Colville’s Miguel Anaya looks for room along the baseline as the Indians’ Andrew Walsh works inside for position.  

  Colville’s Alex Pond defends the post against West Valley’s Matt Roth.


Indians get close against WV

BY CHRIS COWBROUGH
S-E Sports Editor

To say it’s been a frustrating winter for Colville High boy’s basketball faithful is something of an understatement.  Wins have been few and far between for the Indians (2-13, 1-8).
On Friday, Colville trailed 30-15 at halftime before mounting a big third quarter comeback that eventually got the game even at 40-all.  A couple of late three-pointers by West Valley sharp-shooter Matt Bauman helped the Eagles (7-7, 4-4) escape with a 52-45 win.
On Saturday afternoon at Riverside, the Indians, for a variety of reasons, simply didn’t play very well, losing 57-45 to the Rams (7-8, 4-5).
THIS WEEK
Colville visited Cheney (9-5, 5-3) on Tuesday and will be home to entertain Pullman (6-8, 5-3) on Saturday (4:15 p.m. start).
“We needed to win last weekend,”  CHS head coach John Foulkes said of his team’s fleeting chance to secure a post-season berth to the District 7 2A Tournament.  “We had our chances against West Valley and we just didn’t play very well at Riverside.  
“All we can do at this point is focus on the next game ahead of us.”
The Indians would likely have to win four of their last six games to extend its season.  Give the results from the GNL’s first half, that seems unlikely.
RECAP
As has often been the case this winter, Colville dug itself a big first half hole before battling back in the second half.  
It was déjà vu all over again at home last Friday against a West Valley team that lost on Saturday night at lowly Medical Lake, 46-42.
Bauman lit up Colville from the three-point line, making four of his six treys in the first half and finishing with 20 points.  He was six for eight on three-pointers.
The third quarter effort that saw the Indians play their best eight-minute stretch of the season, got CHS back into the game—and in a hurry.  Colville outscored WV 23-10 in the period and trailed by only two points entering the fourth quarter.

Late scoring drought helps WV escape

But Colville, a team that has struggled offensively all winter long, managed only seven fourth quarter points and the Eagles were able to escape.
“That first half and West Valley’s ability to hit the three-pointers were the difference,”  Foulkes said.
“That has been par for the course for us—get behind every night and then rally.”
West Valley was nine of 18 from distance.  Colville, shooting a little less than 20 percent from the three-point line this season, missed all four of its attempts.
CHS was 18 of 41 from the field (41 percent) and pulled down 25 rebounds (12 on the offensive end).  They were 9 of 18 from the free throw line and committed 18 turnovers.
Colville, a solid defensive team in the half court since early January, clamped down on West Valley’s shooters during their third quarter run.
“Momentum is a funny thing,”  Foulkes said.  “We got it in the third quarter and started doing some good things on offense.”

West Valley was 17 of 40 from the field (40 percent) and nine of 16 at the free throw line.
The Eagles pulled down 28 rebounds and committed only 11 turnovers.
Senior post Andrew Walsh fueled the second half comeback.  The springy 6-3 Walsh scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.  He pulled down eight rebounds, had two steals and numerous deflections.
“That was just a stellar game on Andrew’s part,”  Foulkes said.  “He played a great game and defended very well for us.”
Junior wing Sawyer Bardwell also likely turned in his best minutes of the season, scoring five points, pulling down five rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Senior guard Jordan Anderson added eight points for the Indians.

Indians go  long

Bardwell and Walsh were also very effective throwing the “home run ball” over West Valley’s full court pressure.  
“It took them (West Valley) awhile before they adjusted to our throwing long over their press,”  Foulkes said.
In Saturday’s matinee at Riverside, the Indians never really were in the game.  Colville trailed 27-18 at the half before the Rams outscored CHS 19-12 in the third period.  CHS outscored the hosts 15-11 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.
Senior point guard Dustin Martin scored 15 points and dished out five assists for Riverside.  Fellow guard Jordan Wood added 14 more.
“That was just a bad outing for us,”  Foulkes said.  “And it came at a time when we really needed a win.  Certainly, the ramifications for us were major.”
Like one night before, opposition three-pointers proved to be a difference-maker.  Riverside was eight of 17 from distance.  Colville was two of 12.
“We struggled both nights finding three-point shooters,”  Foulkes said.  “And we ran into some players who were on good streaks out there.
“Most of the time, our defenders were coming hard when they put them (three-pointers) up.  They just had kids coming off screens and making shots.”
Colville was 17 of 46 from the field (37 percent).  Riverside was 19 of 43 (44 percent).
Riverside was 11 of 16 from the free throw line.  Colville’s total was boosted in the game’s final three-minutes when the officiating crew decided to try and even up a game-long foul disparity that benefited the hosts.  The Indians shot nine free throws in the game’s final three-minutes.
“We just didn’t play very well,”  Foulkes said.  “Our guards were in foul trouble and we just never could get in any kind of a rhythm.  In the first half, we were out-played.  We came out flat and Riverside didn’t.  They played well.  
Sophomore 6-5 post Alex Pond led Colville with 10 points and seven rebounds.
“Alex played well and with some passion,”  Foulkes said.  
Foulkes and his players know they can’t give up 57 points and stay in a ballgame—not this season, anyway.  There are simply too many offensive shortcomings.
“We just can’t score at the kind of rate necessary to keep up with that,”  Foulkes added.  “We have to play good, solid defense every night out.”
Riverside won the rebound total, 29 to 27.  Colville held a 12-7 edge on the offensive boards.
ELSEWHERE
On Friday, Deer Park (10-4, 6-2) edged Riverside 57-56 when Jared Pyeatt converted a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left in the game. Pyeatt led DP with 13 points.
Wood and Kelly Vaughn scored 18 apiece for Riverside.
Cheney got 17 second half points from DeAngelo Jones in a 55-47 win over Pullman (6-8, 5-3) on Friday.
Daniel Igbinoba added 16 points for Cheney.
On Saturday, senior guard Dustin McConnell’s four points in the game’s final 30 seconds lifted league-leading Clarkston (11-3, 7-1) to a 51-48 win at Deer Park.
Deer Park led in the game’s final minute, but the Stags, who have lost both of their meetings with Clarkston this season, couldn’t hold on.
Pyeatt led DP with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Lowly Medical Lake (2-12, 1-7) pulled off the shocker of the GNL season to date, edging West Valley 46-42 at home on Saturday night.
Ryan Wagner led ML with 15 points, all from beyond the three-point line.  
West Valley trailed 30-15 at halftime.
Last Tuesday night, McConnell led Clarkston with 12 points (seven of seven at the free throw stripe) to a 52-40 win over Pullman.
Trey Sobota, back from a hand injury, added 11 points for the streaking Bantams.
DeAngelo Jones scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Cheney’s 53-36 win at Medical Lake.  

West Valley 52, Colville 45
WVH  17  13  10   12—52
CHS     7    8   23   7--  45

West Valley—Brady Bagby 20, Bauman 20,
Bucholtz 14, Roth 10, Garbe 2, Duke 3.
Colville—Walsh 13, Hull 4, Pond 2, Anaya 6, Anderson 8, Bardwell 5, Cowbrough 4.  

Riverside 57, Colville 45
CHS  10   8  12  15—45
RHS  17  10 19  11—57

Colville—Pond 10, Sjordal 4, Hull 8, Walsh 2, Anaya 4, Cowbrough 6, Anderson 4, Bardwell 4, Thompson 3.  
Riverside—Martin 15, Wood 14, Kaley 4, Biggs 10, Vaughn 6, Davis 3, Jones 5.