Knights overcome halftime deficit, take down Naches Valley 45-41 to advance
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Cooper Christensen muscles up the shot with a Naches Valley defender draped all over him in the second half Tuesday night.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Luke Bergeson takes the ball to the basket after picking off the Naches Valley guard near midcourt in the first half on Tuesday night.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal’s Carter Dorsing fires the shot from deep in the second half of the Knights' district tournament opener against Naches Valley on Tuesday.
Above: Royal’s Carter Dorsing goes up for the block in the first half of the Knights’ win over Naches Valley on Tuesday. Below: Caleb Christensen hooks the shot over the defender late in the fourth quarter of the Knights’ 45-41 win over Naches Valley on Tuesday.
Photos by Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Caleb Christensen hooks the shot over the defender late in the fourth quarter of the Knights’ 45-41 win over Naches Valley on Tuesday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Royal guard Tyler Allred glides in for the layup against Naches Valley on Tuesday night at Royal High School.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Derek Bergeson takes the shot in the lane between a pair of Rangers in the second half of Royal’s win in the opener of the SCAC District tournament for the Knights.
ROYAL CITY — Royal boys basketball held off Naches Valley late as the Knights advanced to the next round of the South Central Athletic Conference district tournament after the 45-41 win.
Carter Dorsing opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer for the Knights before the Rangers made a 6-0 run to take their first lead. The visitors would hold their lead through the first half, taking a 12-10 advantage into the second quarter.
Naches looked like they might pull away in the second quarter, threatening to push their lead to double digits. Luke Bergeson provided a spark off the bench, however, pouring in seven points in the quarter to keep the Knights within reach heading into the half.
Royal head coach Ray Valle said after the game, “that’s just Luke.”
“He’s not scared of nobody, he’s fearless,” Valle said. “That’s a kid that puts a lot of time in and deserves everything he did today.”
The Rangers led 24-19 going into the break.
Royal came out of the locker room firing, quickly taking their first lead since the beginning of the game a few minutes into the third. Carter Dorsing and Caleb Christensen found their first points since the opening quarter as the Knights headed into the fourth ahead, 33-29.
The Knights and Rangers traded blows for most of the quarter. Naches had a pair of free throws to retake the lead with just over a minute to play with the score at 38-37, but missed both.
The Rangers had another chance to retake the lead on a 3-pointer, down two, but had the shot rim out. Royal made their free throws down the stretch, holding off the Rangers late to advance to face Zillah in the next round.
Carter Dorsing had 11 points for the Knights. Caleb Christensen finished with nine. Luke Bergeson, Derek Bergeson and Cooper Christensen each finished with seven as the Knights balanced their attack in the win.
The Knights head coach credited the win to his team’s grit after the game.
“I think we’re a tough team,” Valle said. “Coming out in that second half, I told them, hey, we’ve gotta toughen up. The score is 0-0, and let’s go out and fight for it.”
After taking some time to get going early in the year with players joining the team late due to fall sports, Valle said he feels like his guys have “gotten their legs under them.”
Valle said, at this point in the season, he’s really just looking to make minor tweaks and stay crisp at what they’ve had so far.
“They’re playing good ball,” Valle said. “I told them just play your ball, and if we win, we win, we lose, we lose. Just play as hard as we can and that’s all you can do. Whatever happens, happens. That’s kinda the attitude we’re taking.”
