Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
They couldn’t quite solve it in the gyms of Whitman and Garfield Counties so they went to the Spokane Arena.
The team gathers with the trophy after beating Pomeroy 57-36.
LaCrosse-Washtucna and league foe Pomeroy met for the fourth–time this season in the state 1B third-place game Saturday afternoon in Spokane.
This time, L/W decided it definitively, 67-36.
“This is my favorite place to ever play,” said Tigercat senior Justin Wargo. “The nerves kick in right away but everything tonight was our best performance of the year. Coach said ‘we beat them every time in the white jerseys, so let’s do it one more time.”
They did just that to complete their season at 21-6 and third place in the state. With Pomeroy finishing fifth, L/W’s trophy signifies their accomplishment in the state of Washington, and also the hotly-contested Southeast 1B league of 2012-13.
In the end, in Spokane in March, L/W had outlasted rivals Colton, Gar-Pal and Rosalia, at one point losing three league games in a row during the season.
“I’m really proud of our the team and our seven seniors,” said Wargo. “After that three-game losing streak, I felt like it was over.”
The third-place state game began with a quick takeover by L/W.
Jed Zimmer commanded the inside and Wargo hit a three-pointer for a 21-7 lead.
“22! 22!” yelled Pomeroy’s coach the next time down the floor.
It was either a defensive scheme or he was worried about Zimmer (No. 22).
Soon after, Pomeroy’s Cody LaMunyon rejected a Zimmer shot, followed by Zimmer stealing a rebound out of LaMunyon’s hands for a jump ball.
L/W led by 11 nearing halftime when LaMunyon made a three-pointer for 27-17.
Early in the third quarter, the Tigercats’ Austin Summers hit two three-pointers then got a steal and fast break to put his team up by 18.
In the fourth, Stamper lobbed to Zimmer for an alley-oop before a selective Alec Fleming took a three- pointer from the top of the key for, 50-30 with 5:28 left.
L/W kept up the momentum as the backups came in.
Senior Jared Stark hit two free-throws for 60-33 before Zimmer missed a dunk but followed it with a nice spin move and 29-point lead.
At the end, Graham BeDell made two free throws and Stark got a steal and four-footer to finish it off.
STATE 1B BOYS SEMIFINAL: Neah Bay 77 LaCrosse-Washtucna 60
He looked like a backup offensive lineman and he shot like Reggie Miller.
In a game for which I-90 was built, the coastal tribesmen of Neah Bay met an Eastern Washington wheat-town and one player stood above all.
Red Devils’ junior Tyler McCaulley hit a 1B tournament record eight three-pointers to lead Neah Bay to the title game, 77-60.
Jed Zimmer had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Tigercats while Darcy Stamper scored 16 and Justin Wargo added 10.
The game began with LaCrosse-Washtucna’s Stamper and Austin Summers both hitting only arena air on their first shots.
McCaulley started early from the perimeter.
He made two three-pointers and then another one. To follow that, he drew a charge from Stamper at the other end of the floor.
Neah Bay led 15-6 and the lead expanded to 21-6 on a turnover from L/W against the Red Devils’ press.
Lacrosse-Washtucna started to counter with a nice drive from guard Alec Fleming, a pass from Stamper to Justin Wargo for a 10-footer. A three-pointer from Summers made it 25-17.
Then McCaulley answered with his fourth from outside the arc.
Approaching halftime, Stamper drove and hit a pull-up jump shot, then Zimmer scored on a putback and McCaulley missed one from the outside.
In turn, L/W’s Summers downed another three-pointer from the top of the key to cut Neah Bay’s lead to seven.
McCaulley missed another three-point attempt at the end of the half to leave the score at 35-28.
Opening the game’s second half, Neah Bay’s press caused more problems.
L/W was called for taking too long to bring the ball past halfcourt and Wargo picked up his third foul after a turnover on the Tigercats’ half of the floor.
Neah Bay built their lead and after a Red Devil fast break off of a missed shot by Zimmer, L/W called timeout, trailing 43-28.
Back on the floor, Zimmer missed a shot, complained to the ref for a foul, then reached in at half court to get a whistle blown on him.
Zimmer however continued to work underneath.
On a rebound and score from his own shot, he kept the Tigercats within 11 points at 43-32 with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Stamper missed a jump shot from the free throw line on a fast break and then missed an almost-dunk and got fouled.
He made both shots but L/W still trailed by 13.
LaCrosse-Washtucna kept at it but they never got closer than nine points.
Neah Bay forced more turnovers on their press and led 52-38 when McCaulley lifted his arms up and down to fire up his crowd.
L/W managed to cut the lead back to nine again on a fast break begun by Wargo, who passed to Zimmer who sent it back to Wargo for a score, foul and 53-44 with 6:49 left.
“Tigercats! Tigercats! What’s your cry?!” called out the cheerleaders.
The answer was “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y” but this time it was less certain they would be right.
L/W Coach Mike Jones walked to the end of the bench and pressed the button for a drink of water from an orange jug.
Zimmer missed a 12-footer from the lane and L/W started to press.
Neah Bay’s Josiah Greene then hit two free throws to put his team back up 11 before Stamper took the ball the length of the court for an inside-hand lay-up and 57-48.
The nine-point margin remained.
With the Red Devils up 67-50 with 2:26 left, McCaulley downed another three-pointer.
His team was up by 17 and on their way to the state final. But then there was a problem, McCaulley’s jersey wouldn’t stay tucked and the referee stopped play for a uniform violation.
So Neah Bay’s bench came up with another jersey.
McCaulley changed into it and went out and hit another three-pointer.
FIRST ROUND:LaCrosse-Washtucna 56 Soap Lake 40
Austin Summers led the Tigercats with 13 points while Jed Zimmer had 10 points and 10 rebounds on a night which Lacrosse-Washtucna shot just 27 percent from the floor.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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