It’s been an up-and-down season so far for the Central Valley boys team, with some impressive wins and some early losses.
But the Bears believe they can be a factor in the postseason and survived another tough nonleague test Tuesday at the Eagle Holiday Classic, the region’s largest holiday tournament.
After a rough shooting first half for both teams, the Bears found their groove in the second. Led by 6-foot-6 junior post Emerson Lippoldt and junior quarterback Cameron Walls, CV pulled away from the host West Valley Eagles 67-42 before both teams switch leagues after the New Year’s break.
It was something of an unusual matchup with the Class 3A Bears taking on the 2A Eagles. However, the teams had one thing in common this season – each entered the game with a loss to 2B Colfax. CV lost 62-61 on Dec. 6, while the Eagles fell to the Bulldogs 65-36 on Monday in the tournament.
“One of our main tenets this year is consistency,” Central Valley coach TJ Milless said. “We want to be great. We want to play at the Dome in March and consistency is a big part of that. So we’re learning to approach every game with the same mindset. I think we’re getting to that stage where we’re trying to mature as a team. And sometimes consistency is the last thing that comes.”
Lippoldt used his size and growing offensive skills in the second half to score 15 of his game-high 19 points after the break. The Walls finished 17 – 10 in an uneven first half.
“Emerson is the hardest working guy we’ve had through the program since I’ve been here. He makes him use his voice sometimes,” Milles said. “We’ll tell him, ‘If they’re going to single cover you, other than (Mt. Spokane’s Jaden) Ghoreishi, I don’t know who can match you up in this league.’ He has to score whenever he has single coverage.”
Walls had a pair of 3-pointers and an eight-point layup in the first quarter as CV (7-3) went up 16-12. A late 6-2 spurt in the bottom of the second put the Bears up 30-22 at the break.
“It’s probably the coolest thing they’ve ever known, as a coach, you have somebody who sees the game the way you do, and to literally be a coach on the floor,” Milles said of Walls. “He’s so valuable to what we do. Give me a great quarterback who knows what he’s doing and can control the game above everything else. There’s no other quarterback I’d rather have in the state.”
A 3-pointer late in the third by Orlando Axton (12 points) put CV up 45-27, followed by Isaac Plunkitt on another layup to make it a 20-point lead. West Valley was limited to nine points in the third and trailed 49-31 in the fourth.
West Valley (5-3) was led by senior Noah Willard with 13 points.
All aggregate non-league games.
Boys
Southridge 68, Ferris 57: Nicholas Williamson went 14-for-15 at the line, finishing with 36 points and the visiting Suns (3-3) beat the Saxons (3-5). Cole Floyd led Ferris with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Boston Hess added 12 points.
Ridgeline 53 at Moses Lake 74: Brady Jay scored 17 points and the Mavericks (8-2) defeated the visiting Falcons (3-5). Caden Andreas led Ridgeline with 23 points.
Deer Park 65, Newport 31: Jon Kaliman scored 14 points and the Stags (2-4) defeated the Grizzlies (0-9) in the Eagle Holiday Classic. Damien Hamberg led Newport with 10 points.
Girls
Woodinville 74, Mead 48: Jazlyn Wilkerson scored 28 points with six 3-pointers and the Falcons (11-1) defeated the Panthers (7-1) in the championship game of the Surf ‘n’ Slam Tournament at Monte Vista High School in San Diego. Reese Frederick led Mead with 15 points and Caroline Spink added 10.
Ridgeline 65, Moses Lake 23: Madi Crowley scored 21 points, Grace Sheridan added 20, and the visiting Falcons (7-2) beat the Mavericks (3-7).
Southridge 67, Ferris 60: Heidi Leonard-Mercado scored 21 points and the visiting Suns (6-1) defeated the Saxons (4-5). Juju Lewis led Ferris with 27 points, while Mateia Eschenbacher added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Toppenish 45, Lewis and Clark 37: Audrey Herrera scored 14 points and the Wildcats (5-3) defeated the Tigers (3-6) in the Eagle Holiday Classic. Olivia Baird led Lewis and Clark with 10 points.
Rogers 34, Riverside 28: Saige Stuart scored 21 points and the Pirates (2-5) defeated the Rams (0-11) in the Eagle Holiday Classic. Maggie Hymas, Ainsley Spencer and Bridget St. Amand scored eight points apiece for Riverside.
Medical Lake 46, Shadle Park 35: Addison Hammel and Kade Endres each scored 12 points and the Cardinals (3-6) topped the Highlanders (4-6) in the Eagle Holiday Classic. Makenzie Fager led Shadle with nine points and Bella Dahl added eight.
Colville 47, North Central 46: Andee Kroiss scored 21 points and the Crimson Hawks (5-4) topped the Wolfpack (3-6) in the Eagle Holiday Classic. Arkayla Brown paced North Central with 19 points.
Zillah 67, Deer Park 65 (OT): Addison Johnston led four in double figures with 17 points and the Leopards (8-1) defeated the Stags (7-1) in overtime at the SunDome Shootout in Yakima. Jacey Boesel led Deer Park with 22 points.
Mt. Spokane 43, Coach 35: Dakota Wyss scored 14 points, Eleanor Romaniuk added 13, and the Wildcats (2-7) beat the Greyhounds (4-5). River Sykes led Pullman with 14 points.
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