Friday’s game between the Central Valley boys and visiting Mead was a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the league — CV’s Cameron Walls and Mead’s Karson Maze — and two teams with league title and postseason aspirations.
Both teams suffered disappointing losses Tuesday — Mead lost to four-win Ferris by 17, while CV was held to 39 points in a loss to Mt. Spokane, which was missing reigning GSL MVP Jaden Ghoreishi due to injury.
It didn’t turn out to be anyone’s idea of a shooting clinic, but the home team was able to deliver enough defense and scrape together enough offense to earn a gritty, physical win.
Walls scored 16 points, Orland Axton added 14, and the Bears outlasted the Panthers 53-47 in a Greater Spokane League 4A/3A game at Central Valley.
Trevelle Jones led Mead with 18 points and Maze finished with 15 before fouling out late in the fourth.
“I feel like we got the job done,” Walls said. “We held them to 47 and did what we had to do. … I would say it was a tough shooting night, but our defense was there. We got the win, now it’s on to the next one.”
“The defensive commitment we got is huge, so it keeps you going in games like this and Tuesday when for some reason we can’t hit the wide side of the barn on offense,” Central Valley coach TJ Milless said.
It was more physical than Milles expected, with bodies on the floor on nearly every possession in the second half.
“I think the Mt. Spokane game was a great test for us, the physicality that they have,” Milles said. “Mead has a lot of offensive firepower – we usually expect a little more up-and-down play with them. I think we played it more on our terms and played a little slower tempo, a little more physicality, which plays into our cards a little better with our size.”
Milles couldn’t help but look at Walls and Maze going at it all night.
“Cam is always ready for this game,” he said. “Cam had a down game last night and was upset with himself. And he’s always ready to make these plays with Mead go against Karson.”
Mead (8-5, 1-2) led 14-9 after one, but didn’t get its first bucket of the second quarter until 3 minutes, 35 seconds left in the half. CV didn’t fare much better and a pair of Axton free throws with 3 minutes left tied the game at 16.
The Panthers were held to just five points in the frame and CV led 25-19 at the break.
The Bears (10-4, 3-1) scored the first six points of the third quarter, including a pair in the paint off a post by Emerson Lippoldt, to make it 31-19 and Mead coach Luke Jordan called a timeout.
Brady Thornton’s put-back on next down ended the mini-run, but CV’s Arjun Kandola drained a 3 at the other end to make it a 13-point game. Jones hit a 3 later in the quarter to get it back within 10 and CV led 39-29 entering the fourth.
Jones hit another to start the fourth, then Maze drove in a contested layup to make it a five-run game. But it never got closer as the teams combined to make just four baskets in the game’s final four minutes.
“I’m so proud of how we’re defending right now,” Milles said. “The guys made a commitment in the summer that this is what we wanted to really hang our hats on to get to the next level. I mean — and I keep saying it — if we defend like we did tonight, consistently, we can get to the Dome.”
Girls
Mead 54, Central Valley 34: Addison Wells Morrison scored 18 points with eight rebounds, Dylan Thielman added 10 points and the visiting Panthers (11-1, 3-0) defeated the Bears (8-6, 2-2) in the opener.
CV’s Olivia Patshkowski led the scorers with 26 points.
Mead’s defense held CV to single digits in each of the four quarters.
“It wasn’t so much turnovers, but we wore them down a little bit,” Mead coach Quantae Anderson said. “It was like, they’re going to start making some mistakes and they’re not going to have the legs to shoot.
The teams scored five points in the first five minutes of the game and CV led by one 9-7. Mead opened the second round 13-4. Caroline Spink had seven points in the period and the Panthers led 30-18 at the break.
The offense dried up again early in the period, and Morrison’s early layup was the only points in the first four minutes of the quarter. They scored 14 points in the period and Mead led by 12 entering the fourth.
“We were tied 7-7 in the third quarter, but it took them a long time to get their first bucket,” Anderson said. “I was really happy about that.
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