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Oroville 71, Omak 48
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Oroville shot a blistering 64 percent from the field (28-of-44) and 71 percent from the foul line (15-of-21) in knocking Omak out of the tournament.
"We tried to pressure them early, get them them down and get the game over with soon," said Oroville coach Allen Jefferson.
"I was pleased with the first half defense. I thought we played with a lot of intensity defensively in the first half."
Jefferson knows his team will have to continue to perform well on defense to make it to Tacoma.
Against Omak, Oroville was definitely on one of their "up nights" offensively. The Hornets missed only four field goal attempts in the second half.
John Sylvester, whose previous scoring high was 23 points, led the Hornets with 21. But those totals have come against Omak. 
Also, scoring in double figures were Chris Hancock (14), Darryn Trainor (12) and Allen Allie (10).
It just wasn't Omak's night. The Pioneers although shooting 49 percent, got only 37 shots against the Hornet defense, making 18. Omak was 12 of 21 from the line. Not one Omak player scored in double figures and the Pioneers were out-rebounded, 24-12.
"Getting off to a poor start (15-6 Oroville in the early going) didn't help us," said Omak coach Tim Roloff. "We were playing catch-up basketball and we can't do that."
It's been a trying season for Omak.
"We had continuing problems of kids staying eligible or being gone," Roloff said. "With all that I thought the kids hung with it. I was really proud of them. They played some good basketball in the second half of the season. That was satisfying to me."

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Tonasket 83, Ephrata 73
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

In a game that took more than two hours to play, Tonasket and Ephrata combined for 65 fouls, 38 turnovers and 87 free throw attempts. Five players fouled out, including three key Tonasket starters: Robert Howe, Stewart Smith, and Todd Holmdahl.
It was not an artistic success to say the least.
The reason the game turned into a free throw parade was a tremendous first-half performance by Tonasket. By halftime Tonasket had constructed a 39-21 lead thanks to some hot shooting (15-of-27) and a defense that held Ephrata without a field goal for nearly seven minutes in the second quarter.
Ephrata, which trailed by 55-31 five minutes into the third period, desperately tried to get back in it by stopping the clock.  Ephrata charged to the basket hard on offense and gambled on defense. By the final gun the Orange had been whistled for 38 fouls.
The tactic almost worked. With 90 seconds left Rob Sage scored to trim Tonasket's once-safe lead to 76-72. However, two long range misses by Ephrata and a free throw and basket by Tonasket's Troy Michels at the other end clinched the victory.
Tonasket's reserves, although shaky at times, have to be credited with saving the win. Coach Mike Thacker agreed.
"Troy Michels came off the bench ready to play," said Thacker. "All the reserves held their composure at the end."
Both team's coaches agreed that the first half, not the hectic finish, was the story of the game.
"We came out aggressive on defense in the first half," said Thacker. "Our defense was awesome. The defense accompanied by our good shooting was responsible for the big lead."
Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien knew something was wrong on Tuesday when his team had their "worst practice of the season. It carried over through the first half. Tonasket's defense took us right out of everything we tried to do offensively."
"It boils down to Thacker's guys were ready and O'Brien's weren't."
Thacker felt that Howe "did a good job defensively on Ephrata's Mike Whalen in the first half."
Whalen was saddled with four fouls before halftime, two of them offensive charges.
Tonasket, which shot a robust 57 percent from the field (25-of-44) and hit 33-of-54 free throws was paced by Holmdahl's 28 points. He fouled out with four minutes to play.
Tracy Williams (13 points), Shad Johnson (13) and Stewart Smith (11) also scored in double figures for Tonasket. Kelly Smith performed well for Tonasket as well.
Whalen totaled 18 points before going to the sidelines with his fifth foul  at 3:44 in the fourth quarter. Another Ephrata starter, Jeff Pheasant also fouled out.
Greg Carlson added 13 points for Ephrata and Steve Ward was instrumental in the second-half comeback, producing 12 off-the-bench points.
Although just 25-of-58 (.413) from the field, Ephrata made a game of it by hitting 25-of-33 free throws (.758). Tonasket out-rebounded Ephrata, 30-27.
"We're not a bad ball club," said O'Brien. "But when you get knocked out this early you can't prove it. We beat everybody in the league except Quincy. I thought our kids pretty well played up to their potential."

