Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Gar/Pal's Ethan Hawkins, Kyle Bankus and Blake Jones surround Matt Hockett of Oakesdale for a rebound.
GP senior forward Blake Jones hit two late outside shots to help lift his team to a 36-32 win.
"Blake Jones! Blake Jones!" chanted the Gar/Pal pep band.
In the fourth quarter at Palouse Feb. 8, Jones and the Vikings were suddenly in a fight with Oakesdale, who had come from 10 points down in a low-scoring game, which would decide the Southeast 1B league boys basketball championship.
Jones, a senior forward, hit two outside shots in the last minute-and-a-half to hold back the Nighthawks, before Austin Jones made two free throws to seal it, 36-32.
On senior night – honoring the Vikings' Blake Jones, Dawson Dugger and Ethan Hawkins – it featured the absence of a particular junior.
Oakesdale's Kit Hockett watched in plainclothes on the bench, out with a foot injury.
With that, Gar/Pal controlled the game all first half until Oakesdale closed it to tie and took the lead late in the third quarter.
Blake Jones led the Vikings with 14 points in the win while Austin Jones scored 10 and Dugger seven. Matt Hockett had 14 for Oakesdale and Simon Anderson nine.
"A hard-earned, tough game," said Gar/Pal coach Steve Swinney. "We knew they were gonna make a run, we just had to make sure we could respond to it."
The game followed Oakesdale's 46-44 win over Gar/Pal Jan. 17.
"It lived up to its billing, again," said Nighthawks coach Carl Crider. "Very competitive and intense."
For good measure, Hockett threw the game's final shot, a 2/3-courter, off the backboard and rim: see you in two weeks. The district tournament starts Friday, with these two teams expected to meet again in the championship.
Garfield/Palouse shot 37 percent from the floor while Oakesdale was 30 percent. Gar/Pal made six of 11 three-point attempts, Oakesdale was 2-for-15.
FOR THE
LEAGUE TITLE
Before tip-off, an Oakesdale fan walked into the Palouse gym and greeted a Gar/Pal fan: "Here we go again."
With various Vikings fans wearing red T-shirts with a no. 12 on the front and "Dugger" on the back, Dawson Dugger drove and hit the first shot of the game. Gavin Shrope watched the baseline for Oakesdale, in for Kit Hockett.
Gar/Pal led early and after Blake Jones stole a ball off the dribble from Matt Hockett, the Vikings scored again to lead 18-10 and the Gar/Pal "Norse Force" band played "Imperial March."
Austin Jones hit from the top of the key for 23-12 before Oakesdale closed it to 23-15 at halftime.
Gar/Pal went up by 10 again on another drive by Dugger to open the second half. Then a steal by Simon Anderson off a long Gar/Pal inbounds pass led to a score and a foul.
The comeback was on.
Oakesdale cut it to 25-18, then 25-21 on a three-pointer from Anderson. Hockett drove, scored and got fouled. He missed the free throw but chased down his own rebound in the corner and threw it out to Shrope. The junior sixth-man drove and hit a lay-in to make it 25-25, tie game, time out Gar/Pal.
"Let's Go Blue! Let's Go Blue!" chanted standing Oakesdale fans.
Then Hockett hit a 17-foot jump shot for the lead, 27-25.
"I told the kids at halftime, we don't have to make up the deficit all in one possession," said Crider. "We just need to pick away at it. We picked it away faster than I was anticipating."
On Oakesdale's next possession, Hockett passed to sophomore Garrett Dingman for an eight-footer and four-point lead to end the third quarter.
Then Blake Jones cut it back to two, before his brother tied the game at 29-29.
Patient offense continued from both teams and Shrope made a free throw to put Oakesdale back up by one. Then a 12-footer from Blake Jones reversed that.
Soon another time out.
"Blake, you're a senior, this is when a senior steps up," Swinney said to Jones in the Gar/Pal huddle.
The coach sent his team back on the floor with a designed play, to allow Jones a shot from outside, or a chance to penetrate.
