Tri-Cities Prep senior forward Andrue Ott has been catching assist passes from Matt Campbell for four years now, but he never caught — and then put into the basket — a bigger one than the one that lifted the Jaguars to a 50-49 victory over No. 2-ranked Moses Lake Christian on Wednesday.

Ott’s go-ahead layup with 11 seconds remaining, after a perfect drive-and-dish assist from Campbell, capped the biggest upset of the 1B tourney’s opening day. When a would-be buzzer-beater by the Lions’ Riggs Yarbro banged off the back rim, the tournament co-favorites were in the losers’ bracket.

“Matt and I have played together for these four years, and he always knows right where to find me and puts the ball right there,” said Ott, whose two free throws with 1:35 remaining had pulled Prep (19-7) to within one point. “It’s the kind of thing where the ball will hit me in the face sometimes if I’m not paying attention.”

The last time the two teams had met, Moses Lake Christian had all but hit the Jaguars in the face, pounding them 54-28 in a holiday tournament.

“The last time we played them we were only down by four at halftime, and so we knew we could play with them,” said Campbell, who had game-highs of 18 points and five assists on Wednesday. “We just had to come out early and go at them with intensity the whole time — you can’t slack off or they’ll just beat you down low all game long.”

Which is pretty much what the Lions did the first time, recalled Prep coach Joe Perez. “The last time they played us, they were getting two and three shots every time, because we were not blocking out,” he said. “This time we did the opposite.”

Another difference, noted MLC coach Lonnie Brown, was free throws. “Make our free throws, it might be different,” said Brown, whose team was 8-for-14 at the line to Prep’s 11-for-14. “And the first half (when Prep led by as many as 11 points), we just didn’t play defense. We let the Campbell kid break us down with the dribble, and that killed us.”

Still, Moses Lake Christian (20-3) dominated the third quarter and was in front 43-41 going into the final period, and still led 47-43 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. But Campbell found Sergio Lopez open for a 3-pointer and, in the final seconds, hit Ott with the pass for the winning basket.

“I saw (the defenders) coming up on me, and I knew Drue usually rolls around there (under the basket), so I figured he’d be there.” And, though Campbell didn’t see him until the split-second before he made the pass, Ott was there. “He was wide open.”

Tri-Cities Prep -- Van Houdt 0-3 0-0 0, M. Campbell 6-12 5-5 18, J. Campbell 1-2 0-1 2, Roach 2-6 2-2 6, Ott 5-14 2-4 12, LeMieux 2-5 0-0 4, Mercado 0-1 0-0 0, Lopez 2-4 2-2 8. Totals 18-47 11-14 50.
Moses Lake Christian -- Moffett 4-10 2-2 12, McNamera 1-6 0-0 3, Bassett 1-7 2-5 5, Matzen 1-2 0-0 2, Timofeyev 1-4 0-1 3, Friehe 1-7 1-2 3, Meiners 0-0 0-0 0, Yarbro 7-13 3-4 17, Walker 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 18-54 8-14 49.
Tri-Cities Prep	14	19	8	9	--	50
Moses Lake Christian	9	18	16	6	--	49
3-point goals--T-C 5-18 (Moffett 2-4, McNamera 1-2, Timofeyev 1-3, Bassett 1-4, Matzen 0-1, Friehe 0-4), MLC 3-8 (Lopez 2-2, M. Campbell 1-3, Roach 0-1, Ott 0-1, Mercado 0-1). Rebounds--T-C 36 (Ott 11), MLC 33. Assists--T-C 11 (M. Campbell 5), MLC 6 (Friehe 2). Steals--T-C 6 (Ott 3), MLC 5 (Friehe 2). Blocked shots--T-C 2, MLC 4 (Yarbro 3). Fouled out--Timofeyev. Total fouls--T-C 13, MLC 18. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--T-C 12, MLC 9.