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Oroville 67, Tonasket 65
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

It was a memorable Friday, February 24, 1984, for Oroville coach Allen Jefferson.
At 3:48a.m. his wife (Connie) presented him with a new son: Kyle Edward Jefferson.
About 8:30p.m., his basketball team gave him a victory over Tonasket, marking the second straight year that the Hornets had eliminated their arch-rivals from state-tournament contention.
"I feel like Phil Mahre," joked Jefferson. "This (win) was no gold medal by the kids played really well and I'm happy for them."
Mahre's wife also gave birth to a son this week while Phil was winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympic Games.
The Hornets virtually hustled their way past Tonasket.
"We played a lot more hungry," said a weary Jefferson, who had gone hours without sleep for more than 24 hours. "I could see it in the players eyes. They really wanted this one."
One of the players who had fire in his eyes was Chris Hancock, of 1982-83 when he scored a record 42 points against Chelan in this tournament. Hancock, slowed by knee surgery this year, erupted for 26 points, including nine points in the fourth quarter.
"Chris came to play," said Jefferson. "That's what I've been waiting for. I think we got a better all-around team effort. We hustled on defense and that's always a key for us."
For Tonasket, it was a frustrating end to a good season.
"We just couldn't get over the top," said Tonasket coach Mike Thacker. "The difference was we weren't getting into our offense. By not getting into (the offense) we weren't playing our tempo. We we're playing their games instead of ours."
After the teams exchanged leads for most of the first half, Oroville took charge by outscoring Tonasket 8-2 in the final minute. That gave the Hornets a 34-28 halftime lead and Tonasket never led again, although tying the game three times, the last at 50-50 early in the fourth quarter. Allen Allie's basket with 2:25 to play gave Oroville a three-point lead at 59-56 and Tonasket could get no closer the rest of the way.
Like in the Cashmere-Quincy game that followed, an official's call (three second violation, whistled by referee Jerry Tumblin), turned out to be crucial. A basket by Tracy Williams that would have made the score 65-64 Oroville with 15 seconds left, was negated.
In addition to Hancock, the hot-shooting Hornets (14-for-20 in the first half and 25-for-43 for the game) got solid offensive games from Darryn Trainor (13 points) and John Sylvester (10).
Tonasket also shot the ball with authority, clicking for 24 field goals in 49 attempts. Oroville was 17-for-22. Both teams grabbed 20 rebounds and also committed 14 turnovers.
Bret Holmdahl pumped in 24 points and Williams had 15 for Tonasket.

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Quincy 50, Cashmere 44
Game 12. (Championship, winner to state)
At Eastmont High School

