Published
February 26, 2009
Spartans charge to win
21-point scoring run leads Rosalia to 63-53 victory
By
SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
It was a loser-out game of a state tournament at the smallest level of
Washington prep sports, the Class 1B. Not the time, perhaps, for
anything really memorable.
And, down nine to Lummi with less than 5 1/2 minutes to play, that
wasn’t what the Rosalia Spartans were trying to produce. Says Nathan
Richards, the Spartans’ irrepressible 6-foot-5 center, “We just didn’t
want to go home.”
How they accomplished that goal was, yes, really memorable.
With 21 unanswered points.
From dead in the water to basking in the glow of a big lead.
It started with Richards, the team’s vocal leader, barking encouragement
on the court and in a timeout huddle at the rest of the team and at the
team’s junior star, Jim Maley. “C’mon, Jim! It’s our game! It’s our
game!”
And, over barely three minutes, it became just that.
Maley hit a field goal. D.J. Brown came up with a steal and Richards
scored. Richards blocked a shot — one of three he had in the fourth
quarter — and Maley scored again. Zach St. John made a steal, and Maley
hit a third straight shot.
After a Richards steal, Garrett Kerle, the only senior in the Rosalia
lineup, coolly swished a 3-pointer and, just like that, the Spartans
were in front 53-51.
“Our crowd, the teammates, our coaches ... we were just so fired up,”
said Maley, who would finish with 28 points on 12-for-16 shooting. Part
of that, he noted, was the fire-’em-up attitude and play of Richards:
“He can get us pumped up.”
“We just fed off each others’ emotion, off everything that was
happening, really,” said Richards, who finished with 22 points and 15
rebounds.
Kerle’s 3-pointer made it 11 straight points, and the Spartans were only
getting warmed up. They would score 10 more before Lummi finally hit a
pair of free throws with one second remaining. The 63-53 final might
look like a routine victory, but this one was anything but routine.
“I’m kind of dumbfounded, to be honest,” Rosalia coach Rob Hudkins said.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like that.”
Few people have.
Richards said it best. “It’s the will to win.”
|
Lummi -- James 5-11 0-0 12, Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Edwards 3-6 0-0 8,
Tom 0-3 2-2 2, Revey 0-0 0-0 0, Fryberg 0-0 0-0 0, Oldham 0-1 0-0 0,
Roberts 0-1 2-3 2, Jefferson 7-17 3-5 19, Dennis 4-8 2-4 10, Cultee
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 9-14 53. |
|
Rosalia -- C. Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Carrothers 0-0 0-0 0, Kuhn
0-1 0-0 0, Hodges 0-2 1-4 1, Kerle 2-4 0-0 5, Hereford 1-1 0-1 2, D.
Brown 1-4 1-2 3, Maley 12-16 4-10 28, Richards 5-14 12-18 22, St.
John 1-3 0-0 2, Loucks 0-0 0-0 0, Hale 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 18-35
63. |
| Lummi |
19 |
18 |
10 |
6 |
-- |
53 |
| Rosalia |
16 |
13 |
7 |
27 |
-- |
63 |
|
3-point goals--L 6-19 (James 2-3, Edwards 2-5, Jefferson 2-8,
Roberts 0-1, Tom 0-1, Dennis 0-1), R 1-4 (Kerle 1-3, Hodges 0-1). Rebounds--L
27 (Edwards 6, Tom 6), R 36 (Richards 15, Maley 11). Assists--L 7
(Jefferson 2), R 4 (Kuhn 2). Steals--L 6 (James 2, Jefferson 2, Tom
2), R 9 (Richards 2, Hodges 2, Kuhn 2). Blocked shots--L 1, R 4
(Richards 4). Fouled out--Tom, Revey.
Total fouls--L 23, R 13. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--L 17, R
13. |
|
