MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake boys basketball fell at home to Mt. Spokane, 80-43, in their opening game of the season.

The Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders and never looked back. Mt. Spokane opened up a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter, and never relinquished it.

Down 22-9 going into the second quarter, the Wildcats picked right back up where they’d left off in the 1st. The Chiefs found themselves down 54-21 going into the locker room at half.

The Chiefs were unable to pull closer in the third quarter, as the Wildcats stretched their lead to 38, up 72-34 heading into the fourth. Moses Lake managed to outscore the Wildcats in the final quarter, but came up short against last year’s 3A State runner-up.

Kyle Karstetter led the way for the Chiefs, finished with 15 points, six rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist. Logan Sperline was the only other Moses Lake player to finish in double figures, finishing with 10 points in the loss.

In his first game as head coach, Jake Hunt said the effort from his team was decent against an opponent the Moses Lake coach said he knew would be tough coming in. After sticking close to the Wildcats early in the 1st quarter, Hunt said the Chiefs got sucked into playing at the pace the Wildcats wanted to run.

“The kids had a hard time bouncing back from that run they put on in the second quarter,” Hunt said.

Hunt said he talked to his team all week about transition, but said the Chiefs just weren’t able to stop the Wildcats on the break.

Hunt said he was nervous coming into his first game at the helm for Moses Lake. With a young team this season, Hunt said he feels nerves might have affected some of the younger guys early on.

Moving forward Hunt said he’s been telling his team that they need to find their identity for this season.

“It’s just one game and we have a tough non-league schedule, but each one is gonna get us prepared for that first league game,” Hunt said. “So it’s really just building on that and moving ahead.”