42nd Annual
North Central District "A"
Boys Basketball Tournament
1999

Champ

ionship

Febr

uary 27

Brew
(22

ster
-1)

Score

: 53-48

Che
(17

lan
-6)

Score

: 53-48

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Cashmere 57, Oroville 55
Game 1.
At Cashmere, WA

Cashmere had to overcame plenty of adversity to win. Cashmere missed all five of its free throws in the fourth quarter and 4 of 11 overall. Missed layups and turnovers also helped Oroville's late comeback.
“It's definitely our first taste of a whole lot of (district) experience,” Cashmere coach Miles Caples said. “You have to play through those things.”
Sophomore Ryan Franklin (17 points) came up big at critical moments, none bigger than a baseline jumper in the final seconds to put the Bulldogs ahead.
His shot came after Oroville committed a crucial turnover on a deflected pass with 32 seconds left in a 55-55 tie. Cashmere then ran down the clock and Franklin delivered with two seconds left, leaving Oroville with the desperation shot.
Franklin also scored 13 second-quarter points, including three treys, to help the Bulldogs rally from a first-quarter deficit.
Oroville's T.J. Jensen scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to go along with 11 rebounds.
Brian Chamberlin added 13 points and Nolan Roth scored 10 points for Oroville.
For Cashmere, Dustin Smart and Jake Hambly combined for 23 points. Tyler Green dished out nine assists and grabbed five steals.

Oroville (5-14) - T. Jensen 20, Roth 10, E. Jensen, Pritchard, Thompson 5, Thrasher 7, Chamberlin 13.

Cashmere (10-11) - Smart 13, Hambly 10, Green 5, Haugen 4, Franklin 17, Fletcher 2, Lowers 6.

Oroville	------------	13	25	47	55
Cashmere	------------	9	30	47	57

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Liberty Bell 50, Okanogan 49 (OT)
Game 2.
At Okanogan, WA

Liberty Bell's David Cotner drained a trey at the buzzer to give the Lions a 50-49 overtime victory at Okanogan. Cotner's trey was a dramatic contrast to the start of the district game when Liberty Bell trailed by nine at the end of the first quarter.
“We really didn't expect David to be taking a three, but Joe Notaro found him open,” Lion coach Rocky Kulsrud said. “There was a bit of controversy if it was a three, but the video showed David was away from the line before he banked it in.”
The winning shot came after Okanogan's Adam Goroch scored a layup with 5.9 seconds left to give the Bulldogs the lead.
Liberty Bell then sprinted down court instead of taking a timeout.
“We want the ball in Joe's (Notaro's) hands at the end,” Kulsrud said. “We've played so many close games this season (10 decided by seven or fewer points) that the kids are used to it.”
Cotner finished with 14 points. Ryan Ebenger had 15 as the Lions avenged two league losses to Okanogan. Ryan Ellis produced four steals and Travis Wilson grabbed six rebounds.
“We got the shots we wanted in the first quarter and made them,” Okanogan coach Chris Ferenz said.
But the Bulldogs began cooling off in the third quarter and got downright cold in the fourth, shooting 4 of 12 from the floor and committing five turnovers.
“They made us pay,” Ferenz said. “That allowed them to tie the game.”
Okanogan turned the ball over with five seconds left in regulation but Liberty Bell was unable to convert and the game went into overtime.
“We got a second chance,” Ferenz said of Liberty Bell's last-second miss.
Jake Townsend led Okanogan with 16 points.

Liberty Bell (12-9) — Notaro 5, Reynaud 6, Wilson 6, Ellis 15, Ebenger 4, Cotner 14, Loucks.

Okanogan (12-9) — Martin 3, Goroch 6, Goldmark 5, Nicholas 8, Townsend 16, Horner 6, Hill 1, Attridge, Moon.

Liberty Bell	10	19	36	45	50
Okanogan	19	28	36	45	49

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Cashmere 51, Chelan 48
Game 3.
At Omak, WA

Tyler Green sank eight consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Bulldogs beat Chelan for the second time in a week.
Cashmere scored its final nine points from the foul line, six by Green in the final minute and three more by sophomore Ryan Franklin (13 points and five assists overall). Green finished with a season-high 18 points, including 10 of 11 free throws plus six assists.
“This was Tyler's best game of the season,” Cashmere coach Miles Caples said. “He's one of the guys we wanted at the line late and he started the game turning steals into layups.”
Chelan also had its chances to stay even at the foul line in the final two minutes. The Goats made 6 of 9, including a pair by Jordan Miller (11 points and eight rebounds) to tie the game with 1:12 left.
With four seconds left and down by three, Chelan also had a shot to tie. Robert Johnson was fouled on a trey, making 2 of 3.
“We got just what we wanted,” Goat coach Joe Harris said. “Robert had a decent look and he's our best free-throw shooter who's come through all season.”
Cashmere's defense against Johnson was a key. The Bulldogs, having senior Dustin Smart guard Johnson in a triangle-and-two zone scheme, limited Johnson to six points (he grabbed seven rebounds), the first game in which he hasn't scored in double figures all season.
Cashmere built a seven-point lead, but Chelan rallied as the Bulldogs went scoreless for five minutes. Jeff Barnhart (19 points overall) helped the Goats go on top with a 3-pointer.
Just before halftime, Cashmere tied the game as sophomore guard Brandon Haugen hit two outside jumpers, including a trey.
“When Chelan switched to a zone, we became impatient,” Caples said. “Those were a couple of key buckets Brandon hit.”

