QUINCY — Friday night’s Caribou Trail League matchup between Omak and Quincy was a significant game for the Jackrabbits to be able to put some separation between themselves and the remainder of the league, defeating the Pioneers 60-49 and improve to 6-1 in the CTL.

The lone Jackrabbit league loss this year was on the road to Omak on Dec. 21, an 86-62 loss.

“We were excited, we knew it was a big game,” Quincy head coach Scott Bierlink said. “Knew that if we were to win, that we would be in the driver’s seat moving forward. Our guys were ready — Omak’s a good team, they got us up at Omak. A little bit of revenge, but we were excited and ready to play.”

Quincy opened the game on an 8-0 run, holding the Pioneers scoreless through the first four-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter; by the end of the first frame, the Jacks held a 17-6 lead over Omak. 

To beat Omak’s press, Quincy found success in passing to players down the court for open lay-ups.

“They like to bring the pressure, so we knew they were going to press and we knew they were going to trap,” Bierlink said. “We wanted to attack it up the court and finish it with lay-ins … and then defensively, we had a little spark to us and we were playing really good defense.”

Omak players began finding their shot in the second quarter, putting together an 18-12 scoring run down the stretch to cut Quincy’s lead to 29-25 at the half.

“Right in that second quarter, we started slowing down and started turning it over,” Quincy senior Aidan Bews said. “It was just keeping our composure, keeping our heads up and being good leaders out there for the guys. We’ve got to do a better job of correcting our mistakes on offense and having the defensive errors.”

Omak’s pressure started to affect the Quincy offense, leading to turnovers in the backcourt and easy Pioneer baskets to spark the Omak offense, later tying the game at 35 late in the third quarter.

Once the Jacks were able to respond to the Pioneer press, Bews’ eight third-quarter points allowed Quincy to take the lead back and go up 50-42 entering the fourth quarter.

“I was just able to be found by my teammates, was able to get in the right spot,” Bews said. “They were pressing, and we were breaking it.”

Bews’ second basket of the third quarter allowed the senior to cross the 1,000-point mark in his career, becoming Quincy’s sixth player in program history to reach that mark according to Bierlink.

“It feels good; four years on this team, was playing behind two guys who got 1,000, so I had a lot of great role models,” Bews said. “I was going into the game with it in the back of my head, but the main priority was to get the win.”

After senior Julian Ibarra opened the final frame by grabbing his own rebound for a basket, the fourth quarter was all Quincy; the Jacks outscored Omak 14-7 down the stretch of the game to leave with a 60-49 win over Omak.

“We switched to a little zone defense and changed up the look,” Bierlink said. “Julian (Ibarra), Pierce (Bierlink) both got in a little foul trouble — and so we switched it up and I think that helped take away some of their drives and getting in the paint on us.”

After Omak had tied the game earlier in the third quarter, Bews said the Jacks came together during a timeout to wash away any of the Pioneer momentum. 

“There was a timeout, we came together as a team and talked about it,” Bews said. “Just not letting the turnovers affect us and being able to stay calm and composed. Get it up the court quickly and be confident with the ball.”

Bews led the Jacks with 18 points in the win, followed by Ibarra with 15 points and Pierce Bierlink with 12 points. 

Quincy continues CTL play with a road tilt against Cashmere on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.

Before the boys tipped off, the Quincy girls defeated Omak 42-40, with sophomore Emily Camacho scoring two points at the free throw line late in the game to seal the win for the Jackrabbits. The win was Quincy’s second CTL win of the season, having previously defeated Cascade (Leavenworth) 45-40 on Dec. 19. Sophomore Chloe Medina led the Jacks with 12 points, followed by Camacho with nine points and sophomore Penelope Thorsen and freshman Janely Ramirez Farias, who both scored eight points in the win.

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

Box score

OMK: 6-19-18-7 42

QCY: 17-12-21-10 60

    Quincy senior Aidan Bews (4) scored his 1000th point in the Jackrabbits’ 60-49 win over Omak on Friday.
  

    Quincy sophomore Chuy Carrillo, left, scored on a lay-up in the first quarter against Omak. The Jacks found success early in beating Omak’s press, finding open players down the court for baskets.
  

    Quincy players gather for photos after the game after senior Aidan Bews (4) scored his 1,000th career point.