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Posted Jan. 4, 2002

Walla Walla 56, Southridge 41

By René Ferrán
Herald staff writer

Casey Waddell says his right ankle feels about 80 percent healthy at the moment.

Watching the Walla Walla senior Tuesday night going against Southridge, it's hard to see where he's being hampered.

The 6-foot-4 post had a season-high 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals to lead the Blue Devils to their fourth straight Big Nine Conference victory, 56-41 over the Suns in Kennewick.

Walla Walla (5-1) has won all three post-Christmas break games, beating teams with a combined 10-6 record before facing the Blue Devils - Pasco and Kennewick at home before traveling to Southridge.

"The break was great for our team," said Waddell, who missed two games right before the holiday because of the sprained ankle. "A lot of us got beat up in football, so it was nice for everyone to heal up."

Another player who had a chance to heal a sprained ankle was Pierce Johnson, who led Wa-Hi with 17 points - including six during a 10-2 Devils run that put them ahead 23-10 with 312 minutes left before halftime.

"Our confidence is way up right now," Johnson said. "To come down here and beat a great team like Southridge after the tough weekend we had, I couldn't be more proud of our guys."

The Suns, who lost their second straight after starting the season 4-1, got as close as six in the third quarter, 34-28 with 412 minutes left on Jake Davis' 3-pointer from the top of the arc.

But Wa-Hi closed the quarter with an 8-0 run to lead 42-28, and the lead never fell below double digits again.

"We're still playing our way into shape," said Wa-Hi coach Jim Thacker. "Casey had a breakout game tonight, and the same with Pierce. He really got his outside shooting going tonight."

The Devils held Southridge to 36.4 percent shooting (16-of-44) while hitting at a 50 percent clip (23-of-46).

"We just didn't shoot the ball well," said Suns coach Reid Preppernau. "We had some good looks early, and we couldn't get them to go down. Then we had some defensive breakdowns. The kids knew what was coming and just didn't react to it.

"That's where our youth shows. We tend to lose focus. We played a lot harder tonight, so I'm happy about that. We just need to shoot better and maintain defensive focus."

A major factor in Southridge's offensive woes was the play of Wa-Hi's Travis Poulson on Alex Thornton, the Suns' leading scorer at 14 points per game.

Zac Widmer started the game checking Thornton, but after watching the Suns senior blow past Widmer on consecutive possessions, Thacker moved Poulson on him.

Thornton finished with eight points on 2-of-11 shooting.

"Travis does a good job of staying with guys who come off picks and move around without the ball like Thornton," Thacker said. "We set the tone defensively right away, and then we got our offense going, got a lead and withstood a couple of runs."

Zane Bell led Southridge with 14 points, while Davis added 11 points and five rebounds. Bryce Pendleton chipped in 11 points for Wa-Hi.

WALLA WALLA (56)

Pierce Johnson 17, Poulson 4, Widmer 2, Mettler 4, Waddell 16, Pendleton 11, Mitchell, Maher 2, Hansen, James. Totals 23-46 7-8 56.

SOUTHRIDGE (41)

Davis 11, Thornton 8, Kahoun 3, Zane Bell 14, Munns, Semotiuk 1, Hague 4, Killian, DiDesidero, Miller, Lybeck. Totals 16-44 6-8 41.

Walla Walla 15 11 16 14 - 56

Southridge 8 10 10 13 - 41

3-point goals-WW 3-12 (Pendleton, Johnson, Waddell), S 3-12 (Davis, Thornton 2). Rebounds-WW 23 (Mettler 8), S 23 (Davis 5). Turnovers-WW 6, S 9. Fouls-WW 11, S 13. JV-Walla Walla 44-36.

By the Herald staff

OTHELLO - Othello bounced back from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit to force overtime and hit 5 of 8 free throws in the extra period to beat Quincy 56-49 in a nonleague boys basketball game Tuesday.

Derek Cutforth and Severo Rodriguez scored 16 points apiece to lead the Huskies (6-4). Matt Coffman added 14 points and hit 3 of 4 free throws in the overtime for Othello.

QUINCY (49)

Morris 5, Woods, Tontado-Maag, Jones, Ferguson 3, Gimlin 10, Herra, Medina 5, Chris Rasmussen 13, Neff 11, Kunkel 2. Totals 20-49 7-15 49.

OTHELLO (56)

Severo Rodriguez 16, Kirkwood 3, Derek Cutforth 16, Davis 6, Hafer, Walker 1, Spohr, Coffman 14. Totals 19-48 16-26 56.

