Boys basketball: Andrew Rayment helps Mt. Spokane top Ferris in 3A first round; Gonzaga Prep reaches 4A title game

Feb. 10—Mt. Spokane enjoyed success this season, ranking in the top three in the 3A state media poll all season while missing one of its better players, 6-foot-5 post Drew Rayment. Rayment returned from injury a couple of weeks ago, but it's taken some time for the senior to get back into "playing shape."

If Saturday was any indication, he's there.

Rayment scored 18 points, all in the first three quarters, and the top-seeded Wildcats beat visiting Ferris 75-43 in a District 8 3A first-round game. Mt. Spokane hosts University in a semifinal Tuesday in a "revenge match" for Mt. Spokane's only league loss this season.

"It really hard to miss a lot of time and then come in and be great," Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said of Rayment. "Even just his conditioning and having your timing with your teammates. Tonight was a good example of our guys finding Drew and Drew having a lot of confidence and feeling successful on the court."

Bode Gardner had 13 points and all-league Ryan Lafferty finished with 11 points and 10 assists for the Wildcats.

"(Lafferty) is coming off a triple-double on Tuesday, so he's always looking to make the winning play," Wagenblast said. "That's what's really, really special about him is that he's not looking to go score, even though we all know he could. But he gets his teammates involved and he finds it and he picks his spots when he needs to score."

Mt. Spokane opened with a set play alley-oop from Lafferty to Gardner which started an 11-4 run. Lafferty and Nalu Vargas hit 3s later in the quarter and the Wildcats led 18-8 after one quarter. Mt. Spokane used a 13-2 run at the start of the second quarter open a 20-point lead. Rayment scored eight in the quarter and 14 in the first half.

"He was really all over the place and really kind of just led us with his energy and defense," Wagenblast said. "He was just a warrior for us that we were missing for a month. We're very thankful to have him back."

Gardner hit a 3 from the wing early in the third quarter and the lead reached 30. Gardner, who signed a preferred walk-on offer to play football at Eastern Washington on Wednesday, benefited from additional playing time and responsibility when Rayment was out.

"(Gardner) went from a guy who was knew he was a good player, but not 100% sure of where he fit, to being one of our better players," Wagenblast said. "He was relentless on the glass. He just kept trying to go get offensive rebounds, and he gave us a lot of second-chance points today."

District 8 4A

Gonzaga Prep 70, Kamiakin 38: Dylynn Groves hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points and the second-seeded Bullpups (18-5) beat the visiting third-seeded Braves (18-3) in a semifinal. Henry Sandberg grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out seven assists and added eight points for G-Prep. Gonzaga Prep travels to Richland for the district title game Tuesday.

Richland 80, Lewis and Clark 53: The top-seeded Bombers (19-3) beat the visiting fourth-seeded Tigers (14-7) in a semifinal. Details were unavailable. LC hosts CV in an elimination game Tuesday.

Central Valley 70, Hanford 55: Orland Axton scored 21 points and the visiting sixth-seeded Bears (2-19) eliminated the seventh-seeded Falcons (3-18). Reece Rheinschmidt scored 13 points for Hanford.

District 8 3A

North Central 82, Southridge 51: Jacori Ervin scored 33 points, Juju Ervin added 16 and the Wolfpack (16-5) beat the visiting Suns (11-12) in a first-round game. North Central travels to Walla Walla for a semifinal Tuesday. Jesse Tijerina scored 14 points for Southridge.

University 51, Kennewick 48: Shane Skidmore and Jack Del Mese scored 13 points apiece and the Titans (12-9) topped the host Lions (9-12) in a first-round game.

Walla Walla 75, Ridgeline 71: Ken Higgins scored 28 points and the host Blue Devils (13-9) edged the Falcons (13-8) in a first-round game. Bradyen Allen had 21 points for Ridgeline, which faces Southridge in an elimination game Tuesday.

District 7 2B

Colfax 48, St. George's 50: Adrik Jenkin scored 20 points, Seth Lustig added 12 and the Bulldogs (24-0) beat the Dragons (16-5) in the district championship game at West Valley High School. Elden Pierce scored 20 points for St. George's.

Liberty 63, Northwest Christian 57: Jack Wilson scored 17 points and Lincoln Foland scored 16 and the Lancers (12-11) beat the Crusaders (15-9) in the third-place game at WV. Avi West scored 26 points for NWC.

Kettle Falls 71, Davenport 66: Mace Thivierge hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points and the Bulldogs (16-8) beat Davenport (10-14) in the fifth-place game at WV. Jaeger Jacobsen scored 33 points and Maddox Schumacher added 13 for Davenport.

District 7 1B

Cusick 41, Inchelium 38: Bode Seymour scored 12 points and the Panthers (19-2) beat the Hornets (14-8) in a semifinal game on at Deer Park High School. Cusick will play Wellpinit in the championship game next Saturday at Deer Park High School, with both teams advancing to state.

Wellpinit 65, Almira/Coulee-Hartline 59: Jordan Montgomery made all seven of his three-point attempts and finished with 23 points and Wellpinit (19-2) beat the visiting Warriors (11-11) in a Semifinal game at Deer Park High School. Caden Correia scored 23 points for ACH and Andrew Moyer added 16 for Wellpinit. Wellpinit advances to the championship game against Cusick next Saturday at Deer Park.

Wilbur-Creston-Keller 60, Springdale 27: Eli Katich scored 19, Kallen Maioho added 15 and the Wildcats (11-8) beat the visiting Chargers (12-10) in a loser-out game at Deer Park HS. Wilbur-Creston will play ACH in a loser-out game at Deer Park on Thursday.

Republic 64, Northport 43: The Tigers (12-11) beat the Mustangs (12-9) in a loser-out game at Deer Park High School. Republic will play Inchelium in a loser-out game at Deer Park on Thursday.

District 9 1B

Oakesdale 65, Sunnyside Christian 51: Logan Brown scored 19, Ryker Reed added 17 and the Nighthawks (16-7) beat the visiting Knights (12-10) in a quarterfinal. Aiden Andringa led Sunnyside Christian with 19. Oakesdale will play DeSales in the championship game Friday.

DeSales 49, Pomeroy 38: The Irish (20-4) beat the Pirates (17-4) in a semifinal game. The Irish advance to play Oakesdale in the championship game at Dayton High School on Friday, with both teams advancing to state. Pomeroy will face Garfield-Palouse in a loser-out game at Dayton High School on Wednesday.

Liberty Christian 64, Tekoa-Rosalia 48: Hunter Cole scored 24 points, Nate Grover added 16 and the Patriots (10-12) beat the visiting Timberwolves (9-13) in a loser-out game. Vanden Allen scored 23 points for Tekoa-Rosalia. Liberty Christian advances to play Sunnyside Christian in a loser-out game on Wednesday at Dayton High School.

Garfield-Palouse 54, Yakima Nation Tribal 40: The Vikings (13 — 6) beat the visiting Eagles (6-10) in a loser-out game. Garfield-Palouse advances to play Pomeroy in a loser-out game on Wednesday at Dayton High School.