They call him J.D. at Quincy.
As in Joe Downs. NBC basketball commentator Al McGuire would nickname him the Aircraft Carrier... or The Franchise.
J.D. scored 31 points in the boys North Central District "A" championship game Friday night. But it was his defense that played even a more prominent role in leading Quincy to their victory over rival Cashmere.
The victory, achieved in a jam-packed Eastmont High gymnasium, propelled Quincy to its first district championship since 1973 when the Jackrabbits were a Class "AA" school. Quincy's last District "A" championship season was in 1968. The Jacks, as the number one entry from North Central Washington, will also be making their first state tournament appearance since 1978.
Although Cashmere made several runs at Quincy, the Bulldogs could get on top only one time, 18-16 late, in the first half.
And Downs was the reason why.
All season long Quincy coach Jim Spence has made it clear that his players know their individual roles. Friday the plan was simple. On offense get the ball to Downs. On defense pressure Cashmere with a zone alignment and force the Bulldogs outside. If you make a mistake, don't worry because J.D. will be there to help you out.
He was. Downs blocked shot-after-shot, rejected three attempts in a row by Cashmere sophomore John Lippert in one sequence, nearly every time the Bulldogs did penetrate the Quincy zone.
Although Cashmere stayed close with some outside firepower, mainly from the side of sophomore Craig Wise, eventually the Bulldogs' long rainbow shot-attempts began misfiring. After, leading 24-19 at the half and 36-32 going into the fourth quarter, Downs hit three straight baskets to make it 42-32 Quincy with just under five minutes to play.
In typical Cashmere fashion, the Orange and Black refused to fold. Sparked by a controversial grabbing the rim technical foul on Downs, he claimed he was only trying to keep from falling after being knocked off balance from behind after the whistle, the Bulldogs scored six straight points to close the gap to 45-40.
Then came the turning point of the game. Cashmere's Craig Wise hit a shot from the side to make it a 45-42 game with 1:19 to play. Brother Clete Wise stole the ball at mid-court and drove in for an apparent lay-in. He collided with Quincy's Kip Hunt on the play. Referee Jack McMillan ruled Wise was charging on the play and negated he basket.
Quincy hit five of seven free throws in the final minute to clinch the championship. Downs connecting three times, Rob DeLeeuw twice.
Coach Jim Spence of Quincy felt that the two calls (the technical and the charge) negated each other.
"We lost our composure a little bit after the technical," said Spence. "It gave Cashmere some momentum."
But, Spence added: "You said it (referring to Friday's Nick's Picks column), the team who would play the best defense would win it. I think we played the best defense. We forced them to stay outside. When they did penetrate you saw what happened. The big kid (Downs) in the middle was there waiting."
Cashmere coach Bill Kelly didn't like the charging call on Clete Wise, naturally. But he refused to "start anything in the paper."
Kelly also said "that (the call) is not what beat us. We shot well enough to win and we played good enough on defense to win. But we just made too many mistakes... young mistakes."
For the record, neither team burned up the nets. Quincy canned only 20-of-48 field goal tries (42 percent) while Cashmere finished 19-of-54 (35 percent). Rebounding favored Cashmere, 30-23, with the free throwing edge going to Quincy (10-for-16 compared to the Bulldogs (6-for-9). Both teams turned the ball over only 11 times.
Hunt's outside shooting (he hit four from the perimeter and finished with 10 points) took just enough pressure off Downs inside. Overall, Cashmere did a good job containing everybody but Downs. Only four Quincy players scored.
For Cashmere, Craig Wise and Aaron Kelly each scored 13 points. But the Jackrabbits' defense did a solid job keeping the Bulldogs offense in check as well. Two players who regularly get into double figures, Glenn Johnson and Lippert, tallied only four points between them.

