Tigers fall to Ellensburg, 56-50, in CWAC District playoffs
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata’s Ravi McConnell drives in for the layup after picking off the Bulldogs for a steal in the second half of the Tigers’ 56-50 defeat on Wednesday night.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata guard Lakota Lange surveys the floor in the first half of the Tigers’ postseason opener against Ellensburg on Wednesday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata’s Lakota Lange drives to the basket with an Ellensburg defender draped on his shoulder in the second half of the Tigers’ 56-50 defeat on Wednesday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Boe Hesse goes up for the shot under the basket for Ephrata as Ellensburg’s Ryan Ferguson comes in for the block in the first half on Wednesday night at Ephrata High School.
Kyle Hendrick tries to muscle the shot up inside the Ellensburg defense in the first quarter of the 56-50 defeat, the first game of the CWAC District 5/6 tournament for the Tigers.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Jayce Moore floats the shot up for the Tigers on Wednesday night against Ellensburg High School in the first round of the CWAC District 5/6 tournament.
EPHRATA — The Bulldogs held off a late push from the Tigers as Ephrata fell to Ellensburg in their District 5/6 first-round tournament game Wednesday, 56-50.
Ellensburg opened the game with a made three before the Tigers came back with a pair of baskets to take their first lead at 4-3. Both teams traded blows back and forth as neither side was able to build much of a rhythm offensively in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs led 11-10 going into the second quarter.
The visitors jumped ahead early in the second, threatening to push the lead into double figures. Gavin Burns came off the bench with a pair of big shots from deep for the Tigers to keep them within arm’s reach of the Bulldogs.
A heave at the buzzer came up short for Ephrata as the Tigers trailed 23-22 coming out of the first half.
The third quarter opened much like the last with Ellensburg coming out firing while the Tigers struggled to build any rhythm of their own on offense. The Bulldogs cooled again, giving the Tigers a chance to stay within reach going into the fourth.
Ellensburg led 42-38 after the third.
The lead pushed out to nine early in the fourth quarter, staying around there until the final minutes. A Jayce Moore 3-pointer cut the lead to six with just over 24 seconds to play. A steal on the inbounds gave the Tigers a chance to trim the lead to three, but Ephrata came up short all three looks.
The Bulldogs took the rebound with four seconds to play, running out the clock on the inbound to advance with the 56-50 win on the road in Ephrata.
Lakota Lange led the Tigers with 13 points. Moore finished with 10, while Burns finished with nine points off the bench, all from deep. Kyle Hendrick finished with eight points and six boards.
Ephrata head coach Brandon Evenson said the Bulldogs’ length definitely bothered his team in the loss and said the extra tournament game for Ellensburg benefited them coming in.
“Being in the atmosphere and being in a tough game gets you ready, and we kind of struggled with the intensity tonight,” Evenson said.
The Tigers coach said everyone sort of struggled on the night and knows they’re a better shooting team than they showed. After reeling off four wins to end the regular season, Evenson said the Tigers have no choice but to find that momentum again heading into their next game on Tuesday.
“The one positive is our season’s not over,” Evenson said. “We’ll just come in and work on some fundamental stuff, look at what we did wrong tonight, and, hopefully, correct it on Tuesday.”
The Tigers will face the loser of top-seeded Toppenish’s game on Saturday against Prosser. The game is set in Yakima at the Sun Dome at 5 p.m on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