Quincy 9 19 12 7 2 - 49

Othello 14 7 11 15 9 - 56

3-point goals-Q 2-10 (Morris, Rasmussen), O 2-7 (Rodriguez 2). Rebounds-Q 43, O 29 (Walker, Cutforth 6). Turnovers-Q 11, O 16. Fouls-Q 21, O 16. Fouled out-Gimlin. JV-Quincy won.

n EV 73, SUNNYSIDE 63

SUNNYSIDE - Chris DeVries scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half as East Valley pulled away to defeat Sunnyside in nonleague action. Derek Gillis led the Grizzlies (2-6) with 17 points.

EAST VALLEY (73)

Rogstad 6, Mata 2, Chris DeVries 30, Dell 10, Corral 4, M.Snell 5, Toye 12, Butler 2, J.Snell 2. Totals 29-45 14-22 73.

SUNNYSIDE (63)

Gomez 8, Sartin 2, Ramirez, Rice 1, Cullen 3, Ramos 2, Hernandez 4, Derek Gillis 17, Montez 6, Jaquish 14, Thomas 4, Schilperoort 2. Totals 25-58 13-27 63.

East Valley 12 24 18 19 - 73

Sunnyside 14 19 13 17 - 63

3-point goals-EV 1-5 (Dell), S 0-7. Rebounds-EV 30, S 35 (Jaquish 10). Turnovers-EV 20, S 31. Fouls-EV 21, S 23. Fouled out-Butler, Gillis. JV-Sunnyside won.

n CASHMERE 47, CONNELL 33

CONNELL - Cashmere took advantage of an off-night by Connell for a nonleague victory on the road. Travis Smith led Connell with 10 points.

CASHMERE (47)

Brandenberry 2, Davis 6, Mac Ovenell 10, Thibault 5, Cloakey 9, Whitehall 4, Fitzpatrick 2, Fletcher 9. Totals 21-41 3-7 47.

CONNELL (33)

Clyde 5, Travis Smith 10, Davidson 4, Dorman 6, Sullivan 6, Chatelain 2, Wells, Knight. Totals 13-42 7-10 33.

Cashmere 11 11 12 13 - 47

Connell 9 3 9 12 - 33

3-point goals-Ca 2 (Thibault, Cloakey), Co 0. Rebounds-Ca 27, Co 26 (Dorman, Sullivan 5). Turnovers-Ca 11, Co 11. Fouls-Ca 8, Co 7.

n ROYAL 58, CLE ELUM 52

ROYAL CITY - Elijah Perkins led a 22-12 second-quarter explosion for Royal by scoring 10 of his 25 points in the frame as the Knights beat nonleague foe Cle Elum.

CLE ELUM (52)

Auckland 10, Hodson 5, Flynn 2, Seth Maras 31, Ratliff 4, Marquette, Simplot, Jones. Totals 17-46 11-13 52.

ROYAL (58)

Gilbert 2, Elijah Perkins 25, Latimer 5, Scroggins 9, C. Iverson 4, T. Hebdon 4, T. Iverson 2, Brown 7, Dorsing, Valle. Totals 22-53 13-19 58.

Cle Elum 9 12 14 17 - 52

Royal 8 22 13 15 - 58

3-point goals-CE 7-23 (Auckland 2, Maras 5), R 1-8 (Scroggins). Rebounds-CE 21 (Auckand 6), R 30 (T. Iverson 7). Turnovers-CE 15, R 14. Fouls-CE 14, R 19. Fouled out-Ratliff. JV-Royal 68-29.

n DAYTON 55, WAITSBURG 47

DAYTON - Junior Dan Sinkbeil hit eight free throws in the final stretch of the game as Dayton beat Waitsburg for its first win.

WAITSBURG (47)

Jason Kaehler 14, D.Kiefel 5, Cole, Smith, Cl.Lindsey 5, Spies 6, Hubbard, Co.Lindsey, Baker 10, G.Kiefel, Mason 7. Totals 18-71 5-13 47.

DAYTON (55)

Sam Howard 15, Sinkbeil 8, Fletcher 6, Galicia 11, Hernandez, Mead 11, Tate, Himmelberger 4. Totals 17-43 19-32 55.

Waitsburg 2 14 13 18 - 47

Dayton 13 15 13 14 - 55

3-point goals-W 6-21 (Kaehler 4, Spies 2), D 2-6 (Howard 2). Rebounds-W 31 (Baker 8), D 27 (Howard 7). Turnovers-W 8, D 10. Fouls-W 23, D 17. Fouled out-Himmelberger, Spies. JV-Waitsburg won.

n RIV. CHRN. 58, TOUCHET 41

TOUCHET - Matt Horsley scored a game-high 23 points to lead Riverside Christian past Touchet in nonleague action. Steven Hudson's 11 points led the Indians (1-6).

n T-O 67, LAC-WASH 61

WASHTUCNA - A.J. Mason scored 18 points to lead Tekoa-Oakesdale past LaCrosse-Washtucna in Whitman County League action. Nick Koller scored a game-high 20 for the Tigercats (3-5, 1-1).

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