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Published Thursday, March 4, 2004
| Published March 4, 2004 :: Home |
N.W. Christian Holds
Off Zillah That isn’t to say N.W. Christian didn’t earn its 51-44 quarterfinal victory. The Crusaders did, with crisp passing, voracious rebounding and team quickness that occasionally overmatched the Leopards. But Zillah missing nine free throws in the final 3:05, well ... “Nine?” Leopards coach Doug Burge said with a wan smile. “Seemed like 29. Those hurt.” “That was a gift. They were giving it to us,” said Joel Ryman, the Crusaders’ versatile 6-foot guard. “We missed our share of free throws, too, but not as many as them.” Ryman’s all-around play — 11 points, four assists and two steals — had helped stake the Crusaders to a first-half lead that they never surrendered. With forward Steve Vandenburg scoring 14 points and contributing eight rebounds to the cause, N.W. Christian built a 12-point lead on four occasions, the last at 41-29 late in the third quarter. Following a short Zillah rally, an Andy Beyer free throw put the Crusaders up 46-37 with 3:16 remaining.
Then Zillah’s woes began at the line. After Justin Ross scored a layup to cut the gap to seven points, the Leopards — scrapping for every lost ball, slapping for every steal and turnover — had one scoring opportunity after another, and each time seemed to draw a foul. Already in the double-bonus, Zillah had six two-shot opportunities over the next 2:20, only to miss nine of the 12 free throws. “I think we were tired, and I think we were pressing” Burge said. “You miss one and it magnifies the next one you shoot.” The three free throws the Leopards did make pulled them within 46-42, but the Crusaders got some clutch play down the stretch from Vandenburg and Ryman — including a pair of free throws by each — that clinched it for NWC.
“It was very physical — Zillah is a very good defensive
team, and any time you talk about being good defensively, you’re talking
about being physical,” Duran Torrez and Ross had 21 and 15 points, respectively, for the Leopards, who were often giving away two to four inches in height at every position on the floor. That showed up in the rebounding totals — NWC had a 34-26 edge — and in the exhaustion on the Zillah players’ faces as they shambled off the floor in defeat.
“We knew going in it was going to be tough because of
their size,” Burge said. “I told the kids that’s as proud as I’ve ever been
of a team in terms of effort.”
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