The Enterprise
Senior Roy Browning scored on a drive with just under a minute to play last Saturday to give Trout Lake the final edge, 38-37, over visiting La Salle in a key Greater Columbia B League boys basketball encounter.
The Mustangs surged into a 31-29 lead at the end of the third quarter after trailing 18-14 at halftime.
But they found themselves down by one, 37-36, entering the final minute of the game.
Browning -- who scored the winning basket in Trout Lake's 70-68 double-overtime win Friday at Mabton -- came through again under pressure, however, sinking a driving jumper for the lead.
Browning finished with five points, while junior Matt Dearden led the Klickitat County Division-leading Mustangs with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Mike Hansen added eight points and 10 rebounds and junior Ben Steward doled out seven assists.
Sunnyside Christian 55, at Lyle 45 --
It was a four-point game with two minutes remaining last Saturday before the Knights pulled away from the Cougars by making 9-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Lyle trailed, 25-24, at halftime but made a strong run in the third quarter to take a 35-34 lead.
It didn't last long, however, as Chad Den Boer hit two 3-pointers to reclaim the lead for the Knights, who led 40-36 after three quarters.
In the fourth, Den Boer, who finished with a game-high 32 points, sank 6 of 8 from the line to help secure his team's third GCB victory.
"We fell behind, 44-40, with about two minutes left and then we lost our composure and Sunnyside pulled away from us," Cougars Coach Joe Bales said.
For Lyle, junior Kalvin Kernan had another strong offensive game, scoring 20 points. Senior Justin Carlson added 18 points and was a force on defense, collecting four blocked shots.
Riverside Christian 71, at Glenwood 42 --
The unbeaten Crusaders outscored the Eagles, 35-13, in the middle quarters last Saturday on the way to their 14th win.
Junior Tony Leiter scored a game-high 19 points for Glenwood, which also got 10 points from junior Mitch Wheelhouse.
But Riverside's offensive balance -- four players in double figures -- was too much for Glenwood to counter.
Moreover, the Eagles, who kept the game close for one quarter (they trailed, 17-13, after one), committed 34 turnovers in the game.
"Riverside plays great denial defense and we failed to respond the way we had discussed before the game," Eagles Coach Jay McLaughlin said.
Still, he added, "I was somewhat pleased with how hard we played. If we can halve our turnovers and start converting our shots inside, we'll start winning some games."
Trout Lake 70, at Mabton 68 (2OT) --
Roy Browning's layin with two seconds to play in the second overtime period lifted the Mustangs to the victory over the Vikings.
Trout Lake held a 31-26 advantage at halftime and led 43-39 after three quarters. But Mabton rallied in the fourth, outscoring Trout Lake, 16-12, to send the game into overtime.
Browning and Mike Hansen tallied 17 points each, and Ben Steward added 10, for the Mustangs.
Sunnyside Christian 83, at Klickitat 29 --
The Knights charged out to a 25-6 first-quarter lead last Friday and never looked back.
Sophomore J.J. Keys had 19 points for the Vandals to take game scoring honors.
La Salle 67, at Glenwood 29 --
The Eagles sat two starters for disciplinary reasons last Friday and the result was a lopsided win for the Lightning.
Tony Leiter scored a game-high 19 points for the Eagles, who trailed, 33-16, at the half.
Lyle 60, at Yakama Tribal 43 --
Bolstered by the scoring of Kalvin Kernan and Martin Grace, and the defensive play of Justin Carlson, the Cougars notched their fourth GCB win last Friday.
Kernan (18) and Grace (14) combined for 32 points to carry Lyle offensively, while Carlson dominated defensively with 18 rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Cougars forged a one-point halftime lead (24-23), then pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles, 19-6.
A 46-30 rebounding edge for Lyle was a key factor in the outcome, as was the absence of Tribal's best player, Derek Payer.
Lyle 51, at Bickleton 40 --
Junior Kalvin Kernan and freshman Reggie Grace combined for 29 points as the Cougars came back from an early 10-2 deficit to defeat the Pirates.
Kernan had a team-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds in the Jan. 21 make-up game, while Grace tallied 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists.
At the defensive end, senior Justin Carlson and juniors Devan Essex and Callan Johnson set the tone as Lyle outscored Bickleton, 16-7, in the third period to take control of the GCB contest.
The trio also contributed at the offensive end. Carlson doled out four assists (second to soph Martin Grace's five), while Essex (9) and Johnson (6) totaled 15 points between them.
Carlson also hauled in eight rebounds, while Essex pulled down four, to help the Cougars win the battle of the boards, 37-32.
Moreover, Lyle displayed good ball management, allowing Bickleton to record just one steal.
The Pirates' Bryan Whitmore scored 21 points to lead all scorers, and Karl Jensen added 10 in the losing effort.
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