Nighthawks move forward

OAKESDALE - At the conclusion of the district playoffs, the Oakesdale Nighthawks took their second-place district finish to the 1B WIAA State basketball tournament.

Oakesdale entered the state tournament as the number 12 overall seed.

The Nighthawks played a loser-out match on Friday, Feb. 23, in Central Valley. The game was played against the 13 overall seed, Sound Christian Academy.

Oakesdale were the only Whitman County 1B team to qualify for the boys state tournament.

Against Sound Christian Academy, the Nighthawks were able to recover from a slow start to earn the 56-44 victory, advancing them to the round of 12.

Sound Christian had a decent size differential compared to Oakesdale, especially their starting lineup. The height was utilized early from Sound Christian, but the Nighthawks were able to respond and counter with strength.

Freshman Ryker Reed was all over the game, knocking down three-point shots in the first quarter, and driving to the basket throughout the game to score himself, or find open teammates.

Emeric Anderson came up big for the Nighthawks inside the paint to help lead Oakesdale to a 12-point victory.

With the win, Oakesdale advanced to a loser-out game in the round of 12, which was played on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the Spokane arena.

The Nighthawks took on the number five seed Neah Bay.

Neah Bay entered the tournament as the number five seed, but were fourth overall based off RPI standings. They hold a 17-4 overall record, but are currently on a two-game losing streak. Their last game was a 65-60 loss against DeSales in the opening round state match. DeSales took on Oakesdale in the final game of the district playoff, defeating Oakesdale 72-42.

Look for results from the round of 12 match Wednesday, Feb. 28, on the Whitman County Gazette website Thursday, Feb. 29.

If the Nighthawks defeated Neah Bay, they will play their next game on Thursday, Feb. 29, in the quarterfinal match against the number three overall seeded Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian.

If Oakesdale lose to Neah Bay, their season will end in the round of 12.

The number one overall seed in the 1B boys basketball tournament is Lummi Nation.

Lummi Nation defeated eighth-seeded Naselle 59-31 to open their state run.

The only upset victory in the second round of state was when the number 16 overall seeded Columbia Adventist took down number nine Tulalip Heritage, 70-63.

Summit Christian School also took down Soap Lake 78-71.

If Oakesdale want to take down Neah Bay, they need a strong paint presence, as well as consistent three-point shooting to keep the Neah Bay defense guessing.