Friday Night Roundball Round-Up for Feb. 3

A frostbitten bunch of Buckley boys produced their lowest point yield of the season thus far, when they traveled to Sumner's house Friday night and fell prey to a Spartan trap losing 41-34. Meanwhile Enumclaw struggled against the Panther boys on senior recognition night at Bonney Lake's facility Friday, Feb. 3, losing 72-69 to force a significant instant replay tilt with the black and teal cagers, tonight at The Nest.

By John Leggett • February 4, 2012 5:48 am

 

 

When Sumner’s boys basketball squad suffered its third SPSL 2A setback of the 2011-12 campaign to Steilacoom 60-59 on the road earlier this week, dropping the Spartans’ league accounting to 10-2, the stunning loss to that inferior Steilacoom crew must have served as enough of a wake up call to snap the valley boys out of their slumber, as the purple and gold hosted and beat nemesis White River last night (Friday 2/3) by the score of 41-34.

Although it certainly wasn’t the highest point yield of the year for Sumner, at least SHS’s players didn’t have icicles dangling from their fingers, as the Hornets gleaned a meagre 34 points, which constituted the low water mark for WRHS this season, by a country mile.

The only player from either squad to rack up  double figures in this lackluster affair was Dave DeVries of Sumner with 10 points. As for a frostbitten White River bunch, which has been averaging at least 15 points per stanza in games this season, senior guards Jason Tyler and Billy Kiel shared high scorer “honors” for the visiting Hornets, as they were able to muster seven points apiece when WRHS shot frigid 25 percent from the floor.

The Spartans welcome Franklin Pierce’s Cardinals to Sumner High’s gym tonight (Saturday, Feb. 4) at 7 p.m. If Sumner manages to defeat the Redbirds of FPHS it will end its SPSL 2A regular season with an 11-3 record, the same as White River, which closed out its regular season with the lame effort in Spartanville. The Spartans on the other hand lost to Clover Park twice and of course suffered the painful one point defeat to the Sentinels.

In that two of the Hornets’ three league losses came at the hands of Sumner though, the Spartans would trump the Hornets, thereby being awarded the number two seed out of the SPSL 2A via that head-to-head tie-breaking method. Assuming that the Sparts do beat the visiting Redbirds tonight at The Fortress, SHS will play the 6 p.m. contest at Foster High School next Friday (Feb. 10) in the initial round of sub-districts, most likely against Sequim. Meanwhile White River, as the number three seeded squad out of the SPSL 2A, would then play the 8 p.m. contest that same evening, against a contingent to be determined.

 

In another rivalry rendezvous, at the Panther Den last night between Bonney Lake and visiting Enumclaw, the black and teal celebrated Senior Night in style and high drama with a narrow 72-69 victory over its guest. One of BLHS’s upperclassmen, senior guard Cassidy Gifford, tabulating 26 points. En route to amassing over a third of BLHS’s points, Gifford found his mark on no less than five three point buckets to spearhead the Panther scoring endeavors.

The winged warriors of EHS had one last opportunity to tie up the nail biter with eight seconds remaining, but junior guard Perry Rockwood’s lengthy three point attempt from nearly half court, swirled off the iron and Bonney Lake won the cliff hanger to make the two squads’ SPSL 3A marks an identical 3-6.

Rockwood’s backcourt partner in crime, junior guard Tony Chynoweth, was far and away the Hornets’ top point getter and the game’s most productive shooter as well with 32 points…No other EHS cager managed double figure scoring. Things were a bit more balanced for the Panthers, as Jordan Williams and Derek Lund scored 13 points apiece and senior spire Mike Gould was a force in the low post accounting for 15 points as well as a dozen boards.

Both clubs’ final regular season outing of the 2011-12 campaign will take place tonight (Saturday, Feb. 4.) at 7 p.m. in Enumclaw’s Chuck Smith Gymnasium, for an instant replay of last night’s zany encounter. This evening’s tussle, in essence will be tantamount to a one game play-off  to decide which of these groups will take the fourth seed out of the SPSL 3A with a 4-6 accounting, and which squad will be thrown the bone of finishing the regular season with a 3-7 record, thereby coming away with the dreaded fifth seed consolation prize and probably having to see Lakes High’s road crew orange in the first phase of the post season, the always lively sub-districts.

 

 

In girls roundball last night, White River visited the valley girls of Sumner and as usual, the Hornet ladies won the road tilt by the obligatory ten point margin. In the 43-33 triumph over Sumner, Hornet sharpshooters Cassidy France and Kennedy Hobert combined for a bountiful 24 points. Conversely, the solitary gal to post double figure scoring for Sumner, was six foot freshman center Jaime Lange, who scored an even dozen points for a night’s work.

While it would appears that White River will probably sew up the number one seed out of the SPSL 2A with its successful trip to Sumner, it is academic what Franklin Pierce does against the Lady Sparts tonight at Sumner’s gym. Win or lose, the ladies representing the purple and gold standard will be either 10-4 or 9-5. Either one of those records will leave them firmly entrenched all alone in third place behind White River and Eatonville and the Spartans will be the third seed representative out of the SPSL 2A regardless of what transpires this evening.

In local SPSL 3A hardwood action Friday night it was the Lady Hornets of Enumclaw stinging the Panthers of Bonney Lake at EHS’s facility and beating BLHS 69-48, behind the combined 33 points out of EHS twosome Julia Myers and Calli Remitz. Meanwhile Bonney Lake senior guard Naomi Pounds is beginning to find her range from three point land again as she knocked down 19 points and junior cohort Mekenzie Voellger also contributed 15 points.

These two SPSL 3A adversaries will mix it up again tonight (Saturday, Feb 4.) at 7 p.m. in the Panther Den and there is really no pressure on the Hornets. Win or lose, EHS is a lock to capture the same third place seed out of the SPSL 3A with either a 7-3 or a 6-4 accounting.

Bonney Lake meanwhile must prevail over Enumclaw tonight before the Panther faithful in order to avert a play-off game with Decatur at a neutral site this coming Tuesday for the fourth and fifth place seeding designations.

If Bonney Lake should register a mild upset over the Hornets tonight it would round out its regular season with a 6-4 mark and sew up the fourth seed uncontested. If Enumclaw decides that it would like to head into the post season with the momentum derived from pummeling BLHS for the second night in a row to thereby make Decatur and Bonney Lake’s records 3-7, then the Panthers must face the pesky Gators in a one game play off, to determine which will be the fourth and which will be the fifth seed out of the SPSL 3A.