Back on the floor, Jones hit from deep, 34-30 Vikings, now under a minute left.
On Gar/Pal's next possession, looking to seal it, pushing the ball up the floor, Oakesdale in a zone press, Gar/Pal up against the 10-second clock, an errant Vikings' pass went off Jones' hand near mid-court, into the Garfield/Palouse crowd.
Oakesdale ball, down by four, still 30 seconds left.
Simon Anderson drove to the basket, got fouled and went to the line.
He missed the first free throw. On the second; Shrope came down with rebound, got fouled himself and made one free throw.
His second shot bounced out, 23 seconds to play. Austin Jones ripped away the rebound in a scramble, his foot stepping on the baseline. Oakesdale possession again, another chance. Anderson drove, fouled again.
Back to the free throw line and he made the first, cutting the lead back to two points, 34-32, 15 seconds left.
Then a series of Oakesdale fouls before Gar/Pal went into the bonus and Austin Jones hit the last two free throws for the four-point win.
"Viking Power! Viking Power!" yelled Gar/Pal fans.
The two teams now enter the district playoffs, and barring upset, will meet again Feb. 21 in Walla Walla for entry into regionals.
"Winning the league, they've accomplished one of their goals," Swinney said of his team. "And we hope to keep it going."
INJURY REPORT
Also in the game's last minute, in a battle for a rebound, Dugger landed and twisted his knee. He went out of the game and was to be evaluated Tuesday.
"We're hoping for the best, expecting the worst," said Swinney.
Kit Hockett has missed two games for Oakesdale, as his foot injury remains undiagnosed.
"We're not sure what's going on," said Coach Crider, who gave 50/50 odds Hockett would play against Prescott Friday to open the district tournament.
Oakesdale finished the regular season 16-4 overall, 10-2 in league. Gar/Pal went 14-6,11-1.
DISTRICTS BEGIN SATURDAY
No. 1-seed Garfield/Palouse will host Pomeroy or St. John/ Endicott/LaCrosse Saturday while Oakesdale plays no. 3-seed Prescott at Oakesdale. The double-elimination tournament then continues in Walla Walla the following weekend.
SJEL 44
Touchet 31
In a game moved from the weekend due to flooding in the Touchet area, the two teams played Tuesday night, instead, at Touchet to decide the Eagles' shot at keeping their season alive.
SJEL won and will now play Pomeroy Thursday at 6 p.m. in a neutral-site tiebreaker at Colton to decide the final entry into the district tournament.
"We did what we had to do," said Mike Stubbs, Eagles coach.
Kameron Greenhalgh led SJEL with 15 points while Ty Harder had 11.
The winner from Thursday goes to Palouse Saturday with the no. 4 seed to play No. 1 Garfield/Palouse.
Oakesdale 56
SJEL 39
At Oakesdale Feb. 7, SJEL played to a 36-32 deficit at the end of three quarters before the Nighthawks took control.
"It was a lot of Matt Hockett in the fourth quarter for them," said Stubbs. "That did us in."
Hockett led all scorers with 21 points while Ryan Henning scored 14.
Kameron Greenhalgh led St. John/Endicott/ LaCrosse with 15 points in the loss and Ty Harder had nine.
Garfield/Palouse 55
Pomeroy 38
Ethan Hawkins scored 19 points to lead Gar/Pal at Pomeroy Feb. 7. Blake Jones added 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Trent Gwinn led Pomeroy with 18 points in the loss.
"They gave us a pretty good battle," said Steve Swinney, Gar/Pal coach.
Prescott 53
Colton 31
Colton lost to the Tigers at home Feb. 7 as Chris Wolf led the Wildcats with 15 points.
The loss dropped Colton's league record to 1-10.
Touchet 46
Colton 39
In their last game of the year, Colton went down at home as senior Chris Wolf led the Wildcats with 15 points and Kian Ankerson 14, another senior. Colton finished the year at 1-19 overall, 1-11 league.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)