13th Annual
North Central District "A"
Boys Basketball Tournament
1970

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Tonasket 67, Chelan 48
Wild Card 1. (Loser out)
At Okanogan, WA

Tonasket nabs district berth

Tonasket grabbed a berth in the North Central District basketball tournament by defeating Chelan in a playoff game here Saturday night.
The Tigers had finished the Caribou Trail League campaign in a three-way tie for third place with Chelan and Cashmere.  Cashmere will enter the tournament as the CTL's number four team virtue of a coin flip.  Tonasket earned the number three berth by winning the playoff game. Chelan is eliminated.
Cashmere opens district tournament play against Othello tonight, while Tonasket goes up against Royal Tuesday.
The Tigers were in control after the opening quarter here Saturday night.  They rolled to a 32-19 halftime lead, maintained their advantage through the third quarter and widened the margin in the final period.
Tonasket rebounders, out positioned Chelan under the boards, allowed five Goats only three offensive rebounds. Tonasket out shot the Goats from the field, 25-to-18.
Bill Eberlein led the Tonasket attack with 17 points. Chelan's Skip Boyd topped all scorers with 21.

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Cashmere 64, Othello 55
Game 1. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

Cashmere knocks off determined Othello

Othello, winner of only one game this season, gave the Cashmere Bulldogs a surprisingly stiff argument in the tournament opener.
The Huskies found a Cashmere zone much to their liking and dropped in nine-of-13 shots in the first quarter to build a 21-12 lead.
Cashmere steadily closed the gap in the second period to trail by a one-point margin, 26-25 at halftime. The lead bounced in the third quarter, which ended with Othello on top, 42-40.
The game continued to see-saw in the early minutes of the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs' finally gained control on a field goal by Steve Tift and four free throws by Tim Larson.  Reserve Ken McKenzie also came through with a couple of  crucial baskets.
Cashmere bucketed 24-of-52 field goal attempts for 46 percent shooting accuracy.  Othello hit 22-of-53 for 41 percent.  The Huskies held a 32-19 advantage on the boards.

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Okanogan 60, Cashmere 49
Game 2. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

Okanogan's effective zone defense stops Cashmere

Okanogan employed an effective 1-2-2 zone to defeat Cashmere in sudden-death quarter final action of the North Central District boys basketball tournament Tuesday night.
Okanogan, which works for the good shot underneath, was troubled by turnovers at the outset and didn't have a shooting attempt until the game was 2:40 old. But Jim Strom's club, making up for this early scoring lapse, hit six-out-of-six shots in the first quarter to take a lead, 14-12, that they never surrendered.
While Cashmere was going without scoring for more than five minutes, Okanogan was pumping in 14 straight points to stretch its margin to 24-12.  Greg McManus, with eight, and Alan McIlhenny, with six, accounted for all the Okanogan points during this splurge.
Down by a 29-20 count at halftime, Cashmere rallied in the third period and nearly overtook the crimson-clad Bulldogs from the north.  Sinking 10 straight free throws, but only two field goals, Cashmere pulled within one point, 35-34, with 2:30 remaining in the third.
There the Cashmere rally died.  They again hit another scoring famine and Okanogan built its lead to six points by making five-of-seven free throws.
A field goal by Greg McManus and two free throws by Jeff Russell widened the Okanogan lead to 10 points, 53-43, with 2:06 to play in the game and put it pretty well out of reach for Cashmere.
Okanogan attempted only 37 shots, but made 17 for 46 percent accuracy.  Cashmere bagged only 13 field goals in 46 tries.  Rebounding was even--27 apiece.
Greg McManus with 19 points, and Alan McIlhenny and Jeff Russell, with 17 apiece, all made major contributions to the Okanogan victory.  Russell made 11 free throws. Alan Smith, a 6-4 sophomore, led Cashmere with 22 points.  He sank 10-out-of-12 free throws.
Cashmere was whistled for 27 fouls, compared to 18 on Okanogan.

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Tonasket 84, Royal 72
Game 3. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

Tonasket captures high-scoring barnburner

With Royal emphasizing the fast break and Tonasket playing a ball-hawking game, the Knights and Tigers hooked up in a furious scoring duel.
The full-court pressing Tigers, battling form behind throughout the first quarter, put on a scoring spurt in the first two minutes of the second quarter to forge a five-point, 25-20, lead. The Knights came back to it, once, at 28-all, but never held the lead again.
The Tigers carried a 37-32 advantage into intermission and quickly took control of the game in the third quarter.
With Pat McCliment, Ken Bell, Rick Krell and Steve Lorz taking turns scoring, and stealing the ball, Tonasket coach Ed Pariseau's hustling Tigers poured in 26 points in that eight minute segment and led by as much as 19 points, 63-44, late in the period.
Tonasket made its attack click b repeatedly stealing the ball and stopping the Royal fast break.
Faced with a huge 63-46 deficit going into the final quarter, Royal stepped up its rebounding considerably, overwhelming the Tigers, 20-4, on the boards during the last eight minutes.  The Knights made a determined bid, but never got closer than nine points. Dan Leatham, the main Royal rebounder, fouled out with 2:58 remaining.
Royal attempted 26 shots, making 10, during those final eight minutes.
Lorz and Dennis Stansbury both turned in some alert work around the boards for the Tigers while scoring 22 and 13 points, respectively.  McCliment, shooting well from outside, collected 21 points and Bell scored 15. Krell came off the bench to do a good job and contributed greatly to Tonasket's ball theivery.
Lee Clizer, rugged on the boards, led the Knights with 26 points.  Leatham and Gene Gaukshelm scored 15 apiece.
The Tigers connected for 28 field goals in 63 attempts for 44 percent accuracy.  Royal made 26-of-70 shots. Royal turnovers, of course, nullified their big rebounding advantage.
Tonasket sank 28 free throws in 37 attempts as Royal was nicked for 25 fouls, compared to 16 on the Tigers.