Oroville 60, Cashmere 56
Game 13. (winner to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Tournament experience.
It's a hard term to define, something you just have to live through once to learn from.
Saturday night at the Eastmont High gymnasium, the Oroville Hornets used the valuable knowledge they gained last year to hold off the Cashmere Bulldogs in the final game of the North Central District "A" boys basketball tournament.
Coach Allen Jefferson's Hornets, for the second straight year landed the district's number two berth to the state basketball tournament.
Oroville received its baptism in district tournament play a year ago, winning four straight games after losing in the opening round. This year Cashmere's baptism, only Clete Wise and Glenn Johnson had tournament experience, didn't produce a state tournament berth. The young Bulldogs will have to wait at least another year.
"Last year we went over there kind of in awe of the whole thing," said Oroville assistant coach Mike Carlquist. "This year we're going over there to compete."
The Hornets were bounced in two games in last year's state event.
"We're happy, but we're not up there on cloud nine like we were last year," said Oroville coach Allen Jefferson. "We're not satisfied yet. We don't want to leave it all here. We've got some more work to do in Tacoma."
The Hornets took control of the game in the second period, holding Cashmere to just two field goals and six total points. It was 31-23 Oroville at intermission, forcing Cashmere to spend the rest of the game in a catch-up situation.
The Bulldogs made one determined run, coming from a 37-28 deficit to 37-36 with three minutes to play in the third quarter. But Jefferson called a timeout to settle his team down. The Hornets returned to the floor and outscored Cashmere, 10-1, in the next five minutes and then clinched the victory at the foul line.
Although Cashmere got to within two points four times in the late action, the last time at 58-56, Oroville responded with some cool free throw shooting. The Hornets sank 14 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter and kept control of the ball after their only two misses, when Chris Hancock grabbed an offensive rebound.
Cashmere, on the other hand, missed five of their first six free throws in the fourth quarter when Oroville turned over the ball several times against the Bulldogs' all-out press.
Hancock, for the second game in a row, erupted for 26 points to lead the Oroville attack, including four straight free throws in the final 21 seconds. It was his offensive work in the first half which forced Cashmere out of its man-to-man defense.
Ironically, it was that zone along with the full-court press which slowed down Hancock and the Hornets in the second half.
"We made a run at them but came up short," said Cashmere coach Bill Kelly. "It developed into a foul line game. They hit theirs and we didn't."
Oroville finished with 28 free throws in 35 attempts. Cashmere connected on 20-of-32. Because of the fouling, there weren't many shots taken. Oroville produced 16 field goals in 31 attempts. Cashmere was 18-of-39 from the floor.
"Tonight was the first night all year we got pushed around on the boards," said Kelly. "We really got out-physicalled in the first half."
Jefferson said before the game that "rebounding was going to be the key because Cashmere rebounds so hard. They send four guys to the basket all the time."
Oroville won the rebounding war, 23-17.
The physical play by both sides led to the free throw parade. Aaron Kelly, Glenn Johnson and Rob Martin fouled out for Cashmere and Darryn Trainor and Mike Thornton for the Hornets.
"It's a real thrill for me to beat a Cashmere team because they're a good defensive team, solid in fundamentals and well disciplined, " said Jefferson. "I told the kids that if they can beat a Cashmere team, they can compete with anybody in the state. I'm not putting Cashmere on a pedestal but they've got a quality program."
Oroville's win eliminated Cashmere's state-tournament hopes for the second straight year, just as Friday's Hornet victory knocked out Tonasket for the second year in a row.
"Mike Thornton did a real good job on the boards," said Jefferson. "I thought Joey Osborne handled himself real well, too."
Jefferson said his team's three victories this past week centered around a talk he had with the players following last week's loss to Quincy.
"I decided the five kids who want to play defense would start," said Jefferson. "All year long we talked about playing defense but I figured that was the only way to show that I wasn't really blowing smoke, that I really meant it."
Other than Hancock, only Cashmere's Clete Wise scored in double figures, finishing his senior year with a 14-point performance.
"They wanted to win but they don't know yet what it takes to win," said Kelly of his young Bulldogs. "They work hard physically but there's a mental part of the game they haven't learned yet. We made a lot of mental errors, the last two nights and it really cost us. They played intense basketball but sometimes when you do that you forget where you're suppose to be on defense."
Still, Kelly sees a rosy future for his team.
"I thought Marc Pflugrath came in and did some good things tonight," Kelly said. "He rebounded well.
"John Lippert looked like a new John Lippert."
Both are sophomores, as are Aaron Kelly, Craig Wise and Eric James. Next year, Rob Martin will be the only senior on the Cashmere varsity, Kelly speculated.
"With the band, cheerleaders and community support we have you don't leave a game like this a loser," said Kelly. "I think the kids can walk away from this feeling proud. They worked hard to get where they did."

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Tournament Scoring Leaders