Published
March 6, 2004
:: Home
|
|
 |
Tournament Most Valuable Player David Pendergraft holds up the net
after Brewster repeated as Class 1A boys champions Saturday night,
beating N.W. Christian 59-52.
JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic |
Bears
Retain Title, 59-52
By
MICHAEL
ANDERSON
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
The Brewster Bears, as expected, are the kings of Class 1A boys basketball.
What was not expected, however, was the difficulty they encountered returning
to the throne.
N.W. Christian, the outsider at the coronation party, battled the defending
champion Bears straight up for 30 minutes before finally falling, 59-52, at
the SunDome on Saturday night.
After 25 consecutive boys contests that seemed anticlimactic because
Brewster was such a prohibitive favorite, the teams treated a spirited dome
crowd to a 32 minutes of well-played high school basketball.
The Crusaders determined defensive effort held the high-scoring Bears --
Brewster scored 1964 points in 24 games before coming to Yakima, an average
of 81 points a game -- under 60, just the fourth time in 28 games that has
been done.
But with the outcome on the line, it was a 30-second stretch of Brewster
defense that settled the outcome once and for all.
After taking a 57-47 lead on six straight free throws, the Bears swarming
backcourt forced NWC to use 29 seconds to get off a 3-point attempt. Jesse
Vowels hit one of the Crusaders six 3-pointers on the night (in 12 attempts)
but NWC -- which will take a 26-3 record and a second-place trophy and
return to class B next year -- could not get closer.
It was a rare time that NWC couldn't get a 3-pointer when it wanted one. Or
so it seemed to Brewster coach Tim Taylor.
"I haven't sweated in a while," Taylor said in response to a reporter's
question. "It seemed like every turnover we had, they hit a 3. Northwest
Christian had a game plan and they stuck to it."
David Pendergraft, the tournament MVP and crown prince of Brewster's royal
family, led all scorers with 21 points.
Pendergraft, who didn't need to dominate any of the Bears first three wins,
decided -- as he did last year when he scorched Seattle Christian for 26
points, nine in the first 4 ½ minutes -- that he was going to establish his
presence early. He did.
The Gonzaga-bound redhead scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished
the first half with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Pendergraft, certain to be named in the near future as
the 1A Player of the Year for the third time, set a new Brewster career
scoring record, eclipsing the total of 1970s star Dale Smith, when he
reached the 15-point mark in the second period.
The Bears roared out to an 18-2 lead in the first period and extended the
lead to 30-14 in the second period, but the Crusaders hit two big 3s, the
second by Steve Vandenburg with :03 on the clock, to cut it to 31-20 at
halftime.
NWC outscored Brewster 9-2 in the first 2:48 of the final period, cutting
the deficit to 46-41. Joel Ryman was a particular thorn in the paw of the
Bears in that run, hitting a long 3-pointer and convertinga three-point play
off a driving jumper.
But Pendergraft's three-point play with the Bears lead whittled down to
three, 48-45, with 2:38 remaining gave Brewster some breathing room after a
tightly played final period.
Michael Taylor, the standout sophomore who was a second-team all-tournament
selection, finished with 13 points, including four free throws out of the
aforementioned six that held NWC off.
|
N.W. Christian -- Richardson 0-0 0-0 0, DeLaMatter 1-1 2-2 4,
Vowels 1-5 0-0 3, Lippman 4-8 1-3 9, Vandenburg 4-7 0-0 10, Case 0-0
0-0 0, Ryman 7-14 2-3 19, Beyer 2-4 3-3 7. Totals 19-39 8-11 52. |
|
Brewster -- Phillips 2-3 1-1 6, H. Gebbers 2-4 4-4 9, Brown
0-2 0-0 0, Hobart 0-0 0-0 0, Pendergraft 8-9 4-8 21, Evans 3-6 4-5
10, Taylor 2-6 7-7 13. Totals 17-30 20-25 59. |
| N.W. Christian |
10 |
10 |
12 |
20 |
-- |
52 |
| Brewster |
22 |
8 |
14 |
15 |
-- |
59 |
|
3-point goals--NWC 6-12 (Ryman 3-6, Vandenburg 2-3, Vowels 1-3), B
5-8 (Taylor 2-3, Pendergraft 1-1, Gebbers 1-1, Phillips 1-2, Brown
0-1). Rebounds--NWC 17 (Lippman 5, Vandenburg 4), B 15 (Pendergraft
9). Assists--NWC 12 (Vowels 5, Ryman 4), B 17 (Gebbers 6, Taylor 5). Steals--NWC
8 (Ryman 5), B 4. Blocked shots--NWC 2, B 1. Fouled out--Beyer.
Total fouls--NWC 19, B 13. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--NWC 13,
B 12. |
ADVERTISEMENT
©
2002-2008 All photos, content and design
are
properties of the Yakima Herald-Republic.
For questions or additional information
about this
site,
send us
feedback.
Privacy statement |
|
Tourney Bracket
::
Boys tournament
Other Games
Saturday
::
White Pass 65,
Winlock 54
:: Toledo 57,
University Prep 43
:: King's 60,
Freeman 50
:: Brewster
59, N.W. Christian 52
Friday
::
Winlock 51,
Life Christian 40
:: White Pass
46, Onalaska 35
:: University
Prep 46, Bellevue Christian 45
:: Toledo 61,
Zillah 47
:: N.W.
Christian 44, King's 35
:: Brewster
51, Freeman 28
Thursday
::
Winlock 47,
Archbishop Murphy 32
:: Life
Christian 56, Granger 46
:: White Pass
55, White Swan 41
:: Onalaska
52, Cedar Park Christian 38
:: N.W.
Christian 51, Zillah 44
:: King's 57,
Toledo 42
:: Freeman 60,
Bellevue Christian 37
:: Brewster
72, University Prep 42
Wednesday
::
Zillah 47,
Winlock 36
:: N.W.
Christian 56, Archbishop Murphy 41
:: King's 56,
Granger 42
:: Toledo 52,
Life Christian 40
:: Freeman 59,
White Pass 45
:: Bellevue
Christian 56, White Swan 49
:: Brewster 65,
Cedar Park Christian 25
:: University
Prep 55, Onalaska 31
Latest Statistics
::
Boys tournament
Team Capsules
::
Boys tournament
Record Books
::
Boys records
::
Boys champions
::
Boys
all-time scoring leaders
District Results
::
Boys tournament
Girls Tourney
::
Girls tournament |
