Grandview's Frankie Medina, lower left, and James Vela, right, go after a loose ball along with Quincy's Chris Pontarolo-Maag, left, and Dustin Petersen during Friday's Class 2A semifinal contest.   JEFF HALLER/Yakima Herald-Republic View all photos for this story.

Grandview held scoreless for 16-minute span,
sets futility mark for lowest losing score

By ROGER UNDERWOOD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

It had been proven, geometrically and otherwise, that the south basket on the north court of the SunDome was big enough and round enough for a regulation basketball to go through.

But if you’d watched only the third quarter of Grandview’s Class 2A state semifinal game with Quincy on Friday night, you’d never have known it.

The Greyhounds scored no points — zero — during that eight-minute span, and the drought wilted Grandview’s title hopes in the form of a 31-23 loss to Quincy.

Instead of opposing Medical Lake at 9 p.m. Saturday for the championship, coach Scott Parrish’s squad will meet Chimacum at 5 p.m. in a game to determine third and sixth places.

Not what the Greyhounds had in mind, obviously.

But a scoreless third quarter wasn’t in their game plan, either.

“Crazy, wasn’t it?” asked Parrish, who couldn’t recall a similar incident during his seven-year tenure as Grandview’s head man.

And the whole thing seemed particularly bizarre given that in a district semifinal against the same Jackrabbit team at Benton City, the Hounds had shot “lights out,” as Parrish had described it, in a 73-49 rout.

Quincy had used the same players and, Parrish said, the same 1-2-2 zone defense.

“Tonight they were more active, though,” he said. “We wanted to get inside to Chris (Mejia) early, but we settled for some jumpers. We thought we could get some stuff established inside, but we never really did.”

True enough. The third quarter wasn’t Grandview’s only period of adversity, but it was clearly its worst.

Although the Greyhounds weren’t the first Class 2A state team to post a goose-egg for a quarter — Steilacoom did it against Ilwaco in 2003 — they did establish a tournament record for lowest losing score, three points fewer than Castle Rock had managed against Chewelah in 1998.

Quincy’s winning total, meanwhile, was one point higher than the Jacks had put up in 2000 against, ironically, Grandview, and also Nooksack Valley against Steilacoom last year.

“It’s kind of been this way the last three days,” Parrish said. Tonight it caught up with us.”

And to think that with 3:21 to play in the first half, the Hounds seemed to be getting untracked.

A 15-foot jumper by Mejia had given Grandview a 15-11 lead and reserve Brandon Artz had nailed two 3-pointers.

But by the time the Greyhounds scored again, only 3:04 was left in the game and Quincy had a 27-15 advantage even after Mejia’s free throw ended his team’s 16-minute, 17-second dry spell.

As one would suspect of a game this low-scoring, the statistics were extraordinarily weak.

Lowlighted by the 0-for-9 third period, Grandview shot 17 percent from the field (7 for 42), and Artz’s 3-balls were the only ones his team made in 21 attempts.

Mejia, with nine points, was the Hounds’ top scorer while James Vela added seven. Only four Grandview players scored.

Quincy’s numbers weren’t much brighter — 32 percent from the field and only 1 for 9 from 3-point range — but in this instance they were good enough.

Matt Medina, a 6-foot senior who averaged 20.3 points during the regular season, scored 15 while Dustin Kniep added nine.

After scoring their first second-half point, the Greyhounds shifted into full scramble mode and, after forcing several turnovers with their full-court press, got to within 27-22 with 1:34 to play.

But the Jackrabbits forced Grandview to foul, and from that point kept their distance via free throws.

“All credit to Quincy,” Parrish said. “They came out with great intensity and did what they needed to do to win.”

Asked it would be difficult for his team to regroup, Parrish said, “It will. It’ll be tough. But these kids have been tough kids, a great group to coach, and this will be their last game together. Hopefully they’ll give it a good shot.”