Vikings on brink in 2B qualifier

Max Mueller of the Nighthawks clears a board with the help of Lance Lindgren in the elimination game at Colfax Saturday.

Inexperience cost the boys of Garfield/Palouse Monday night when the Vikings fell 53-46 to Waitsburg/Prescott in the SE 2B semifinal at Whitman College.

Coach Tim Coles said his young squad lost the game by thinking about the game instead of letting instincts take over.

“We played defense fine, but offensively our kids just had that deer in the headlights look,” said Coles.

Senior Gavin Burt topped GP with 20 points, but no other Viking tallied double figures.

Coles said 18 GP turnovers were the result of the big stage nerves, as passes were sent to the wrong uniform or fumbled by receivers.

“We were thinking people were going to come open, so they threw the ball without actually seeing things happen,” said the veteran coach.

GP ended the game by hitting just 23 percent of their shots.

The Vikings hit all five of their three-point shots in the fourth quarter and finished with .500 mark, 10 for 20, from behind the downtown line.

Gar/Pal was booked to face Asotin in a loser out game Wednesday night. The two squads split their regular season match-ups, with each team claiming a victory on their home court.

Winner Wednesday faces the winner of the Walla Walla Valley Academy/DeSales tilt earlier in the day for the district’s third seed to the Spokane championship.

The Vikings opened the tourney by topping DeSales 56-44 at Palouse last Thursday.

GP got out to a quick start, led by Lee Roach’s 12 points and iced the game with tight defense the rest of the way. Blake Slocum and Steven Griffin each chipped in 11 points for the Vikes.

Tekoa/Oakesdale’s season ended with a 56-55 last second loss to DeSales Saturday at Colfax in a loser-out game. The ‘hawks led by as many as 10 points into the last three minutes with Brandon Hovde hitting three pointers.

Pat Richard put the Irish on top, on a baseline bumper shot with 10.1 seconds left. The ‘hawks moved the ball down court but their season ended on a failed in-bound play.

Tekoa/Oakesdale opened the district tourney with a 59-30 loss at Waitsburg Feb. 18. Zach Bartlow again paced the Cardinals with 17 as WP opened with a 10-point lead.

Earl Gaines’ led the ‘hawks with 9.

MONDAY SEMI

Waitsburg/Prescott 53- Garfield/Palouse 46: 13/10 6/9 14/9 20/18: Zach Bartlow 19, Kris Cady 9, Lucan Gerke 5, James Lehr 5, Wyatt Withers 5, Jace Zuger 4, Ben Kiefel 4, Hernandez 2. GP: Gavin Burt 20, Blake Slocum 9, Garrett Pfaff 7, J.B. Lange 5, Lee Roach 3, Steven Griffin 2.

SATURDAY:

DeSales 56- Tekoa/Oakesdale 55: 10/14 8/6 15/20 23/15: Pat Richard 23, Tommy Gregg 16, Matt Wujek 7, Nick Wales 4, Shea Crowley 3, Victor Mata 3. TO: Alex Mueller 18, Brandon Hovde 16, Cory Schulz 8, Earl Gaines 7, Lance Lindgren 6.

THURSDAY

Garfield/Palouse 56- DeSales 44: 20/10 12/12 9/11 13/11: Roach 12, Slocum 11, Griffin 11, Lange 8, Burt 8, Pfaff 5, Cocking 1. DeSales: Richard 16, Gregg 9, Mata 6, Williams 6, Wujek 4, Crowley 3.

Waitsburg/Prescott 59- Tekoa/Oakesdale 30: 14/4 9/6 13/4 23/16: Bartlow 17, Gerke 14, Kiefel 5, Lehr 4, Withers 4, Brown 4, Hernandez 4, Zuger 3, McDaniel 2. TO: E. Gaines 9, Hinkins 8, Hovde 3, Lindgren 3, Wagner 3, J. Gaines 2, Sijohn 2.