24th Annual
North Central District "A" 
Boys Basketball Tournament
1981

Champ

ionship

Febr

uary 23

Che
(20

lan
-3)

Score:

 51-46

Leavenworth
(18-5)

Game 13
Loser 3rd

***************************************************************************

Chelan 63, Lake Roosevelt 40
Game 1.
At Chelan, WA

Lake Roosevelt jumped to a 14-8 first quarter lead and stayed within two points at intermission, 22-20, before Chelan got in gear.
The Goats moved to a 35-28 third quarter lead and then exploded for 28 fourth quarter points to wrap up their 13th straight win.
"We were nervous, had the jitters," said Chelan coach Robbe Pitts of the slow start.
Jim Beeson led the second half Goat charge, scoring 15 of his game high 21 points after intermission.  The strong junior forward added nine rebounds.
Robert Griensewic added 15 points for Chelan, and Steve Blackburn contributed 10.
Mike Mueller led Lake Roosevelt with 10 points.

***************************************************************************

Tonasket 59, Quincy 55
Game 2.
At Tonasket, WA

A sizzling 63 percent shooting clip and the ability to stall out the final few minutes were the keys to the Tonasket triumph over Quincy.
Tonasket canned 25-of-40 field goals tries, including 9-of-13 by Mike Johnson, who scored 12 fourth-period points to personally repel nearly every Quincy threat.
"We played keep away the last couple of minutes and they had to foul us," said Tonasket coach Larry Hearst.  "We went inside to Todd Holmdahl. They either fouled him or he got the good shot."
Johnson finished with 20 points for Tonasket, and Homdahl totaled 16, six coming at the free throw line.
Hearst was pleased with the work of reserve Casey Dorrell, who scored 10 points and "has been a key man for us all season. He runs our offense real well. I've been really pleased with our bench."
Eric Patterson played spectacular ball for Quincy, firing in 22 points, most of them long-range howitzers.  Terry Berens added 14 for the Jacks and Rusty Soelter nearly sparked Quincy to the win, scoring all of his eight points in the fourth quarter.
Both teams got into foul trouble, with both Berens and John Dorais fouling out of the Quincy lineup. Still, the Jacks did have the advantage at the line, making 15-of-19 attempts while Tonasket was connecting on 9-of-15 tries.

***************************************************************************

Leavenworth 55, Omak 49
Game 3.
At Leavenworth, WA

Omak gave Leavenworth all it could handle.
The Pioneers made it a two-to-three point ball game to well into the fourth quarter before Leavenworth struck for three transitional buckets on fast-breaks.
"They played well," said Leavenworth coach Sam Willsey of the Pioneers.  "They came out and ran their offense well and hit their shots.  If they play like that they're going to give people a lot of trouble."
Willsey said his own team's "shot selection was not good. If we had any bright spots, Roy Wechselberger kept us in the ball game with his rebounding."
Wechselberger speared 16 rebounds to give Leavenworth a 35-27 advantage on the boards.
Willsey also felt that Doug Darlington's second-half defense on Monte Priest was vital.
Darren Weaver not only paced the Leavenworth offense with 18 points but also dished out six assists to his teammates. David Kimmerly added 16 for Leavenworth.
Priest and David McCormack shared Pioneer scoring honors with 14 apiece and Ben Booher finished with 11.

***************************************************************************

Ephrata 65, Cashmere 55
Game 4.
At Ephrata, WA

With the score tied, 46-46, entering the fourth quarter, Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien sent a heavily taped Joe Whalen into the game for the first time.
"When he walked in, the place went crazy," said O'Brien. "The entire team came together. He was the catalyst."
Whalen, who suffered a stress fracture in his foot just over a week ago, hit five points in the final stanza, and Matt Ratigan contributed eight as the Tigers steadily pulled away.
"Ratigan was unbelievable," said O'Brien of the senior forward who scored a career-high 28 points, including 18 in the second half.
Ephrata, which trailed 12-6 in the early going, hit a tremendous 68 percent from the field in the second half (17-for-25).
"The key to this game was offensive discipline and good shot selection," O'Brien commented.  "We played them real well all three times this year season (two Ephrata wins).
"This means a lot to me," he added. "I have the highest respect for Cashmere.  It means a lot when you beat a team like that.  We're really happy."
Wayne Yerigan collected 13 points for the Tigers, while Kelly Goble led four double-figure Cashmere scorers with 14 points.
Tim Osborn netted 12 for the Bulldogs and Don Sites and Chuck Lippert tallied 10 apiece.

