COULEE CITY — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions came out on top of a defensive battle Saturday night, defeating the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors on the road 50-46 to improve their record to 6-1.

“This is one of toughest places to play,” MLCA/CCS coach Emerson Ferguson said. “I know they’ve (ACH) got some injuries, but this has always been a tough place. We knew it was going to be tough, plus it’s our first game back after the break. The experience was the biggest factor in being able to win a close game.”

The Warriors opened the game on an 8-5 run, with the Lions tying the game on a three-pointer by sophomore Johnny Ferguson and the Warriors quickly retaking the lead with a three by senior Jaxon Baergen. MLCA/CCS closed the first quarter with a layup in transition by senior Jonah Robertson to take a 15-11 lead.

After the two squads traded the lead early in the second quarter, the Lions held a 24-20 lead with just under 90 seconds left in the half; ACH cut the Lion lead to one point after junior Jameson Conley scored baskets on back-to-back Warrior possessions.

“For him to step up and do that, that was awesome,” ACH coach Graham Grindy said. 

MLCA/CCS, which had averaged 78.8 points per game entering Saturday’s contest, was held to 25 first-half points.

“Heart and intensity can win you games, it can keep you close,” Grindy said. “You saw it tonight; Moses Lake Christian has been scoring a lot of points, and every guy that I put in there gave it their all. We’ve just got to tighten some things up, but I saw some things I really liked tonight.”

The Lions took advantage of Warrior turnovers to take a 39-31 lead late in the third quarter, though late Warrior baskets cut the lead to 42-36 to begin the fourth quarter, where ACH tied the game at 42 on a layup by junior Carter Pitts with 5:12 left on the clock.

“I knew they were going to make a run, we told the boys they were going to make a run, and we just had to keep our composure,” Emerson Ferguson said. “When those things happen, that’s when the experience (matters). We’ve been in some huge games in the last couple of years — the boys didn’t panic and didn’t let the moment become too big.”

A steal, followed by a layup by Lion senior Caleb Jones pushed the MLCA/CCS lead to 48-44 with under a minute left in the game, with the Lions later winning 50-46.

“We’ve been mentally preparing them for that, that they’re going to have to win in other ways,” Ferguson said. “We had to get more points in the paint today, and that was a big factor. We didn’t hit nearly as many threes as we have, and I think that has a lot to do with the layoff.”

MLCA/CCS had a 10-day layoff from its last game, a Dec. 20 win over Odessa. The Lions hit 23 three-pointers over a two-game span against Odessa and Bridgeport, but struggled from beyond the arc Saturday night, connecting on two 3-point shots.

“We weren’t hitting our threes, and I think we were relying on that from Jonah (Robertson) last week,” Johnny Ferguson said. “We weren’t going up strong, weren’t finishing.”

ACH fell to 2-6 with the loss, with four of the losses coming in non-league contests. Grindy said he hopes to see the defensive effort demonstrated Saturday continue as they enter the upcoming slate of league play.

“Hopefully they can keep it going,” Grindy said. “We definitely have to work on being under control a little bit more, but sometimes when you play that way that’s just the style.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com

Box Score

MLCA/CCS: 15-10-17-8 50

ACH: 11-13-12-10 46

    ACH freshman Brady Pitts, left, looks past MLCA/CCS senior Jonah Robertson, right, and toward the rim.
 Ian Bivona/Columbia Basin Herald   

    MLCA/CCS sophomore Dennis Gulenko (32) grabs the opening tip-off against ACH Saturday night.
 Ian Bivona/Columbia Basin Herald   

    ACH sophomore Brady Roberts (21) looks for an open teammate in the first quarter against MLCA/CCS.
 Ian Bivona/Columbia Basin Herald