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Okanogan 58, Tonasket 54
Game 4. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

Okanogan repels tough Tonasket

The Okanogan Bulldogs survived a late Tonasket surge to post a thrilling victory over the Tigers and clinch a berth in the State Class A basketball tournament here Friday night.
The Bulldogs will tangle with arch-rival Omak in the North Central District championship game tonight.  The outcome will also determine seeding into the state tournament, opening Wednesday in Tacoma.
The Bulldogs qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 1959, the end of the fabulous Dale Easley era at Okanogan.
Okanogan coach Jim Strom was overcome with emotion after the win over Tonasket and called it the "biggest night of my life."
Strom was not too happy with the Bulldogs' play during the late stages of the game, though.
"We came out right out and played so well," said Strom, reflecting on Okanogan's fine early performance.
"We lost a lot when we lost Mills," Strom commented, referring to guard Mitch Mills, who fouled out with 6:16 remaining. Mills, although he didn't score a point, has played a vital role in the Okanogan success with his steady floor play.
Strom was elated with clutch performance of the 6-4 sophomore Scott McIlhenny.
"The sophomore kid came through," he glowed.
Tonasket, suffering through a long scoring famine and trailing by as much as 20 points in the first half, gave the Bulldogs trouble with a mid-court press and trap defense in the second half, creating a wild ending.
The Tigers, down by a 50-39 count with four minutes to play, outscored Okanogan, 11-2, during the next three minutes to close the margin to 52-50.
Tonasket pulled to within two points on two more occasions the last time at 56-54 on a basket by Rick Krell with 20 seconds remaining.
Scott McIlhenny sank two free throws with seven seconds showing on the clock to wrap up the Okanogan win.
Followers on both teams reflected the intensity of the battle towards the end.  Three technical fouls, including two on individuals in the crowd, were called by the officials during the last five minutes of play.
During the first 12 minutes of play, Okanogan's Alan McIlhenny ruled the boards and the Bulldogs' zone defense thoroughly bottled up the Tiger offense, repeatedly breaking up Tonasket passes.
After spotting Tonasket a 4-1 lead, the Bulldogs went to work and pumped in 15 straight points to boast a 16-4 edge at the close of the first period.
Tonasket, which scored the first time it came down the floor, did not connect from the field again until the mid-point of the second quarter.  Okanogan, meantime, was building a 26-6 lead.  Krell finally ended the Tonasket famine by sinking a base-line shot with 4:18 to play in the half.
Trailing by 20 points, 30-10, with 2:50 remaining in the first half, the Tigers came back to narrow the halftime count to 32-20. Although muffing tow cripples, they cut it to eight points early in the second half and stayed within eight and 10 points until Steve Lorz ignited their final surge with 3:45 to play.
Tonasket's mid-court press, coupled with a stronger effort on the boards, limited Okanogan to just 17 shots in the second half.
Okanogan held the shooting edge.  The Bulldogs made 19-of-51 shots from the field, while Tonasket sank 16-of-56. The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, 37-29.

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Omak 47, Okanogan 42
Game 5. (Championship, both to state)
At Chelan, WA

Omak nudges Okanogan to gain district title

Omak's highly ranked Pioneers captured the North Central District basketball championship by squeezing past Okanogan, 47-42, in a tension-packed tournament finale here Saturday night.
Both clubs will enter the State Class A tournament, opening Wednesday at University of Puget Sound Fieldhouse in Tacoma.
The second-ranked Pioneers will take a 20-1 record into tournament play next week. The Pioneer's lone loss was administered by Brewster in the opening round of the Omak Christmas tournament on December 26.  Since that setback, Del Smith's club has fashioned a 17-game winning streak.
Omak, nursing a slim lead most of the way, was clinging to a one-point margin with 30 seconds to play when the Bulldogs committed a crucial turnover. The Pioneers sank a free throw to widen their lead to two points, then Austin Klahn converted a three-point play to clinch the win.
Both teams employed zone defenses.  The Pioneers' 1-2-2 zone was especially tough as the forced the Bulldogs to shoot from long range.
Omak took a 13-7 lead in the first quarter and increased their advantage to 27-15 by halftime. Okanogan came back strong in he third quarter to trim the Omak lead to a single point, 34-33.  It was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way.
Klahn came through with nine points to keep the Pioneers in front throughout the final period.  He led all scorers with 18 points.  Bill Cottrell contributed 13 to the Omak attack.
Jeff Russell scored 17 and Alan McIlhenny gathered 12 to lead Jim Strom's Bulldogs.
Omak connected for 20-of-62 shots from the field and sank 7-of-12 free throws.  Okanogan made 15-of-49 field goal attempts and connected on 12-of-19 free throws.  Rebounding favored Omak, 44-28.