***************************************************************************

Quincy 70, Lake Roosevelt 65
Game 5. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Quincy's Jackrabbits romped to a 60-44 third-quarter lead and then had to fight of a valiant Raider comeback effort.  Quincy hit 10-of-14 fourth quarter free throws to hang on for the win.
Terry Berens led the winners with 27 points, a season high.  Eric Patterson tossed in 14 and Jim Neavill added 10 for the Jackrabbits.
Lake Roosevelt was led by junior reserve John Pachosa, who pumped in 15 points, and Mike Mueller, who netted 14.

***************************************************************************

Cashmere 68, Omak 53
Game 6. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Cashmere put Omak away early, exploding for a 20-4 first quarter lead and a 37-12 halftime advantage.
Bill Kelly's Bulldogs in avenging a 72-62 league loss to the Pioneers, had four double-figure scorers.
Jeff Martin took scoring honors with 16 points, Kelly Goble poured in 15, Chuck Lippert collected 12 and Tim Osborn had 11 for Cashmere.
Ben Booher topped Omak with 14 points and Monte Priest added 11.
Of Note: The Omak High School boys' basketball program came under fire at the school board meeting March 9. Ev Phillips and new school board member Billy Gunn both criticized the program.
Gunn directed his criticism at head coach Greg Howard before being warned by chairwoman Gail Morrison that he was evaluating a school district employee in open session. Evaluations usually  are done behind closed doors. Howard was not present at the meeting.
"All coaches and advisors for fall and winter activities will be evaluated at the next board meeting," said superintendent John Turner.
A former Omak High School basketball player, Gunn said, "I have nothing against Greg Howard. He's a nice person. I don't think he knows enough about the game to be a basketball coach."
Before being advised to speak no more, Gunn added that a basketball team needs more than eight players.
Howard has guided the team to the North Central District basketball tournament in his two years as head coach. The team was 10-12 last year and 7-15 this year in the CTL play.
In a letter to the board, Phillips said that there is "considerable turmoil and discontent among school patrons and parents concerning the high school boys basketball program."
"As expressed by many, the focus of the complaints is in the area of coaching. This may or may not be the problem."
An Omak booster, Phillips told the board that he has become "an Omak booer."
He suggested that a committee consisting of the superintendent, senior and junior high principals and athletic director recommend goals for the program and determine whether the present staff can meet them.
Phillips proposed that the board review the committee's recommendations and seek opinions from parents and school district patrons.
Under his proposal, the board then would set goals for the program and the superintendent would initiate steps to meet those goals.
In a separate letter, Phillips said that he thought about making his proposal in January but decided to wait until after the basketball season to avoid jeopardizing the team's morale.
The board took no action on Phillips' proposal.
Editors Note:  Billy Gunn would become the head girls basketball coach at Lake Roosevelt from 1993-96. He compiled a disastrous 11-50 record in those three years. It appears that Gunn was an expert about "not knowing enough about the game to be a basketball coach." 

***************************************************************************

Chelan 59, Tonasket 56
Game 7. (Semi-final)
At Eastmont High School

Back-to-back baskets by Trae Buchert brought Tonasket within two points with a minute left, but that was as close as the Tigers could get.
"We made it interesting, anyway," said Tonasket coach Larry Hearst.  "We came back in the second half, and I was pleased with that."
Tonasket, one of only two teams to beat Chelan this season (by three points in December), has lost to the Goats by five and three points in their last two meetings.
"We're pretty evenly matched I'd say," said Hearst.
Jeff Carlquist collected 17 points, including 13 in the second half, Todd Hohldahl netted 13 and Mike Johnson added 10 for the Tigers.
There were just 19 free throws attempted in the hard-fought game, completed in just over an hour's time.
"I thought it was a really well-played game," said Chelan coach Robbe Pitts.  "I feel bad for Tonasket. They're tough."

