SPOKANE – The No. 3 seed MLCA/CCS Lions responded to Thursday’s quarterfinal loss in the 1B Boys State Basketball Tournament by defeating No. 16 Columbia Adventist 62-42 Friday morning, reaching a placement game for the second time in the last three seasons.

MLCA/CCS held the Kodiaks to 11 points in the first half, a stark contrast to the team’s performance against No. 5 Neah Bay in the quarterfinals.

“That fire and emotion, that was absent (Thursday), that was it,” MLCA/CCS Head Coach Emerson Ferguson said. “It was night and day. The energy on the court, everything was different. The boys had it today.”

While it took a few possessions to get the offense moving, the Lions held Columbia Adventist scoreless through the first four minutes of Friday’s game, holding an 11-6 advantage after the first quarter. Early shots blocked by MLCA/CCS defenders in the paint forced the Kodiaks to take more outside shots early.

“It’s win or go home, and we didn’t want to go home,” Ferguson said. “That’s not what we came here for. It was nice for the boys to start with all that energy, they seemed faster out there.”

After an 11-point first quarter, the Lions followed up with a 16-point second frame to take a 27-11 lead at the break. Even with the double-digit lead, Ferguson noted the importance of coming out strong in the second half.

“Just because you have a lead at the half doesn’t mean anything,” Ferguson said. “You look at Mossyrock, who’s in the semifinals now, and that’s because they came back from 15 (points) on Wednesday. Things like that you have to remember and understand. You’ve got to refocus at the half and beat that team in the third quarter and the fourth quarter.”

MLCA/CCS put up another 16-point quarter in the third quarter, including three-pointers by sophomore James Robertson and senior Jonah Robertson. 

“We were happy that we were up by a lead,” sophomore Dennis Gulenko said. “It’s easier to keep a lead than to climb out of a hole. We didn’t play super good defense in the third quarter – we let them score as many points as they did in the first half – but the defense started stepping it up.”

The Lions stretched their lead to as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, defeating the Kodiaks 62-42. Sophomore Johnny Ferguson led the Lions with 13 points, followed by Jonah Robertson with 12 points. James Robertson scored 10 points, and freshman Treyson Kast and Gulenko both scored eight points.

“You’ve got to get a feel for the game and what the other team’s doing defensively,” Ferguson said. “Once we saw the triangle and two (defense) – they were face guarding Johnny (Ferguson) and Jonah (Robertson) – once we saw that, we switched to plays that would help get them open.”

In the 2023 1B Boys State Basketball Tournament, the Lions were also in the consolation semifinals, playing No. 16 Orcas Island in a 67-39 loss. Emerson Ferguson said the difference this year was the team’s defensive performance.

“Our offense is what got us to state last year,” Ferguson said. “Our defense didn’t always show up, and at state, it didn’t show up. That was the difference between winning and losing this game.”

With the win over Columbia Adventist, MLCA/CCS advanced to the fourth/sixth-place game Saturday morning against No. 1 Lummi Nation. The Blackhawks (23-2) defeated No. 6 Cusick 54-33 in the consolation semifinals Friday morning.

“We were No. 1 and No. 2 the whole season on RPI, so we’ve got to go prove a point,” Gulenko said. “That we were the No. 1 team this season.”

Tip-off between the Lions and Blackhawks is at 8 a.m. in Spokane. 

“The boys are really good at taking a little time to celebrate, and then you lock in and start planning and mentally thinking for (Saturday),” Ferguson said. “It’s an early game, so we’ll have to lock in a little earlier.”

Box Score

Kodiaks: 6-5-14-17 42
Lions: 11-16-16-19 62