Tyson Vogrig's buzzer-beater lifts North Central boys over Cheney; Tenice Waters paces Reardan girls | Prep roundup
North Central won its appeal earlier this year to play a 2A schedule – including postseason – for the next two-year cycle, so this is the last season the Wolfpack will have to “glue” into the District 6 3A boys basketball playoffs.
That meant a showdown on Tuesday against Cheney, which finished fifth in the Greater Spokane League 3A division, for a chance to play the Mid-Columbia Conference fourth-place team – still to be decided – on Thursday in a winner-to-districts, loser-out game.
“You know, whatever we do, everyone’s gonna be mad at us,” junior Tyson Vogrig said. “If we’re playing 2A, they’re gonna say we’re a 3. And if we play 3A, then they’re gonna say that we’re not good enough. We want to play 3A, but whatever. We just gotta handle our business.”
It took until the last tenth of a second, but the Wolfpack handled their business on Tuesday.
Vogrig made a buzzer-beating put-back on a failed 3-point attempt and the Wolfpack (16-6) edged the Blackhawks (10-11) 56-55, advancing to host a district game on Thursday night.
North Central trailed by one with 7.4 seconds left and the ball under the Cheney hoop. The inbounds pass went awry, leaving Isaac Williams to scramble into the backcourt to retrieve it. His long, hurried 3-point attempt was well short – but it fell right to Vogrig, and his push shot barely beat the buzzer and fell through for the win.
Vogrig and Williams both finished with 15 points to lead the Wolfpack. Cheney’s Juleon Horyst scored 13 of his game-high with 22 points in the fourth quarter, and fellow senior Kade Adderley added 15.
“You know, I was just thinking about our season, how we can’t end like that, so I just crashed the board,” Vogrig said of the winning shot.
“It means it all matters at the end, every little detail matters,” North Central coach and Gonzaga great Rob Sacre said. “We’ve just got to stay with it and just don’t get discouraged. Just keep fighting, finding the little things. I tell them, ‘Hey, we can either be mediocre or great.’ That’s the difference between the little things.”
NC hit 8 of 10 free throw attempts in the second quarter and led 30-23 at intermission.
Cheney used a 6-2 spurt at the start of the third to draw within three, and a converted lob by Ryan Howe tied it at 36 with one minute left in the period. Vogrig hit a 3 at the end of the quarter and NC led 39-38 entering the fourth.
NC’s Adie Wright tied it at 51 with a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:50 to go. Williams hit a 3, then grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, and NC led 54-53 with 28.5 seconds remaining.
Boys 2A
Pullman 54, Rogers 36: Gavyn Dealy scored 17 points, Vaughn Holstad added 15 and the Greyhounds (16-3, 10-1) defeated the Pirates (9-7, 4-7). Hands Warrick led Rogers with 10 points.
West Valley 81, East Valley 44: The visiting Eagles (13-6, 8-3) defeated the Knights (4-15, 3-8). Details were unavailable.
District 6 2B
At West Valley HS
Colfax 80, Kettle Falls 28: Adrik Jenkin scored 22 points, Ledger Kelly added 14 and the Colfax Bulldogs (21-0) defeated the Kettle Falls Bulldogs (10-12) in a quarterfinal game.
Colfax faces Freeman on Wednesday, Feb. 18 in a semifinal game and Kettle Falls plays Upper Columbia Academy in a loser-out game this Saturday, both at WWHS.
Freeman 62, Reardan 60 (D/OT): Micah and Madox Hodges combined for five points in double overtime to lift the visiting Scotties (14-7) over the Screaming Eagles (17-4) in a quarterfinal game. Micah Hodges had a total of 24 points and Madox had 14. Fred Frolov led Reardan with 23 points. Reardan plays St. George’s in a loser-out game this Saturday.
Northwest Christian 49, Asotin 28: Caleb Grant scored 16 points, Jonah Pope added 12 and the Crusaders (21-1) defeated the Panthers (7-13) in a quarterfinal game.
Northwest Christian faces Davenport on Feb. 18 in a semifinal game and Asotin plays Chewelah in a loser-out game this Saturday, both at WWHS.
Davenport 60, Liberty 40: Calac Colbert scored 26 points off five three-pointers, Titus Lathrop added 18 points and the visiting Gorillas (12-10) defeated the Lancers (14-7) in a District 6 2B quarterfinal game. Drew Piersol led Liberty with 11 points. Liberty will play Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in a loser-out game this Saturday at West Valley HS.
Girls 2A
West Valley 63, East Valley 44: The visiting Eagles (13-5, 7-4) defeated the Knights (3-16, 1-10). Details were unavailable.
District 6 2B
At West Valley HS
Freeman 46, St. George’s 43: Rylee Russell scored 14 points, Logen Pecht added nine points and the visiting Scotties (13-7) defeated the Dragons (10-13) in a quarterfinal game. Brystal Neilsen led St. George’s with 23 points.
Freeman will play Reardan in a District 6 2B semifinal game on Feb. 18. St. George’s will play Chewelah in a loser-out game on Feb. 14.
Reardan 49, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 38: Tenice Waters scored 20 points, Ruby Sprecher added 10 points and the Screaming Eagles (19-3) defeated the visiting Broncos (16-6) in a quarterfinal game. Zoe Galbreath led Lind-Ritzville/Sprague with 18 points.
Reardan will play Freeman in a District 6 2B semifinal game on Feb. 18. Lind-Ritzville-Sprague will play Kettle Falls in a loser-out game on Feb. 14.
Davenport 58, Colfax 40: Glenna Soliday scored 26 points, Clare Lathrop added 14 and the Gorillas (18-4) defeated the Bulldogs (12-9) in a quarterfinal game.
Davenport faces Northwest Christian in a semifinal game on Feb 18 and Colfax plays Upper Columbia Academy in a loser-out game this Saturday, both at WWHS.
Northwest Christian 68, Liberty 32: Julianna Pope scored 24 points, Kaitlyn Waters added 19 and the Crusaders (20-1) defeated the Lancers (12-10) in a quarterfinal game. Liberty plays Newport in a loser-out game this Saturday at West Valley HS.