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Cascade-Leavenworth 55, Cashmere 45
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

"We're not happy with this one, we have to keep playing," said Cascade coach Jeff Reinland, whose Kodiaks had lost to Cashmere twice during the regular season. "Now we've got a chance to do something."
In a well-played defensive struggle, the Kodiaks had enough offense to prevail in the fourth quarter.
Cascade used man-to-man pressure defense throughout the game to thwart Cashmere, holding the Bulldogs to 33 percent (15-for-45) shooting, Cashmere answered with a 1-3-1 match-up zone, keeping a defender in Kevin Rieke's face all night long while also collapsing when the ball was in the key.
The result was a standoff for nearly three quarters. With the score knotted at 34-all, Cascade's Curt Ranta posted inside for a basket which gave the Kodiaks a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
Ranta, who scored 15-of-his-21 points in the second half, accounted for the first four points of the fourth quarter to give Cascade a six-point lead. After Matt Luckensmeyer's two free throws for Cashmere, Rieke drove to the hoop for two points and Ranta made two more foul shots to make it 44-36 Kodiaks with 4:27 seconds to play.
"I thought it was two great defensive game plans," said Cashmere coach Steve Biehn. "It's to Cascade's credit they played defense a little bit longer and and better, I thought we did everything we could possibly do."
While Rieke and Ranta scored 44 of Cascade's 55 points, the Kodiaks also got a lift from Gil Zepeda, who found seams in the defense to toss in eight first-half points, mostly from the perimeter. Ranta led both teams with 12 rebounds.
Brent Paine scored 11 of his team-high 16 points for Cashmere in the first half, and Luckensmeyer posted strong inside for 14 points. Neil Johnson provided the bulk of the Bulldogs' second-half attack, finishing with 10 points.

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Ephrata 61, Quincy 52
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

What promised to be a wide-open tournament has turned out to be just that, with the seventh-seeded team, the sixth-seeded team, the fifth-seeded team and the first-seeded team all left in the final four.
"We're just going to keep coming until they tell us to leave," said Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien, whose Tigers finished seventh in the CTL. "I think it's really quite a tribute to the kids. At one point, we were 1-5. We've had a lot of critics (but) the kids just hung together."
Given up for dead on several occasions this season, the Tigers have roared into the final four of the North Central District "A" basketball tournament.
"Ephrata kids are proud kids," said O'Brien. "I think it's a big thing (getting this far in the tournament) to the kids. To beat Quincy, a big rival, is always tough. To have six teams finish above us and to be in the final four, that's a big accomplishment."
Ephrata put away Quincy by turning in one of its better offensive outings of the season, particularly by John McMillan and Brandon Whallon.
McMillan shot well (10-for-16), scored consistently (11 points in the first half, 12 in the second half), rebounded (a game-high 11), played sound defense and made good ball-handling decisions. Whallon posted inside for 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds.
McMillan had a real total game," O'Brien said. "Our club needs one or two guys to step forward."
"Whallon and McMillan both came ready to play tonight," said Quincy coach Jack Peasley. "The just took it right down the pipe."
Ephrata came out ready to play but couldn't shake the scrappy Jackrabbits. Whallon scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Tigers built a 19-12 lead which they stretched to 26-14 minutes later. Quincy pulled itself back into the game as Shane Urwin scored seven points during a 13-6 spurt which cut the margin to five points at halftime.
The second half belonged to Ephrata. After Paul Majer scored two quick baskets to pull Quincy within 32-31, the Tigers responded with eight straight points. Soon Ephrata was able to spread the court and build a 13-point lead.
The Jacks got as close as five points with 1:18 to play, but Ephrata hit five consecutive free throws to secure the win.
"In the second half, we came out quite motivated," O'Brien said. "I thought maybe we played a little more inspired."
"That was a golden opportunity for us," Peasley said of the early second half burst which pulled Quincy within one point.
Majer scored 15 points and Urwin finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for Quincy.

