SOAP LAKE — Tied at 59 with just over three minutes to go, the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions forced key defensive stops and connected on clutch baskets to leave Soap Lake with a 64-62 win Tuesday night.

MLCA/CCS led 55-47 entering the fourth quarter, though Soap Lake rallied to tie the game at 55 after three-pointers by senior Trey Landdeck and junior Jairo Lopez.

“It’s our poise,” MLCA/CCS coach Emerson Ferguson said. “I prepared the boys, I knew they were going to make a run — (Soap Lake) has so much talent, and you just don’t know where it’s going to come from. I told the boys that we had to be under control and keep our composure so that we could still function and do the things we needed to do.”

The two teams continued to trade baskets until Landdeck gave the Eagles a 62-61 lead on a three-point play after being fouled on a made basket. After the Lions retook the lead, MLCA/CCS forced a jump ball with just under a minute on the clock. Lion senior Caleb Jones converted on a free throw attempt to push the lead to 64-62 with four seconds on the clock.

Soap Lake’s attempted buzzer-beater bounced twice off of the rim, giving the Lions the win.

Key baskets by sophomore Dennis Gulenko, sophomore Johnny Ferguson and freshman Max Gulenko allowed the Lions to take back the lead late.

“We realized that we could get the ball inside,” Emerson Ferguson said. “Our guys were posting up pretty easily, so that allowed us the opportunity to get the ball inside. I trust my bigs, we got it in there and got some big buckets when we needed it.”

MLCA/CCS sophomore James Robertson opened the game with a three-pointer on the Lions’ first possession, jumpstarting an 11-2 Lion run to start the game.

“We had to come here very confident,” Robertson said. “This is an opposing team in our league, so we had to come out strong, especially at their home place.”

The Soap Lake shots eventually started to fall, highlighted by junior Ruvium Goloborodko’s two first-quarter three-pointers. 

“I think we just had to make a couple shots to get our confidence back,” Soap Lake coach Daniel Simon said. “We definitely can score a lot of points, we just seemed like we were out of rhythm for a couple of minutes. Once we started scoring, we just did what we do.”

After trailing 22-15 after the first frame, Soap Lake took a 23-22 lead on a three-point play by Landdeck, as the two squads traded the lead three times before the Lions ended the half on a 7-0 run, taking a 37-30 lead into the half.

“That’s our type of basketball,” Robertson said. “We like getting these runs at the end of the first half. It makes us feel great to end the first half.”

Landdeck and Goloborodko combined to score all 17 of Soap Lake’s third-quarter points, keeping the Eagles in the game. Goloborodko led all scorers with 23 points Tuesday night.

“(Goloborodko) showed up and hit shots to keep us in the game,” Simon said. “He’s improved a lot year-to-year. He’s someone that, when he’s a senior next year, he’s going to be trouble for the whole league.”

With the Lions in foul trouble during the game, Ferguson credited the MLCA/CCS bench for stepping up in big moments to allow the Lions to secure the win. Freshman Treyson Kast connected on two 3-pointers before halftime, while Jones pushed the lead to two points late with his made free throw and forced key defensive stops.

“(Kast) had some great defensive plays, hit two big threes. I’m super proud of him,” Ferguson said. “Caleb Jones coming off the bench was awesome; he had some big buckets and huge defensive plays for us. That was something that we needed, and we got it.”

Robertson said prior game experience played a big role in leaving with a win Tuesday night.

“Just staying calm, knowing that we can play no matter what happens,” Robertson said. “We know how to come back from these situations; we’ve already had multiple games like this at home and away.”

Johnny Ferguson led the Lions with 21 points, followed by Robertson with 11 points and Dennis Gulenko with eight points. After Goloborodko, Landdeck and senior Pavlo Stoyan were second and third on the Eagles with 16 points and 14 points, respectively.

With the win, MLCA/CCS improved to 9-1 on the year and 5-0 in Central Washington B games. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Lions are ranked No. 1 in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Rating Percentage Index in boys 1B basketball.

Soap Lake fell to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in league games.

“It’s kind of like a rivalry going on,” Simon said. “They’re pretty intense matchups. I think we’ll see them again soon.”

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

Box score

MLCA/CCS: 22-15-18-9 64
Soap Lake: 15-15-17-15 62

    Soap Lake junior Ruvium Goloborodko, in white, led the Eagles with 23 points Tuesday against MLCA/CCS.
  

    MLCA/CCS sophomore Dennis Gulenko (32) attempts a jump shot against Soap Lake Tuesday night.
  

    Soap Lake senior Trey Landdeck, in white, attempts a three-pointer in the first quarter against MLCA/CCS.