A second home

Granger's boys and girls getting used to the SunDome

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

For Granger's basketball teams, the SunDome has quite literally become their home away from home.

Mabton's Jesus Huecias drives against Granger's Chase Carpenter during the Vikings' 74-70 overtime loss to the No. 3-ranked Spartans on Jan. 8 in Mabton. The teams will meet again at 8 p.m. Jan. 30 as part of the SunDome's "Rivalry Saturday."   ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic file

While many players who aren't used to playing basketball in such a cavernous facility fall victim to a skewed sense of depth perception often called "dome vision," the Spartans shouldn't have a problem with that.

Saturday's "Rivalry Saturday" games against Mabton will mark the fifth time this season the Granger boys and girls have played in the SunDome -- the same number of times they've played on their own court in Granger.

"Obviously it's an advantage when the first day of the state tournament will be our sixth game (on the SunDome floor)," said Granger girls coach Andy Affholter, whose 13-0 squad tops the 1A ranks in the latest Associated Press state poll.
"And we may be playing somebody who's there for the first time. Two years ago when we beat Freeman (51-35 in the quarterfinals, when the Scotties were ranked No. 3 and Granger was largely unknown), I think that was their
first time there in a couple of years. So some of their kids have never been in the SunDome, and they didn't shoot well that day -- and they sure shot well the rest of the tournament.

"So I think it's great for your kids to get to play in there during the season."

For the Spartan boys (13-0 and ranked third), Saturday's 8 p.m. SunDome game against Mabton will be a rematch of their Jan. 8 74-70 overtime thriller. But neither Granger coach Miguel Bazaldua or Mabton coach Brock Ledgerwood
is looking ahead to Saturday ... Primarily because pitfalls await on Friday.

"This is a huge weekend. It could really jumble up the standings," Bazaldua said. "We have Naches (Valley) at Naches on Friday, and we're looking forward to that one.

"We'll practice for both of them throughout the week, and obviously they have different styles. Naches plays a 3-2 matchup zone -- it's a tough zone and they play it really well, and they're really patient on offense. They do all the little things really well.

"And Mabton's got great shooters, they penetrate really well, and they create a lot off the dribble. With both of these games we're going to have to bring our 'A' game, because if not we're either going to get run off the court or they're going to finesse us off the court."

Ledgerwood's team, meanwhile, plays at Zillah on Friday night, and that game may matter more than Saturday's to the Vikings in terms of postseason positioning. Mabton is tied for second with Goldendale at 5-2 in SCAC West
play behind 6-0 Granger, and the top two placers have a distinct advantage going into district.

"(The Granger game) is our rivalry. These kids know each other, they've played each other since who knows when in AAU and that stuff," Ledgerwood said.

"The tough thing for us will be to keep them ready for Zillah on Friday night. It's more important for us to beat those other teams and keep us in second place than worrying about Granger and getting first place."

FIRST PLACE, ANYONE? That's precisely what will be up for grabs in the CWAC boys race Friday night in Selah, when Ephrata comes to town to take on the Vikings.

The second-ranked Tigers had all but cemented themselves as the top challenger to reigning champion Squalicum when they went into Wapato last weekend and dropped a 70-66 nailbiter to the Wolves.

That dropped Ephrata from its solo stance atop the CWAC standings into a 9-1 deadlock with Selah, whose only conference loss came by nine points on Ephrata's home court six weeks ago.

"We didn't step up to the challenge like I hoped we would," Ephrata coach Brandon Evenson said after the game, adding that he wasn't surprised to see Wapato play so well.

Also not surprised was Selah coach Kip Harris.

"I don't look at anything that happens in this league as an upset," Harris said. "Anybody can be knocked off. Take our (60-57) score with Quincy (last Saturday). They're at the bottom of the league, we had to have a layin late in the game to take the lead and they had a shot to tie it.

"It doesn't surprise me at all that Wapato knocked (the Tigers) off," Harris said. "I'm always impressed with how Wapato plays. That being said, I think Ephrata has the best team in the league."

Ephrata and Selah have something in common: an injury to a star forcing other players to step into more prominent roles, thus improving the overall team depth.

The Tigers spent last year without 6-foot-9, all-state, Washington State University-bound Patrick Simon, who had a broken foot. In his absence, 6-3 Ross Buchert became an all-CWAC standout and players like Randall Tupling and Mark Novik (both 6-2) vastly improved their games.

Selah, meanwhile, has been without senior Drew Washut for two weeks with a foot problem and now faces the prospect of being without star guard Nick Longmire for the next few weeks because of an illness.

"We've had some other kids really step up," Harris said. Evidence? Mark Valencourt and Shawn Thompson had double-doubles in a win at Othello, junior Brady Hutchins had a 12-point, seven-rebound, eight-assist game at Quincy and sophomore Danny Hernandez had the decisive basket in the win over the Jackrabbits.

SHORT JUMPERS: Other "Rivalry Saturday" games in the SunDome on Saturday will be a SCAC doubleheader pitting Goldendale against Cle Elum and a Mid-Valley 2B pair between La Salle and Riverside Christian. ... Zillah's hopes that stellar freshman Robert Slack, who would almost certainly have started at point guard for the Leopards this year had he not broken his leg during football, won't come true. The initial hopes after his injury was that he might be back in time for a late-season (and possible postseason)
run, but his recovery isn't there yet.

A likely entrant in the 1A boys tournament field come the first week of March will be Chelan, which has the reigning 1A player of the year in 6-6 senior Joe Harris (a University of Virginia recruit). Last week he very nearly outscored a pretty good Lake Roosevelt team by himself, racking up 41
points in an 89-52 road victory. ... How dominant has Rosalia been in Class 1B boys this year? Led by all-stater Jim Maley, the Spartans' 17-0 record includes victories over Wellpinit (ranked No. 2 by BSports.org), No. 9 Cusick (in a 66-40 rout) and by 15 over reigning state champ Tri-Cities
Prep.