|
This page is part of the
Tourneytown.com archives and is no longer updated. |
| Published March 2, 2004 :: Home |
Locals Set Higher
Goals
Zillah, Granger and White Swan have
been to state before,
By
MICHAEL
ANDERSON Two of the three have brought home a trophy in the relatively recent past. All three teams are survivors of a brutish schedule that featured six high-stakes games between the three teams, the last two of which had a large say in determining who plays whom Wednesday. But none of that counts Wednesday morning. What counts now is the ability do what you do best. The ability to survive three games in three days just to have a chance to play for a state-tournament trophy. Zillah, White Swan and Granger, the three teams picked to finish atop the SCAC West in the preseason, open state tournament play Wednesday, all against teams from the west side. Zillah and Granger, playing in the top half of the bracket, are looking for a title shot against prohibitive favorite Brewster. To get that shot, they would face each other for a fourth time. White Swan is on the other side of the bracket. The Cougars will need to take care of business to get a semifinal shot at Brewster. Zillah, with a state record 13-consecutive year qualification streak going strong, opens the festivities up Wednesday against Winlock at 9 a.m. The WIAA's bracketing system is so predictable that ZHS coach Doug Burge and his assistants last week had narrowed the field of possible first-round opponents far enough that they made a trip to the Southwest District tournament and scouted the Cardinals. Burge sees his team playing a solid team with a high-scoring post man (Kevin Hauschild, 17.9 ppg) and two other players in double figures (Cody Rouse, 11.1, Ben Prigmore 10.1). "I think we match up pretty well against them," Burge said, noting that he feels the Cardinals (16-8) are as battle-tested as his 18-5 Leopards. "They are in a tough league and they have played a lot of close games this year." Zillah has three double-figures scorers. Duran Torrez (15.8), Drew Affholter (13.0) and Justin Ross (10.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) put up the points. Point guard Kelly Anderson (6.4 ppg, 6.1 apg) triggers the attack. The Cardinals are back for a third straight year. The Cardinals have lost five of their last six state tournament games, but the win was significant. Last year Winlock opened the tournament with a stunning win over the SCAC No 1 seed, White Swan. So Burge knows the Cardinals will be ready. Granger is back after missing state in 2003 and will play 2001/2002 champion King's at 12:30 p.m. The Spartans endured an emotional final week of district play in which a football teammate of many of the basketball players died. The next day, the emotionally spent Spartans fell to rival Zillah, 54-47 in the district semifinals, putting the team in the position of needing two wins to get to the SunDome. The following week, the entire Granger student body attended a funeral Mass for their schoolmate and three players on the team were pallbearers. With a promising season teetering on the brink, the Spartans eliminated Burbank on Friday and Highland on Saturday for their third trip in four seasons. To get past King's, the Spartans will have to limit the damage caused by Chris Faidley, who is averaging 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6 assists a game. "We have to get a hand up on him and not give him any room," Granger coach David Gibb said. The Spartans have some idea how to stop scorers. Last season they held state career scoring leader Lance Den Boer to less than half his average in a Christmas tournament game. Gibb also knows that King's is well aware of his triple-threat, SCAC West MVP Chris Cardenas, who averaged 14.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. "Someone else is going to have to make some shots," Gibb said. "We have guys who can do that." White Swan is still looking for a trophy after five trips in the last six years. The Cougars open against Bellevue Christian, the fifth-place finisher in 2003. The Vikings are certainly a different team in 2004, with a significant emphasis on youth. The top scorer is 6-foot-4 freshman Jeffrey Downs, who is scoring 13.9 points and pulling down 10.9 rebounds a game. Sophomore Nate Hendricks is averaging 11.6. Senior point guard Daniel Breihl keys the attack, dishing out four rebounds a gaame while scoring at an 8.5 clip.
The Cougars counter with an attack that is unbalanced. "It's pretty much a broken record, I've told told everyone. If Kenny and Chris have their A game, we have a good shot," Cougars' head coach Ray Funk said. Funk said this week he hopes that state is a business trip for his team. "Getting to state, that novelty has worn off," he said. "It's all about us and doing what we do well." Funk also noted that with the prospect of facing four good teams in as many days, reliance on what you do best is the only way to prosper. "I think in the past
perhaps we overanalyzed and watched too much film," he admitted. "The
reality is, after Thursday there's not much time for scouting or putting in
game plans. You have to do what you've done all season long and do it the
best you can."
ADVERTISEMENT
©
2002-2008 All photos, content and design |
Boys Tourney |
