Nielsen scores 12 to aid team's 83-77 2A all-star game victory

The 6-foot-5 CHS product (who's headed to Lower Columbia Community College in Longview) teamed with Todd Burgers and Grant Dykstra of state finals runnerup Lynden Christian, Preston Vermeulen of Nooksack Valley and Ilwaco's James Fritts to lead City to the come-from-behind victory.

Andy Jaekel of Goldendale and Thomas Ostrander of Yakima's East Valley each scored 19 points for State to share game honors.

However, the 6-5 Burgers finished with 18 points (on 8-of-10 shooting), four rebounds and three assists to take game Most Valuable Player honors.

Dykstra, the 2A player of the year in 2001 and a

Western Washington University recruit, was held to five points but contributed on the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds. Vermeulen scored 12 points, and Fritts chipped in with 10.

City, trailing 75-71, began its game-clinching run with about three minutes to play.

Meridian's Joel Pears opened the scoring spree with a 3-pointer. Burgers then scored inside off a feed from Dykstra. Vermeulen hit a trey and a deuce to extend City's lead to 81-75, and Nielsen capped the streak with the game's final bucket.

Jaekel, a 6-2 guard bound for Wenatchee Valley Community College, scored the game's last two points on a pair of free throws. Those two makes prevented the contest from becoming the lowest scoring in tournament history.

The 160 total points were one better than the tournament low set in the 1977 3A all-star game.

State, led by the quintet of Jaekel, Ostrander, Tony Lopez (Wapato), Jeff Fuller (Grandview) and Braden Draggoo (Omak), reversed a 22-19 deficit with a 15-2 run that netted it a 10-point lead with 5:17 remaining in the first half.

But a 10-1 run to close out the first half pulled City within 35-34 at the break.