***************************************************************************

Leavenworth 64, Ephrata 63
Game 8. (Semi-final)
At Eastmont High School

Late in the final quarter it was the Grizzlies' turn to regain the momentum, and they did so with back-to-back baskets, by David Kimmerly and Doug Darlington and Nick Rayfield's clutch free throws.
"They don't quit," said Leavenworth coach Sam Willsey of his team. "Even when we weren't playing well the kids were putting out 100 percent effort."
The same was true for Ephrata.
"The kids have great heart, that's the character of an Ephrata team," said Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien. "I thought we played one of our poorest first quarters of the season, but it was probably one of the better comebacks you're going to see.  These are great kids."
"Our substitutes did a great job, and our trapping press was effective," O'Brien added. Leavenworth is a class team, very well coached and poised, and they played good basketball when they had to."
Willsey, while "not satisfied with the way we played" overall, was "fairly happy with our defense. That's the only thing that kept us in the ball game," he said.
"We'd have a run, then we'd quit attacking and they'd attack," he continued. "We're going to have to learn to sustain the momentum."
Kimmerly led the winners with 24 points, Darlington popped in 17, including 11 in the second half, and Weaver contributed 12 points and seven assists.
Joe Whalen tossed in 19 points for Ephrata while Matt Ratigan and Wayne Yerigan netted 16 apiece, each scoring 10 in the second half.

***************************************************************************

Ephrata 50, Quincy 48
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Ephrata, on Joe Whalen's left-handed (no backboard) lay up with one second left, edged neighboring Basin rival Quincy.
"I can't believe what we coaches go through," said Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien. "Imagine putting my life in the hands of an 18-year old kid with a bad ankle."
But bad-ankle Whalen came through and the Tigers were still much alive in the race for state.
Whalen's shot capped a typical hard-fought Quincy-Ephrata game...wild from start to finish.
"I'm really happy we won when we didn't play all that well," O'Brien said. "Fifteen wins means a lot to us. That's about the third or fourth best record an Ephrata teams has ever had.
"I can't believe it. We've won four of our last five with our normal starting five."
Whalen, still recovering from a stress fracture, drove the baseline and opted to use the left hand for the game winner. Ephrata, gaining possession with 38 seconds left after a Brian O'Shea basket had tied the game for Quincy, 48-48, elected to go for the last shot. O'Brien called time-out with 12 seconds left.  Whalen's winner followed.
Said Quincy coach Jim Spence: "When the season started we were suspect. We lost two by 20 points early and we decided right then if we were going to get beat it wouldn't be by 20."
The Jackrabbits played this do-or-die game in that typical fashion: "My kids have a lot of pride.  There's no quit in them. They just don't believe they're going to lose."
It was that kind of attitude which brought the Jacks back from a 46-40 deficit in the final five minutes.  Five straight times against the Quincy press Ephrata turned the ball over.
The result was a Quincy basket and two free throws by Rusty Soelter and a tying left handed swisher by John Dorais from the side.  That made it 46-all.  With 1:05 left, Matt Ratigan calmly put in two free throws to send Ephrata in the lead before O'Shea responded for Quincy to tie it again at 48.
"Our kids showed a lot of courage all year and they did again tonight," Spence said of the Jackrabbits.
Ratigan topped Ephrata with 17 points and Whalen finished with 14.
Terry Berens scored 13 to lead Quincy. Soelter, playing his finest game of the season, according to his coach, added 12 and O'Shea netted 10.

***************************************************************************

Tonasket 61, Cashmere 56
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Eastmont, WA

Tonasket trailed 50-46 early in the fourth quarter when 6-foot-5 junior Todd Holmdahl decided to take matters into his own hands.
Holmdahl scored seven of Tonasket's next nine points in a run which sent the Tigers ahead 55-52.  The Bulldogs got no closer the rest of the way.
Until Tonasket took charge, the game had been a see-saw scrap with neither team ahead by more than six.
"We didn't panic when the pressure came at the end," said Tonasket coach Larry Hearst.
"They (the Bulldogs) came at us pretty good but when the going got tough we took it to them pretty good too."
Beating Cashmere was no fluke for Tonasket. The Tigers already owned to wins over the Bulldogs.
"I'll tell you, they've really improved," said Hearst of Cashmere. "They did a good job in their zone."
Cashmere coach Bill Kelly felt his team "played as well as we can. The zone we ran did what it was supposed to do."
It bottled up Tonasket's inside game until Holmdahl's fourth quarter spree. The Tigers then were able to take advantage of their superior height against the Bulldog man-to-man defense at the end.
Hearst felt, in addition to Holmdahl's 15-point game, that reserve Todd Gardinier, a 6-3 junior, "did a good job. He got a couple of key baskets for us. There's a kid who deserves more playing time but the kids out on the floor are doing such a good job."
The scorebook explains Hearst's dilemma: senior leader Mike Johnson (11 points)... Trae Buchert, yet another junior, (13 points) and, yes, one more junior, Jeff Carlquist (11 points).
"We're returning five of our top six," said Hearst with a grin. "This year we'd like to get a taste (of state) and next year go over there and make an impression."
But first the Tigers need tow more victories.
Sophomore Tim Osborn paced Cashmere with 18 points and Kelly Goble and Don Sites, the latter in his final game as a Bulldog, each added 12.

