QUINCY — With Aiden Bews leading the way, the Quincy Jacks boys basketball team defeated the Wahluke Warriors 71-53 Friday at Quincy High School in the season opener for both teams.

Quincy Coach Scott Bierlink said he knew the Warriors would be a quality opponent.

“I knew Wahluke was a good team. They bring some guys back that they had last year when they were a game away from going to state. So we knew they were going to be a good scrappy team, and we’ve got a bunch of new guys. I thought we came out and played nervous - there’s no doubt about that. We looked a little rough. For a minute there I thought, ‘Boy, this is going to be a long season.’ But we righted the ship. I think some of our young guys kind of figured it out a little bit.”

Wahluke Coach Clayton Buck said he was pleased with his team’s effort - like Quincy, the Warriors are replacing some players.

“Our effort was good - we didn’t quit,” Buck said. “Definitely, we’re a little young.”

Wahluke guard Orlando Nunez hurt his ankle in the first quarter, and Buck said he was counting on the senior to be a captain on the floor.

“We had the lead up until the third, and then once (Quincy) got momentum it was hard to get it back,” said Wahluke Assistant Coach Leon Yorgesen.

Quincy jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Wahluke came back to take the lead 9-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors held the lead through most of the second quarter and led 27-24 at the half.

Quincy took the lead back late in the third quarter, and Bierlink credited the effort shown by Bews, a junior, who finished with 29 points.

“Bews just kind of took over,” Bierlink said. “He was just dominating today - and he should, because he’s got a little size on those guys. But I thought he played extremely well, especially in that second half.”

Buck said the Warriors return two starters from their 2021-22 team, and two players who came off the bench. The combination of experience and inexperience made for some first game jitters, he said.

“I thought our conditioning was down a little bit. You don’t want to push too hard the first game of the season. But we learned a lot about ourselves today,” Buck said.

“I was proud that I didn’t think we played close to our best game and we were still able to come out with a victory,” Bierlink said. “Defensively, we’ve got some things to work on, and offensively we’ve got to move the ball a little bit better and play more as a team.”

The Jacks face a big early-season test with the first Caribou Trail League game Tuesday against the CTL favorite Chelan Goats at Chelan High School. Wahluke will play White Swan Tuesday in Mattawa, a non-league game.

Box Score

Quincy 8 16 15 32 - 71

Wahluke 9 18 11 15 - 53