SPOKANE —
Brandon Broersma had 12 points, 13 rebounds and a tournament-record 11 blocked shots to carry Sunnyside Christian past Neah Bay 44-36 on Saturday night for the Class 1B boys state title.
Alex Brouwer led the Knights (27-2) with 13 points.
Abraham Venske scored 10 points for the Red Devils (19-4).
Sunnyside Christian saw an 18-point lead whittled to 38-36 with 2:10 left after Leyton Doherty buried a 3-pointer for Neah Bay.
The Red Devils had a chance to tie, but Broersma blocked Ryan Moss’ shot attempt with 50 seconds left. Broersma made four free throws to seal the win.
Sunnyside Christian raced ahead 15-4 and led 30-12 after a basket by Brouwer early in the third quarter.
But Neah Bay closed the quarter on a 14-2 run to set up the close finish.
A day after making a tournament-record eight 3s, Tyler McCaulley scored two points and was held without a 3.
The game was a rematch of the final two years ago, won by Sunnyside Christian.
The Knights have won five of the last seven 1B titles.
(For Spokane Spokesman-Review story on this game, click on http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/mar/03/sunnyside-christian-defeats-neah-bay-for-eighth/ )
EARLIER STORY:
Red Devils rolling at state: Neah Bay easily captures first two games in Spokane
SPOKANE — Tyler McCaulley caught fire at just the right time.
The Neah Bay senior put on a shooting display for the ages as he knocked down a state 1B tournament-record eight 3-pointers to spark the Red Devils to the championship game.
McCaulley ripped the nets for a career-high 29 points as the Red Devils stomped LaCrosse-Washtucna-Kahlotus 77-60 in the semifinals at Spokane Arena on Friday night.
In first-round action, the quarterfinals, on Thursday night the Red Devils went on a 21-3 spurt in the fourth quarter to subdue the pesky Taholah Chitwins 69-45.
That set up a rematch with Sunnyside Christian for the championship trophy Saturday night, but results were not available by press time.
The two teams met for the state title in 2011, with Sunnyside Christian winning 55-50. The second-place trophy was the best-ever state finish for the Red Devils through 2012.
Neah Bay captured third last year for its second-best finish.
The Red Devils (20-2), though, are having their most dominant tournament performance this year, as they have beaten their first two opponents by an average of 20.5 points.
Not even close
.
McCaulley led four players in double figures against the Lacrosse-Washtucna-Kahlotus Tigercats (20-6) in the semifinals.
McCaulley sank eight of his 12 3-point shots for the state tournament record while Abraham Venske wasn’t far behind with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting from 2-point range.
Venske also made 7 of 8 free throws.
Josiah Greene and Leyton Doherty netted 10 points each.
State record
But it was McCaulley who had the record-setting day.
“Tyler had a lot of good looks, and he knocked them down,” Neah Bay coach Gerrad Brooks said.
The Red Devils normally shoot between 10 to 20 3-pointers a game with their high-octane offense, and whoever is open will take the shot.
“When the opportunity presents itself,” Brooks said of Neah Bay’s 3-point shooting philosophy. “Whenever the situation calls for it.”
The opportunities mostly went McCaulley’s way Friday night as he took 12 of the team’s 20 long-distance shots.
“Tyler did a great job of getting open, and a great job of shooting,” Brooks said.
Venske also had an excellent offensive performance in the semifinals.
“Abraham Venske had a great game,” Brooks said.
“He did an outstanding job of keeping up the energy [in the Red Devils’ fast-paced offense], and he got good looks and shots off that as well.”
Josiah Greene had a strong defensive game against the Tigercats, guarding their top player, Jed Zimmer.
Zimmer did score a team-high 20 points but he made just 9 of 24 shots from the field.
“Josiah did an absolutely great job of defending him,” Brooks said.
Greene also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and he dished out a high five assists.
Zeke Greene had a team-high five steals while Venske had six boards to go with his 21 points.
The Red Devils stayed in control most of the game, leading 21-10 after one quarter, 35-28 at halftime and 53-38 going into the fourth quarter.
Quarterfinal win
Neah Bay had a little more difficult time against the Chitwins (15-4) in the quarterfinals, at least in the beginning.
Taholah stuck with the Red Devils in the first half, trailing just 32-30 at the break, and even led 30-27 late in the second quarter.
Neah Bay went on a 14-0 burst, capped by Venske’s bucket with 4:50 left in the third quarter, that put the Red Devils up 41-30.
Taholah closed to within 44-39 on a 3-pointer by Ronnie Tadios-Tahkeal, but Neah Bay responded with an 18-6 run that included a long 3 by McCaulley early in the fourth quarter.
A 21-3 advantage in the final period helped the Red Devils bury the Chitwins at the end.
“Taholah did a good job of staying with us,” Brooks said.
“We had to stay patient and wait for the right opportunities, wait for good looks.”
And once the opportunities came in the fourth quarter, the Chitwins had no answer.
Neah Bay’s Ryan Moss led four players in double figures with 15 points on 3 of 4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
McCaulley added 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting from long range while Venske added 11 and Doherty scored
10.
Neah Bay had 41 rebounds as Josiah Greene led the way with 10. Venske grabbed eight and Zeke Greene had seven boards.
Josiah Greene also had two blocked shots while Zeke Greene had a game-high six steals.
Venske dished out a team-high five assists, and he contributed four steals.
Keanu Curleybear had a team-high 15 points for Taholah while Ronnie Tadios-Tahkeal added 13 and Jimmy Smith-Kramer had 10.
