale still up, 35-28, but Yakama Nation Tribal had fought back from down 16 to be within seven to start the final eight minutes of regulation.

"We knew if we played defense and rebounded, especially when we had a double-digit lead, that we had a pretty good chance of winning," Oakesdale head coach Carl Crider said. "The well kind of dried up on the offensive end and we weren't getting buckets. So then, it became that much harder to get stops. We definitely made (this) game a lot harder than it had to be."

Yakama Nation Tribal would tie the game with 3:33 to go in the game after a drive to the basket by Jayden Visaya, and the Eagles would promptly take a three-point lead with 1:44 left in the game.

Oakesdale was trailing 48-47 with two seconds left in the game before a foul by Gunner Wallulatum sent Jackson Perry to the line with two free throws and a chance to take the lead back.

Perry would make one of two free throw attempts, and the game would head to a four-minute overtime.

With just under two minutes left in OT, the Nighthawks and the Eagles couldn't separate from each other. Perry gave Oakesdale a 50-48 lead, Yakama Nation Tribal tied it up. Joe ScabbyRobe hit a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 53-50 lead, before Will Lanius hit a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game at 53.

The Nighthawks had a chance to take the lead with 35 seconds left, but Logan Brown was called for a charge and Yakama Nation Tribal had a chance to take the lead.

The Eagles couldn't capitalize on the possession. The Nighthawks didn't use their last timeout and Perry would take the ball up the court and pulled up for a shot along the baseline and made it, giving Oakesdale the two-point overtime win.

"(Perry's) the guy we have that's probably the most capable of creating a shot for himself," Crider said. "It was a pretty good look. He struggled with some of the pressure they were putting on him and we didn't get a lot of good ball movement to give him some lanes. Before, he was trying to drive and that was creating some problems. But down the stretch, at the end, it was 'Do I take a timeout here or do I just see what we can find?' And thankfully it worked out not taking the timeout."

For Yakama Nation Tribal, a season comes to an end that saw its share of ups and downs, including upsetting Tekoa-Rosalia in the opening round of districts and bringing Oakesdale down to the wire.

"There's definitely something to build on," Yakama Nation Tribal head coach Kristoffer Strom said. "Most of our seniors and juniors led the way and set the example. For example, a senior took the last shot. I'm not mad at that, you can't be mad at that. He's probably one of our leading scorers all year. And you have to live with the decision they make. And us as a staff, we kind of have to let it ride and just be like 'Let's get a good look.'"

Perry paced Oakesdale with 23 points while Lanius added 13.

Visaya led Yakama Nation Tribal with 16 points and Wallulatum added 10.

OAKESDALE (14-9, 8-5)

Logan Brown 2 0-0 5, Alex McHargue 2 0-0 4, Emeric Anderson 1 0-0 2, Jackson Perry 11 1-2 23, Shawn Bober 1 0-0 2, Will Lanius 4 1-4 13, Austin Goyke 1 0-0 2, Ryker Reed 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 2-6 55.

YAKAMA NATION TRIBAL (12-10, 9-6)

Jaydn ScabbyRobe 3 0-0 7, Trevor Lewis 0 0-0 0, Cameron Longee 3 0-0 7, Jonas ScabbyRobe 2 1-2 6, Jayden Visaya 6 4-6 16, Gunner Wallulatum 5 0-4 10, Jabez Saluskin 2 1-2 7. Totals 21 6-14 53

3-point goals – Lanius 4, Brown, Saluskin 2, Ja. ScabbyRobe, Longee, Jo. ScabbyRobe.