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Cascade-Leavenworth 54, Ephrata 47
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Eastmont High School

The winning coach wasn't very happy and the losing coach wasn't too upset after the Kodiaks responded in the fourth quarter to eliminate Ephrata.
"We didn't execute offensively or defensively," said Cascade coach Jeff Reinland. "We played poorly."
"I thought we played hard and pretty smart," said Ephrata coach Marty O'Brien, whose Tigers had finished seventh in the CTL. "They fought and played hard, weren't intimidated."
Still, it's Reinland's Kodiaks who survive to play another day, thanks to some strong play in the paint from Curt Ranta. Cascade's 6-6 junior post scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, including five key baskets in the fourth quarter.
The Kodiaks entered the fourth quarter clinging to a 36-32 lead, which was sliced to one point after Ephrata's Lonnie Webb tossed in a 3-point shot to open the fourth quarter.
That's when Ranta came alive. First, he posted inside for two points, then he rebounded a missed free throw and scored. Next, Ranta took a beautiful feed and scored to make it 44-35 Cascade with 2:27 left.
Ephrata began its final charge on Webb's three-point basket, followed by two free throws from Jesse Buchmann and two more foul shots from Brandon Whallon. That made the score 48-45 with 1:32 to play.
The Tigers had the ball back seconds later after Hansen missed a free throw. Webb tossed up a 3-point shot which missed and the Kodiaks went to Ranta again, who took the ball inside for a three-point play and a 51-45 Cascade lead with 52 seconds to play. Ephrata got no closer than four points the rest of the game.
"Our kids have never been (in this situation) before," said Reinland. "It was a pressure situation and we could have choked. We didn't."
Reinland said he changed the Kodiaks' offense in the second half to get the ball inside to Ranta.
"We just had to get it inside," said Reinland.
Cascade needed Ranta's 27 points and nine rebounds, because sharp-shooting Kevin Rieke never got untracked against Ephrata's aggressive defense.  Rieke, who averaged 28 points per game this season, managed a season-low 10 points and missed all five of his 3-point shots. Gil Zepeda helped pick up the slack, scoring eight of his nine points in the first half.
Webb fired in four 3-point baskets in scoring a team-high 18 points for Ephrata, which finished he season 9-15. Whallon scored 12 points and hauled in nine rebounds and Ken Howes snatched eight rebounds.

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Lake Roosevelt 53, Oroville 51
Game 12. (Championship, winner to state)
At Eastmont High School

After a decade of frustration, Lake Roosevelt High School will be represented by a boys basketball team at the State "A" tournament.
The Raiders earned their entry to the Tacoma Dome by outlasting Oroville in the championship of the North Central District "A" basketball tournament.
Lake Roosevelt lost their team leader Cecilio Wilson to an ankle sprain in the first quarter, then held off a furious fourth quarter rally from Oroville to qualify for the 16-team state tournament. The Raiders, winners of 14-of-15 games in 1989 and 18-5 overall this season, made their last state appearance in 1979.
"They played a heck of a game. Cecilio went down and it would have been easy for them to fold," said Lake Roosevelt coach Tom Johnson.
"I told them to take the night off. We'll practice Sunday and then we'll set some goals," he said. "I think we'll bring home some hardware" from the state tournament.
The Raiders held up well under pressure, even with Wilson, the team leader and lone senior, on the bench with an ankle injury.
Four Raiders scored during a 10-3 blitz to end the first half, putting Lake Roosevelt on top 24-17, and the lead was still seven points early in the fourth quarter.
That's when Oroville started scrambling back into contention. The Hornets closed the gap to three points, 40-37, on Jeff Weeks' perimeter jumper with 5:11 seconds to play.
After trading baskets, Greg Ethredge pumped in a 3-point shot which gave Lake Roosevelt a 47-41 lead, but John Hilderbrand answered seconds later with a 3-pointer to gain Oroville within three points.
Each team sank two free throws then Lake Roosevelt's Eric Garvin missed the front end end of a one-and-one with 1:07 to play, giving Oroville a chance to tie.
Hilderbrand fired up another 3-point attempt, but missed. The Raiders' Cory Hammer was fouled on the rebound and he missed a foul shot. But Weeks missed his one-and-one attempt for the Hornets and the Raiders applied the backbreaker, as Garvin speared the rebound and made a long pass to Lewis Adrian for the basket and a five-point lead with 33 seconds to play.
Seconds later, Karmen Blake secured the win by drilling two free throws. Oroville scored five points in the final 15 seconds to create the final margin.
"That was is, determination," Johnson said. "They made the plays when they needed  them."
The Raiders, once again showed the balance that's made them tough to beat the last two months. Three players scored in double figures and three players also grabbed eight or more rebounds.
Hammer, the team's 6-6 junior post, scored a game-high 12 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds. Adrian and Garvin each scored 10 points and Blake scored nine. Garvin and Blake accounted for eight rebounds each.
For Oroville, it's back to the gym to prepare for Saturday's game. The Hornets spent Friday night in Wenatchee and planned to practice during the day.
"It's just a matter of getting ready to play, putting (Friday) behind us," said Oroville coach Jay Hawkins.
The Hornets came out tight, but still managed to stay with Lake Roosevelt until the final 3:22 of the first half. The Raiders scored the final six points of the half to build a seven point lead.
"I thought we lost our composure," said Hawkins. "I thought we played pretty solid basketball until then. After that, it was an uphill battle."
Oroville also received help from several players. Hilderbrand gunned in a team-high 11 points, Roger Hammond finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Ryan Frey contributed nine points and 11 rebounds.

