GCB Boys Hoops Roundup

But Touchet outscored Lyle, 15-7, in the third quarter to take control of the contest. The Indians also won the fourth quarter, 11-5, to win going away.

"We work so hard during the first half of a game, that we have nothing left for the second half," Cougars Coach Joe Bales lamented.

He also gave credit to Touchet for putting forth a consistent effort that finally took its toll on Lyle.

"Touchet was a good team. They had great balance and applied good pressure throughout the game," Bales noted. "It truly wore us down."

Lyle junior Kalvin Kernan led all scorers with 10 points, and also pulled down five rebounds.

Senior Justin Carlson scored eight points and made three steals, and his nine rebounds helped the Cougars win the battle of the boards, 28-24.

Also for Lyle, junior Devan Essex added six points, junior Callan Johnson took down seven rebounds, and sophomore Martin Grace tallied five points and three assists.

At Mabton 77, Klickitat 23 --

The Vandals opened Greater Columbia B League play on the road last Saturday and quickly fell behind, 25-2, in the first quarter.

Klickitat mustered just eight points in the first half en route to its fourth consecutive loss in December.

Mabton had three players reach double figures, led by Alex Zavala's 15 points (11 in the first quarter).

Sophomore J.J. Keys and junior James Brewer played for the Vandals, despite suffering from the flu. They paced their seven-man team with 11 and six points respectively.

Vandals Coach Mike Overbay called Mabton "a very quick and well-coached team." He noted that a third of the Vikings' baskets "came on breakaways after steals or missed shots."

At Vancouver Christian 37, Trout Lake 29 --

The Mustangs fell behind, 23-14, at halftime on the way to their first loss of the season last Friday.

Senior Mike Hansen and junior Kris Huffsmith each scored nine points for Trout Lake, which fell to 2-1 in December non-league games.

At Dufur, Ore. 58, Lyle 45 --

The Rangers used their size and speed to pull away from the Cougars in the second half of their Dec. 9 non-league encounter.

Dufur outscored Lyle, 27-19, in the second half and out-rebounded the visiting team, 33-22, for the game.

Steve Fargher had a game-high 23 points, and Ken Prock scored 15 for the Rangers.

"We did our best to apply pressure away from the basket, and we created 18 turnovers to keep the game close for a while," said Cougars Coach Joe Bales, "but in the end, they were too big and too deep for us."

Junior Devan Essex scored a team-leading 11 points for the Cougars, who trailed, 31-26, at the intermission.

Junior Kalvin Kernan finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals, and senior Justin Carlson contributed six points and a team-best seven rebounds.

Junior Callan Johnson added nine points and four rebounds, and sophomore Martin Grace chipped in with three rebounds, three steals and five assists.

At Stevenson 85, Klickitat 53 --

The Class 2A Bulldogs hit five 3-pointers and scored 34 points in the opening period of their Dec. 9 non-league game with the Class B Vandals.

Stevenson continued to shoot well in the second quarter and led 57-32 at halftime.

Klickitat -- with only seven players on its roster -- played Stevenson with six; junior forward James Brewer missed the game because of the flu.

Sophomore J.J. Keys did all he could for the short-handed Vandals. He led all scorers with 28 points (he made four 3-pointers) and also had 11 rebounds and eight steals.

Senior Ryan Holycross provided nine points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Cory Fakesch tallied seven points and five boards.

Corey Rathgeber had the hot hand for the Bulldogs (2-1), draining four 3-pointers on his way to 16 first-quarter points. He played sparingly in the second half and ended up with 18.