SPOKANE — MLCA/CCS’s defense couldn’t slow down the Neah Bay offense during Thursday’s 1B Boys State Basketball Tournament quarterfinals, as the No. 3 seed Lions fell 62-54 to the No. 5 Red Devils in Spokane.

Thursday’s game was the first time the Lions surrendered 60-plus points in a game since Jan. 16 against Soap Lake.

“We felt confident, we felt prepared; it felt like everything was in line for us to have a successful game today, and it just didn’t happen,” Ferguson said. “We just didn’t come out with our normal energy at all.”

After Neah Bay took an early 13-6 lead in the first quarter, MLCA/CCS senior Jonah Robertson’s back-to-back three-pointers got the Lions back within one, later taking a 17-15 lead late in the quarter. The Red Devils went on a 10-0 run from the late first quarter to midway into the second frame, with the run ending on another three-pointer from Robertson.

“If you can’t play defense, then you’re not going to advance in this tournament,” Ferguson said. “Our defense fell apart a little bit, and because it fell apart, it allowed them to get that lead on us. We couldn’t recover from it.”

Neah Bay held a 31-24 advantage at the break.

“It was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to pick it up on defense,’” Ferguson said of the team’s halftime discussion. “Once we pick it up on defense, that translates into everything. Our defense, it creates the energy; it creates the turnovers and the easy buckets on the offensive side. That normal energy that our defense creates and that we feed off of, just never showed up.”

The Lions still struggled with slowing down the Red Devil offense in the third quarter, who built a consistent double-digit lead by forcing turnovers and scoring baskets in transition. During a 20-point fourth quarter, MLCA/CCS cut the deficit to single digits midway through the final quarter – even to as few as seven points – but couldn’t overtake the lead and fell 62-54.

Robertson led the Lions with 18 points in the loss, closely followed by sophomore Johnny Ferguson with 16 points. Freshman Max Gulenko scored nine points.

“That’s who we are,” Ferguson said. “We’re not going to give up just because we’re down. We’re going to fight until there’s no time left for us to fight. That’s how we’ve been, and that’s how we’re always going to be.”

With the loss, MLCA/CCS drops to the consolation bracket where they will face No. 16 Columbia Adventist in a loser-out game Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Spokane Arena. The winner advances to the fourth/sixth-place game Saturday.

“We can let the boys process it this afternoon, and then after that, they’ve got to put it behind them because it is behind them,” Ferguson said. “We came here to win the whole thing, and that’s not going to happen – so if it’s not going to happen, we’ve got to still play for something.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Neah Bay: 19-12-18-13 62
MLCA/CCS: 17-7-10-20 54

    MLCA/CCS senior Caleb Jones, left, dribbles the ball in the frontcourt against Neah Bay on  Thursday at the Spokane Arena.
  

    MLCA/CCS senior Jonah Robertson, in white, led the Lions with 18 points against Neah Bay on Thursday.
  

    MLCA/CCS freshman Max Gulenko, in white, leaps up for a lay-up in the first quarter.