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Boys hoops look to close strong, grab postseason berth
It appears the final spot into the boys district basketball tournament is going down to the wire. Ephrata (5-9), Selah (4-10) and Quincy (4-10) are all in contention and if this past weekend is any indication as to what might happen - well anything goes.
Friday night Quincy pulled off the biggest upset of the Central Washington Athletic Conference season after defeating first place and eighth ranked Toppenish (12-2) 61-49. But cross-Basin rival Ephrata had their own upset 24 hours later, when they defeated 10th ranked Ellensburg (10-4) 49-46 to stay one game ahead of Quincy and Selah.
The Jacks travel to Ellensburg Thursday, host Prosser Friday and play both Ephrata and Selah the following week.
“We don’t control our own destiny at this point,” coach Wade Petersen said. “But we would be tied.”
Ephrata has the easier road, with last-place East Valley, ninth-place Othello, eighth-place Selah and Quincy, while Selah has Ellensburg, Ephrata, East Valley and Quincy.
"We are still not in for sure, so this weekend will be important," Ephrata coach Brandon Evenson said. "We will go one at a time until we are in."
The best case scenario for the Jacks is four straight wins and Ephrata winning just two of four games.
“They are two teams we lost to (the first time),” Petersen said. “Selah and Ephrata are the two teams we need to beat.”
But those two games are meaningless at this point. The Jacks are focused on this week’s games - at Ellensburg Thursday and at home against Prosser on Friday. After last Friday night's win over eighth-ranked Toppenish, Quincy has a new confidence.
“We think we can compete with anyone in the league,” point guard Braulio Flores said.
The team will be leaning more on Petersen to close out the regular season. The coach, who has guided the Quincy team for the past 11 years, has two state trophies under his belt.
“He’s been here awhile and knows what works and what doesn’t,” Flores said.
After losing to Prosser, Ephrata, Selah and East Valley this season, the Jacks have seemed to turn a corner. The key is buying into Petersen’s system - Good defense leads to good offense.
“Just work hard,” Flores said. “Most of us play in the park and nothing is structured. We’re used to basketball, but not this style. It was just adjusting to it.”
Quincy opened the season with back-to-back wins, but lost 10 straight. They got back on track with two more wins, but fell to Wapato last Saturday after a disappointing third quarter.
The key to the postseason?
“Just keeping it consistent,” Flores said.
