YAKIMA — In a game where Pierce Bierlink had 52 points, the Quincy Jacks (3-7) earned a tight 64-63 win over the La Center Wildcats at Yakima Dome in the SunDome Shootout. Head coach Scott Bierlink said it was a great experience for his players. 

“Our state tournament is at the Sun Dome, so it gives us a chance to play on the floor where eventually we'd like to be playing at the state tournament. It's a good experience for us, the players really enjoy it,” Bierlink said.  

It was a back-and-forth game from the start, Scott said. Pierce caught fire early, finding the basket consistently. According to Scott, the Jacks' biggest lead was by five points. Despite the consistent lead changes, Quincy found a way to get some key scores late in the game to steal a one-point win.  

“Defensively, we played with really good energy, and we rebounded it halfway decent. On offense, Pierce got it going, and so we were kind of able to feed him the ball. He was able to get out in transition and get some easy (scores),” Scott said.  

In the first quarter, the Wildcats came out a little faster than the Jacks. It was competitive, but La Center pulled away with a 22-15 lead heading into the second quarter. In the second, Quincy punched back behind the hot hands of Pierce who helped them outscore La Center 15-10. At halftime, the Jacks only trailed 30-32.  

The Wildcats came into the game Tuesday with a few players who had a height advantage over the Jacks. However, the coach said his players saw it as an opportunity to be more aggressive.  

“You got to fight a little bit (harder), and they've been doing that the last couple games, and it been good to see,” he said.  

In the third quarter, each team continued to throw their best shots at each other, looking to take a stronger hold of the lead. Keegan Nelson added some energy to their lineup, Scott said. He took a few charges, which helped them on offense. Jesus Carillo and Erick Zepeda were pillars on defense and helped Quincy stay in the game.

“They play hard defensively. Erick's kind of been our combo guard. He plays point guard when Pierce runs the lane, and those guys have just been rock solid. All three of those guys came in and gave us great energy and really did a good job,” Scott said.  

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Jacks only trailed 46-49. At times, they found an opportunity to take the lead, but it did not last long since the Wildcats consistently responded. Late in the fourth, the Jacks trailed by three once again.  

After missing a free throw that would have tied the game, Pierce made up for it by forcing a steal and laying it in to help Quincy take a one-point lead. Moments later, he found his way back to the free throw line, where he was able to put the cherry on top, and the Jacks escaped with a win.  

With non-conference play now behind them, the Jacks are heading into the full swing of league competition. With this win and a recent league win over the Othello Huskies, Scott and the Jacks feel like they are beginning to hit their stride.  

“We are certainly playing much better,” he said. “We're kind of rounding into shape here, and now we got the second half of our league season. We're fighting for a top-four spot in districts. I like the momentum that we've got moving forward.”  

League competition begins on the road Jan. 2 at Ellensburg, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Quincy’s next home game is on Jan. 3 against East Valley at 3 p.m. Scott said he feels confident his players will be able to compete in both of those games.  

“Guys are going to have to be locked in; we're going to have to just continue to play hard. We need some other guys to be able to score it too, but we need to hang our hat on the defensive end of things. We got to be able to get stops. We got to be able to keep guys in front of us, and then we got to be able to end possession with rebounds,” he said.  

BOX SCORE:

QNCY: 15-15-16-18: 64
LCTR: 22-10-17-14: 63 

    The Jacks’ Erick Zepeda (3) calls out to his teammates during transition against Othello earlier this season. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said Zepeda was an important contributor on defense for the Jacks.