***************************************************************************

Ephrata 62, Tonasket 61
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Matt Ratigan shot Ephrata to a big lead through three quarters, and then a pair of reserves enabled the Tigers to hold off an outstanding Tonasket comeback for the victory in a real thriller.
Bob Cornwell scored just one basket for Ephrata, but it couldn't have come at a better time.
The junior reserve rebounded a missed shot and muscled it back in with six seconds left to provide the winning points for the Tigers.
And then it was back-up center Andy Allan, also a junior, who came up with some heroics on the other end of the court. He deflected Jeff Carlquist's pass in the final seconds, preventing Tonasket from getting up a final shot before time expired.
Mike Johnson picked up the loose ball and shot from just inside the free throw line. The ball hung on the rim and dropped off, but would have been ruled no good even if it had gone because the final buzzer had sounded, official timekeeper, Dan White said.
It was Johnson who hit a shot bank shot with 27 seconds left to give Tonasket a 61-60 lead and set up Cornwell's game-winner. That was Tonasket's only lead in the game.
With Ratigan scoring Ephrata's first 10 points, the Tigers bounced to an 18-8 first-quarter lead and upped the margin to 34-18 with just over a minute left in the half.
Tonasket rallied to within four points at 43-39 with one minute left in the third period, but Jeff Plew hit two free throws, and Ratigan added three more quick points to put Ephrata back in control.
The lead was back to 11 points with five minutes left when Tonasket mounted its final charge. Coach Larry Hearst's Tigers went on a 16-4 rampage, which included a key three-point play by Trae Buchert and three free throws by Todd Holmdahl and was capped by Johnson's short banker.
"We're a momentum team," said Hearst. "We came out in the second half ready to play, hit a couple buckets the first few times down the floor and got rolling."
"Rolling" is exactly what Ratigan was doing for three quarters. The sharp-shooting 6-2 senior hit six of eight shots in the first period, collected 19 points by intermission and finished with 26.
"I hate to overplay one guy, but Matt Ratigan, was obviously a one-man show in the first half," Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien commented. "He loosened us up, got us started, and the team rallied around him."
Meanwhile, Ephrata's hard-nosed, man-to-man defense kept Tonasket from getting easy shots, and they hit just 21-of-55 for the game (38.2 percent).
"The fact that we came out with a good, aggressive, scrappy man-to-man defense is why our offense worked well, too." O'Brien pointed out. "That was one of our better-played games all year long."
"Tonasket's a great basketball team. It's too bad they don't get to go on," he added.
"The last three or four games Greg Anderson has come in and been gold out there everytime," O'Brien praised.

