CHEHALIS — Taholah’s boys came into Saturday evening’s regional-to-state contest with Riverside Christian with a simple plan and it executed it to near-perfection.
Using their defense to power the offense, the Chitwhins smothered the Crusaders for three quarters to punch their ticket to Spokane with a 73-57 Class 1B regional boys basketball win at Chehalis High School.
On Wednesday, Taholah (19-3) will take on Almira Coulee-Hartline in a loser-out opening round contest at the Spokane Arena.
“We kept the ball out of their shooters and didn’t do anything different than what we’ve done in the past — put pressure on the ball,” Taholah head coach Mike Rose said. “We brought a lot of energy and covered the floor. When you look at the scoreboard in the third and you are down in a one-and-done, you have to get it done.”
Taholah’s game plan is time tested and consistent — pressure the opposition into mistakes. Riverside Christian was forced into 14 first-half turnovers to allow the Chitwhins to lead throughout.
Combined with Taholah’s sharpshooters from the perimeter — Zach Cain, James Orozco and James Bastian combined for five 3-pointers in the first quarter — the pace of the game belonged to the Chitwhins.
“Our coach told us to calm down and play our game,” Cain said. “Our game is defense. That is what we emphasize, keeping a fast pace on offense. That is what we work on in practice — defense and pressure.”
The only threat from Riverside Christian came in the third quarter. Focusing on their offense, the Crusaders didn’t turn the ball over, handled the Chitwhins’ pressure defense well and took a brief 48-47 lead with 3:46 left in the quarter.
Cain took matters into his own hands after that, driving to the basket on several possessions to reestablish Taholah’s lead. He scored his team’s final seven points for a 54-50 lead after three.
From there, Taholah kept the pressure on and closed the game with a 15-2 run to punch its ticket to Spokane.
Cain, an all-stater last season, led Taholah with 24 points. Orozco added 15 for the Chitwhins.
“There were times when we had a lot of energy, but at times we hit a couple of spells where we didn’t get back on defense,” Rose said. “After that (brief Riverside Christian) lead and Zach got into foul trouble, we moved the lead out. We played smart and speed the floor. No one can really stop Zach one-on-one and the rest of the team came through.”
Riverside Christian 15 17 18 7 — 57
Taholah 21 17 16 19 — 73
Riverside Christian (57) — Jennings, Myers 6, Lee 4, Haas 23, Bazaldua 2, Allen, Matthews, Rivera 15, Allen, Vickers 6. FG — 23-68 (.338). FT — 6-12.
Taholah (73) — Orozco 15, Underwood, Dan, Hicks 2, James-Juneau, Bastian 6, Waugh 2, Cain 24, Purdy 13, Mowitch 7. FG — 31-60 (.517). FT — 5-12.