Cashmere (11-11) - Smart 1, Hambly, Green 18, Haugen 5, Franklin 13, Fletcher 8, Allen, Lowers 6.

Chelan (14-6) - Campbell, Ju. Barnhart 9, Je. Barnhart 19, Johnson 6, Miller 11, Mitchell 3.

Cashmere	------------	18	26	34	51
Chelan	------------	11	26	32	48

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Brewster 87, Liberty Bell 55
Game 4.
At Omak, WA

Cody Gunn came off the bench to fire in 26 points, including six treys for the victorious Bears.
“He didn't miss many,” Brewster coach Tim Taylor said.
Johnny Gebbers contributed 24 points, Mark Brown had 16 points, and Dustin Boesel added 10.
“I thought we really came to win tonight,” Taylor said. “We had a good week of practice. We were well prepared for what they were going to do.”
Brewster had seen exactly what Liberty Bell could do less than a week ago in a much closer 69-62 win.
“Their press bothered us last time we played,” Taylor said. “This time we took it right at them. We contested pretty much every shot and we dominated the boards.”

Liberty Bell (12-10) - Szenyes 3, Notaro 13, Reynaud 7, Wilson 3, Stern, Cotner 5, Ellis 8, Patterson 6, Loucks 2, Ebenger 8.

Brewster (21-1) - Gunn 26, Cook, Gamble, D. Gebbers 5, Dobson 2, B. Boesel 2, J. Gebbers 24, D. Boesel 10, Gurney, Knowlton 2, Brown 16, Ravenstein.

Liberty Bell	------------	15	24	39	55
Brewster	------------	23	42	63	87

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Oroville 60, Liberty Bell 55
Game 5. (Loser out)
At Winthrop, WA

The surprises continue in the North Central District 1A boys' basketball tournament.
Sixth-seeded Oroville won at Liberty Bell to advance to Saturdays' winner-to-state game at Omak High. The Hornets will face tourney veteran Chelan, a winner against Okanogan, for the district's third berth to state.
That game is at 5:30 p.m. Saturday as part of a quadrupleheader. The boys' championship game (between Cashmere and Brewster) is at 8:30 p.m. Action starts with the North Central 1A girls' winner-to-state game between Tonasket and Okanogan at 4 p.m. The girls' district championship game (Chelan vs. Liberty Bell) is at 7 p.m.
At Twisp a month ago Lion coach Rocky Kulsrud said he really didn't want to face the Hornets in the district tourney after a one-point victory.
That prophecy was accurate as Oroville turned a 14-0 run into a trip to Omak on Saturday. The uprising came at the start of the second half, wiping out a narrow Liberty Bell lead.
The Hornets hit 12 of 19 shots in the second half (8 of 11 in the third quarter).
“Both teams had good looks at the basket,” Kulsrud said, “but they converted. We started missing and they kept hitting.”
It wasn't the usual Hornets doing the damage though. Junior point guard Nolan Roth penetrated for a season-high 15 points while Brian Chamberlin added 12 on outside shots. Meanwhile, Oroville's usual scoring duo of T.J. Jensen and Tyler Thrasher combined for just 17 points, nearly half their normal offensive production.
“I told the team we can't rely on T.J. and Tyler all the time,” Oroville coach Steve Milionis said. “Tonight, we had some younger kids come through.”
It started with a late second-quarter spurt when two starters (Jensen and Michael Thompson) were on the bench due to fouls and another (Chamberlin) “could hardly breath,” Milionis said. The trio of Alex Roller, Brendan Monroe and Brandon Pritchard helped keep the Hornets close.
Joe Notaro led Liberty Bell with 14 points, six assists and six steals. Ryan Ebenger added 10 points and Travis Wilson grabbed six rebounds.

Oroville (6-14) - T.J. Jensen 7, Roth 15, Thompson 10, Thrasher 10, Chamberlin 12, Pritchard 6, Monroe, Roller.

Liberty Bell (12-11) - Notaro 14, Reynaud 7, Wilson 6, Ellis 16, Ebenger 10, Cotner 2, Patterson, Szenyes.

Oroville	------------	17	26	45	60
Liberty Bell	------------	16	29	40	55

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Chelan 36, Okanogan 30
Game 6. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

At Chelan, a “physical” battle came down to which team could get to the loose balls. In Goat coach Joe Harris' mind, that was the difference.
“It was a battle with both teams playing good defense. Okanogan is put together, but we were able to get some second chances,” Harris said. “Since we weren't scoring, we had to.”
Chelan did have two productive quarters. Jeff Barnhart scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back treys. Robert Johnson had six of his 13 in the second quarter.
Okanogan's leading scorer, Jake Townsend, was limited to just five points and four shots from the field. He made up for it with 10 rebounds.
Johnson and Justin Barnhart had eight rebounds each while Jordan Miller blocked five shots.
John Goldmark led Okanogan with six points and six assists.

