Cougars fall to Bears at home, 71-58
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's J.C. Martinez comes in for the layup and score for the Cougars in the Tueday night defeat against Kiona-Benton.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Warden's Kaden Skone tries to take the ball in for a layup late in the fourth quarter before losing the ball after a Kiona Benton player's swipe on Tueday night at Warden High School.
Warden’s Kaden Skone beats the Bears’ defense for the layup in the first half on Tuesday night in Warden.
WARDEN — Warden boys basketball fell at home to Kiona-Benton on Tuesday night, 71-58.
The Bears came out red-hot shooting the basketball, pouring in an array of 3’s in the first quarter to build an early lead. Ki-Be put up 28 in the first quarter, leading the Cougars by 12 heading into the second quarter.
The hot shooting continued for the Bears into the second quarter and for most of the game as Warden was never able to pull within single-digits before the half. The Cougars matched the Bears’ first quarter score at the end of the first half as Ki-Be led 43-28 going into the locker room.
The third quarter followed suit with the first half as the Bears maintained their wide margin going into the fourth quarter, pushing the lead out to 19 at 59-38. The Cougars managed to cool the visitors off a bit in the fourth quarter, threatening to cut the lead to single-digits with a few minutes remaining.
Ki-Be responded to the surge, holding off Warden in the final minutes as the Bears held on to pick up the win on the road.
Kaden Skone and Ryan Mendoza both finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars in the loss. Skone chipped in three assists as well.
Warden head coach Wes Richins said after the game that Ki-Be has been hot coming in, taking down Wahluke and almost knocking off Royal.
“They shot lights out, two kids made ten 3’s and they probably shot 15,” Richins said. “I thought we had a chance, we cut it to nine or something. Our shooting wasn’t very good, we had a lot of really great looks, just never got it going. We can’t win a shootout if we’re not gonna hit more than we did today.”
Richins said he was proud of his team’s fight after taking a punch early in the game from the Bears. With limited varsity experience coming into the experience, the Warden head coach said sometimes he forgets this.
“They’re learning how to play basketball, it’s been an education,” Richins said. “But the growth curve needed to be steeper. I was hoping we’d be further along right now than we are.”
Moving forward, Richins said his players just have to trust each other and work as a team. The Warden coach added that he’s confident, if his team puts up 58, they have a good chance of getting the win most nights.
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