One favorite came through by the slimmest of
margins. Another came through on the shortest of centers. And so upstart
Moses Lake Christian and fourth-ranked Entiat moved into the semifinals,
joining defending championship Sunnyside Christian and tournament
regular Tekoa-Oakesdale.
Entiat overcame foul problems first involving its point guard and
then costing them their 6-foot-6 center Thursday against the athletic
and physical Neah Bay Devils. The Tigers played nearly all of the last
12 minutes with Tomas Whitehall in the middle.
Though Whitehall is listed at 6-foot, he'd need to stand on more than
the Entiat phone book to get there. But he came up huge in a 45-34
Entiat victory that was closer than the score indicated — at least after
6-6 Dylan Crawley had to head to the sideline midway through the third
quarter. Until that point, he'd been off his game so much that coach
Bill Edwardson had actually pulled him to the bench.
"I was playing awful. When he got his fourth foul, I thought, 'Oh
crap, I'd better find my game,'" Whitehall said. "And in the middle of
all the Red Devils, I found it."
Whitehall scored eight of his game-high 14 points during a 10-6 run
over 51/2 minutes of the third and fourth quarters that built a 35-29
lead the Tigers (20-2) never relinquished.
"He stepped up big," said high-flying Entiat guard Jacob Andersen,
whose often spectacular play — nine points, seven rebounds and four
steals — helped offset the early foul woes of point guard Leonardo
Quezada. "We're used to playing with everyone on the team, so if
somebody's gone, other guys can do the job."
In its 51-48 quarterfinal upset of Garfield-Palouse, Moses Lake
Christian (16-6) had to deal with the loss Adrian Moffet, the team's
leading scorer at 21 points per game. Moffet played only four minutes of
the second half before fouling out, and the Lions saw their 37-27 lead
turn into a 44-41 deficit with only three minutes remaining.
"It felt like we were getting out of control," Lion senior Jesse
Bassett said. "I think it was kind of the nerves, you know? Big game.
The coaches pulled us in and told us to settle down and do what we do.
And things worked out."
They worked out because, with Moffet held to six points, Isaac
Murrell, Taylor Sandberg, Kameron Firouzi and Bassett all scored between
7 and 13 points to pick up the slack.
"That's what was so great to see. Other guys did step up," Bassett
said. "It showed people that we're not a one-man show. We're a team."
Tekoa-Oakesdale (18-9) whipped Lake Quinault 48-32 behind Kelly
Cook's 17 points.
