Klickitat erased a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes of play last Saturday on its way to pulling out a 45-43 victory at Bickleton on the opening weekend of Greater Columbia B League boys basketball action.
The Vandals (1-0, 4-5) got game-changing baskets from Michael McConville, Herschel Sanchey and Jeremy Moss inside three minutes remaining to overtake the Pirates (0-2, 5-3).
Bickleton trailed, 14-7, after one quarter but stormed back in the second stanza, outscoring Klickitat, 12-3, to take a 19-17 halftime lead.
The Pirates stretched their lead to five after three quarters, 33-28.
But in the fourth, it was the Vandals turn to stage a charge. They put up 17 points and held the Pirates to 10 to earn the two-point victory.
McConville's 17 points paced Klickitat, which got 12 points and six steals from Moss and 10 points from Sanchey. Cody Loomis of Bickleton finished with a game-high 18 points.
"We were very fortunate to win this one," Vandals Coach Kirk said, noting Klickitat had to overcome early foul trouble and a night of subpar shooting (16 for 52 from the field, 8 for 15 from the foul line).
At Lyle/Wishram 52, Yakama Tribal 48:
Adam Snyder scored 19 points and Joe Campbell collected 16 rebounds and five steals to lead the Cougars to a GCB victory last Saturday over the Eagles.
Lyle/Wishram took control of the contest in the second quarter, getting 12 points from Snyder while outscoring Tribal, 20-10, after playing the visitors to a 14-14 tie in the first.
The Cougars (1-0, 5-2) led by 11 after three quarters and by 14 with four minutes remaining in the game before holding off a late run by the Eagles, who drained three 3-pointers to pull within five. They eventually got within four with one second left.
"We played in control most of the game," Cougars Coach Scott Myers said, "but, with our inexperience, we still have spurts where we lose focus. That's what happened down the stretch and Tribal almost made us pay for it."
Ty Freemantle contributed nine points, five steals and four assists to the Cougars' cause, and Mike Murphy chipped in with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.
Henry Matai added 12 rebounds and Snyder tallied nine on an afternoon Lyle/Wishram out-rebounded Tribal, 55-37.
At La Salle 68, Trout Lake/Glenwood 39:
Alex Whitefield provided the main highlight for the Eagle Mustangs in their loss to the Lightning last Saturday.
Whitefield tossed in four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for TLG (2-7), which fell behind, 42-19, at halftime en route to losing its GCB opener.
Other standouts for TLG included Devin Dean (8 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists), Dannon Kavanagh (8 points), Ty Scoggins (7 rebounds), Kristian Rubesh (7 rebounds) and Kris Wood (6 assists).
"All in all," said TLG Coach Dan Concienne, "I thought our kids played pretty well. In the second half, they only outscored us by six points and they really didn't change anything they were doing offensively or defensively. We just did a better job of taking care of the ball and executing our game plan."
Lyle/Wishram 56, at Trout Lake/Glenwood 38:
The Eagle Mustangs had no answer for the Cougars' inside-outside combination of Mike Murphy and Adam Snyder during last Friday's non-league game in Glenwood.
Snyder poured in a game-high 28 points (18 on 6-of-6 shooting from 3-point range) and Murphy put up 14 for Lyle/Wishram, which led at every break in play: 18-11 after one quarter, 30-22 at the half and 43-28 entering the fourth quarter.
The differences in the game, noted Cougars Asst. Coach Chris Cochenour, were Lyle/Wishram's tight defense, Snyder's hot shooting and TLG's inability to match up with Murphy in the post.
"They didn't have any answers on defense for those two guys," Cochenour said.
Murphy also had six rebounds and four blocked shots, while Joe Campbell supported the L/W effort with eight points and 10 rebounds, and Ty Freemantle furnished six assists and five steals.
For TLG, Kris Wood scored nine points on three 3-point baskets and Kristian Rubesh had nine rebounds and five blocked shots.
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