Okanogan (12-10) - Martin 5, Goroch 4, Goldmark 6, Townsend 5, Horner 4, Attridge 2, Nichols 4, Hill.

Chelan (15-6) - Ju. Barnhart 5, Je. Barnhart 14, Johnson 13, Miller 4, Mitchell, Rush, Campbell, Marker.

Okanogan	------------	9	16	22	30
Chelan	------------	5	17	22	36

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Chelan 54, Oroville 48
Game 7. (Winner to state, loser out)
At Omak, WA

After the Goats' offensive plan A (Robert Johnson) and plan B (Jeff Barnhart) didn't work, they used plan C as in Jordan Miller posting up down low.
The senior Miller scored 16 second-half points, including a stretch of four straight Chelan baskets in the third quarter.
“We went to Jordan because we didn't feel they could stop him,” Goat coach Joe Harris said. “Earlier, I think we were trying to do too much individually. Going inside to Jordan got us back into our offense.”
Miller tied his season-high of 19 points (set earlier against Eastmont and Brewster) to go along with 11 rebounds.
“After Jeff (Barnhart) did a great job of getting the entry pass to me, I had some one-on-one chances inside,” Miller said.
His opportunities came because Oroville was slowing down Johnson (just one point in the middle quarters).
“We really keyed on Johnson. All five of our guys knew where he was,” Oroville coach Steve Milionis said. “But Miller just wore us down physically.”
That wasn't the Hornets' only concern. Leading scorer T.J. Jensen went out midway through the second quarter with a strained foot ligament. His status was uncertain through halftime.
“We had paramedics look at him. When they told T.J. he couldn't hurt it anymore if it was taped tight, he wanted back in,” Milionis said.
A rested Jensen made an immediate impact, draining a 3-pointer to start a 10-4 Oroville spurt. Jensen followed with a 7-0 run including a trey, rebound basket and short jumper to put the Hornets ahead (40-39 with six minutes left).
Then Chelan scored on six straight possessions to put the game away (three baskets by Miller, two by Johnson and a trey by Justin Barnhart).
Oroville, the sixth seed entering the district tourney, returns eight players next season.
“This is great experience for us, playing in a big game in front of a big crowd,” Milionis said.

Oroville (6-15) - Thompson 5, Thrasher 6, Chamberlin 7, T.J. Jensen 14, Roth 10, E. Jensen, Nelson 2, Pritchard 4, Roller, Monroe, Scott. Totals 19-56 8-14 48.

Chelan (16-6) - Ju. Barnhart 9, Johnson 14, Miller 19, Mitchell, Je. Barnhart 8, Campbell 2, Rush 2. Totals 21-51 11-19 54.

Oroville	------------	11	21	35	48
Chelan	------------	14	23	39	54

Stats: 3-point FG — Oroville 2-9 T.J. Jensen, Chelan 1-8 (Ju. Barnhart). Rebounds — Oroville 26 (T.J. Jensen 9), Chelan 34 (Miller 11). Turnovers — Oroville 5, Chelan 7. Fouls — Oroville 18 (Thrasher), Chelan 13.

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Brewster 52, Cashmere 48
Game 8. (Championship, both to state)
At Omak, WA

Unlikely dreams lasted until the end at the North Central District 1A boys basketball tourney on Saturday.
Cashmere had visions of doing what no 1A team has done all season – beat Brewster. But the Bears scored the district championship game’s final four points to win, 52-48.
Both teams will join Chelan at the State 1A tourney in the Tacoma Dome starting on Wednesday.
For Cashmere, staying in the 50s would have meant a happy day. The Bulldogs wanted to duplicate the pace of their home loss to the Bears (52-51).
”We came in with the plan of keeping the score in the 50s. The kids did a good job of executing that,” Cashmere coach Miles Caples said.  “Teams can’t run with Brewster. They’re a very good team in the open floor.”
The no-speeding dogma worked until Brewster went to its “Here’s Johnny” (Gebbers) offense in the fourth quarter, when he scored half his 22 points. It included the Bears’ opening nine points in the period, spring boarding Brewster into the lead. That contrasted with a cold first half.
”I tried not to think about it,” Gebbers said of the first half. “We came out nervous at the start of the game but tried to work through it.”
A few nervous moments followed at the end. Cashmere tied the game on a jumper by Andrew Lowers and later a free throw by Tyler Green.  Brewster regained the lead on a spinning, fall-in jumper by Mark Brown.
Two big defensive plays followed. The Bulldogs appeared to have a breakaway layup with 30 seconds left, but Dustin Boesel made a flying block. 
”We didn’t want to give up a layup, but I didn’t want to foul. I knew if I fouled, I’d be dead. But I had to try and block it,” Boesel said.
Cashmere also had a 3-point shot misfire with 25 seconds left, leaving Bulldog fans screaming for a foul. Instead, Cashmere had to foul and Gebbers drained two free throws with 18 seconds left for the final margin.

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