Cascade-Leavenworth 56, Oroville 51
Game 13. (winner to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Kevin Rieke lost his shadow for a few seconds and made the most of it.
The Cascade High sharpshooter buried a three point shot in the final two minutes which put the Kodiaks ahead for good on their way to a 56-51 victory over Oroville Saturday night.
The North Central District "A" tournament victory sends Cascade to the boys State basketball tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
It will be the first trip to the boys tournament for Cascade High, the upper Wenatchee Valley school which opened in the fall of 1983. Leavenworth High last went to the State "A" tournament in 1983 and Peshastin-Dryden participated in the State "B" tournament that same year.
"Tacoma, Tacoma, Tacoma, Tacoma," chanted the Cascade players after the game as they waited to take coach Jeff Reinland for a ride around the Eastmont High gym.
"This season has been a rollercoaster,"  said Reinland. "I would have never thought this would happen. I don't think our kids believed it would happen."
The Kodiaks couldn't start planning a trip to Tacoma until the final seconds of play. Cascade and Oroville had battled though nine ties and four second-half lead changes when Rieke tipped away a shot from the Hornets' John Hilderbrand with two minutes left and chased down the loose ball.
With his team trailing 51-49, Rieke drove to the top of the key, swung around a pick by Ryan McGregor to free himself from defender Dave Howe, and launched a three-point shot which hit nothing but net with 1:54 to play.
"What can you say. That's an ice shot," Reinland said.
"I got a good screen from McGregor and threw it up," Rieke said.
Oroville had several chances to go ahead. After an exchange of turnovers, Rieke stole the ball from Hilderbrand on an attempted shot, but missed his shot with 1:21 to play.
Then Howe's 15-footer from the baseline bounced off the rim and Curt Ranta rebounded for Cascade. With 26 seconds to play Ranta was fouled and he calmly swished both ends of the one-and-one free throw opportunity.
Hilderbrand missed a three-point shot and teammate Ryan Frey rebounded, feeding Roger Hammond whose perimeter shot bounced off the rim and over the backboard.
Cascade inbounded to Rieke, who was fouled, and the senior tossed in two free throws with six seconds left to seal the win.
"Our kids never quit," said Reinland. "They hung in there through adversity."
"These games can go any way if you get a few breaks. And they didn't go our way" said Oroville coach Jay Hawkins, whose Hornets finished with a 13-11 record. "We're disappointed now, but we've had a real outstanding season. I thought we played hard and worked hard all season long."
The Kodiaks had plenty to overcome to beat a game Oroville squad, which had lost the district championship game to Lake Roosevelt by points the previous night. Ranta, who has been scoring an average of 22 points per game in the district tournament, picked up his third foul late in the first quarter and spent much of the game on the bench.
"But big Dave Smith came through," Reinland said.
Smith scored six points in the second quarter. Ranta came back to score 10-of-his-12 points in the second half.
Cascade also had to find offense with Rieke, a 28 points per game scorer during the regular season, held below his average under the aggressive man-to-man defense of Howe. Rieke shot 5-for-14 in scoring 15 points.
Gil Zepeda responded with 10 points and Ryan McGregor hit two key outside shots in the fourth quarter.
"Zepeda hit some big ones and Ryan McGregor drilled them from the point," Reinland said. "Everybody chipped in."
Cascade needed every point it could get to overcome the Hornets, who received a big performance out of Hilderbrand, who bombed in 26 points and snared eight rebounds. Hilderbrand had 16 points in the first half and connected on three 3-point shots.
"Hilderbrand is a real competitor," said Hawkins. "He made some great plays for us tonight."
Hilderbrand scored Oroville's first four points after Cascade had jumped to an 8-0 lead. And it was Hilderbrand who led the Hornet back from a seven-point deficit, scoring 12 points during a 16-9 Oroville run which tied the game at halftime.
Hilderbrand hit back-to-back outside jumpers to give Oroville its biggest lead, 44-39, in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Cascade finally tied the game 47-47 on McGregor's jumper with 5:06 left. Oroville took its final lead on two free throws by Howe who scored 10 points.

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