***************************************************************************

Chelan 51, Leavenworth 46
Game 12 (Championship)
At Eastmont High School

The Goats and Grizzlies were stalemated, at 44-all, after more than 30 minutes. The last one and a half minutes belonged to Chelan's Steve Blackburn.
The senior forward scored six of the Goats' final seven points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:39 remaining and four straight free throws in the final 24 seconds to ice the win.
That flurry gave Blackburn a game-high 20 points, the same number that produced in a semifinal victory over Tonasket. He was 8-of-8 at the foul line.
"Blackburn did it again," said Chelan coach Robbe Pitts. "Everybody's been collapsing on Jim Beeson so much the other guys have had come through."
Beeson collected 15 points, including a big free throw with 28 seconds left that gave Chelan a 47-44 lead and guard Brad Harn added 12 crucial points for the winners, hitting his first six field goals attempts.
The game was tied on 11 occasions, and the lead changed hands 13 times.  The biggest margin for either team was Chelan's 22-16 lead early in the second quarter.
The only major difference between the two teams - and it was a glaring difference - was at the free throw line. Chelan hit an excellent 15-of-20 foul shots (75%), while Leavenworth had a horrid 2-of-9 night at the line (22.2%).
"The free throws really didn't help us a bit," said Leavenworth coach Sam Willsey.  "We couldn't hit a foul shot, and when we were forced turnovers we didn't convert."
"Where we lost the ball game I felt was at the outset of the fourth quarter when we forced four turnovers in a row and couldn't convert," he added.
The Grizzlies who outscored Chelan by eight points from the field, went through a deadly three-minute scoreless span in the fourth quarter.
"I think what saved us was our defense," Pitts pointed out. "When our offense was so poor, I'm just glad defensively we were able to do the job."
That defense, a 2-3 zone, held Leavenworth to its lowest offensive output in over three years.
While the Goats shot just 36.7% from the floor (18-for-49), "we always seemed to get the bucket at the right time," Pitts said.
Willsey was not displeased with his team's effort.
"Generally, I'm happy with the way we played," commented the Leavenworth coach. "I think the kids played a heck of a game.
"It was anybody's ball game. They're a darn good team."
Darren Weaver led the Grizzlies with 16 points and several steals.  Doug Darlington tossed in 12 points, including four straight high-arching bombs in the first quarter, and Roy Wechselberger scored 10.
High-scoring Leavenworth center David Kimmerly, averaging over 19 points a game, was held to eight points.
Pitts felt his club did not play well, but credited that to Leavenworth's work defensively.
"I think they did a good job," he said of the Grizzlies. "We didn't play up to our potential, but you've got to attribute that to Leavenworth. They played great defense."
"We were awfully tight. We can play better."
And the most important thing is they'll get the chance to do just that - in the state tournament.

***************************************************************************

Leavenworth 71, Ephrata 58
Game 13. (Winner to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School

With the score tied, 44-44, midway through the third period on Saturday night, Leavenworth coach Sam Willsey decided it was time to gamble.
And the gamble, switching to a defense the Grizzlies had never used before, never even practiced, paid off in the form of a 71-58 victory over a scrappy, hard-nosed Ephrata outfit in the battle for second place in the boys North Central District A basketball tournament.
The win sends the Grizzlies to the State "A" tournament in Tacoma, where they will join District champion Chelan on Wednesday.
Ephrata finished its season with a fine 16-9 record under first-year head coach Marty O'Brien. Leavenworth will take a 19-5 record to the state tourney.
For 20 minutes it looked like the Tigers and Grizzlies were going to have to wait until the final seconds before the outcome was decided, which is what happened in their other three meetings this season.
"It looked like it was going to end up the same type of ball game, and we didn't want to go through that again," said a relieved Willsey.
So he called time-out and drew up a box-and-one defense to stop Matt Ratigan from the outside and neutralize Joe Whalen's driving effectiveness.
The result was tremendous for the Grizzlies. Ephrata didn't score a field goal for the next six minutes, and by that time Leavenworth had compiled an almost insurmountable 60-46 advantage.
"The kids did a good job of adapting to it," Willsey said, noting that the idea was brought up before the game by seniors Doug Darlington and Jim Ward. "It worked out real well."
O'Brien agreed.
"I think the big key was the box-and-one defense," he noted. "It confused us a little."
While the defensive tool was new. Leavenworth's offensive weapon was a very familiar one: David Kimmerly.
The smooth, high-leaping junior had a tremendous game, bombing in 28 points. He hit an excellent 12-of-17 field goal attempts, and scored 18 points in the Grizzlies' decisive second half.
"That's the kind of player he is," Willsey commented.
"David Kimmerly not only has great natural ability," added O'Brien. "He's a super kid. I'm really impressed with his great emotional control on the court."
Leavenworth's hustling floor leader, Darren Weaver, contributed 14 points, while Roy Wechselberger and Jim Ward each had fine games for Leavenworth.
Doug Darlington played a major role in the victory with his defensive work on the sharp-shooting Ratigan averaging over 21 points in four district games, the talented Tiger senior was limited to 10.
"They may be second place in the bracket, but these kids are number 1 as far as I'm concerned," Willsey praised. "It's tough to come back after a game like last night, but they decided they wanted to do it."