Royal boys take on Meridian in first round of Class 1A state basketball
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 8 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 27, 2025 2:50 AM
ROYAL CITY — While both teams are on their way to the Yakima Sundome, the Royal High School boys basketball team will take on Meridian (Bellingham) on Friday to determine who will be guaranteed two more games in the state tournament.
Both the Knights and the Trojans will advance to the round of 12 at the Sundome, but the loser of Friday’s game will have to play and win Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals Thursday.
Royal coach Greg Jenks said he’s impressed by what he’s seen of Meridian.
“It doesn’t take long watching film of Meridian before you’re (saying), ‘This is the seventh seed?’ They look like a top-four team,” he said.
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at Ellensburg High School, 1203 E. Capitol Ave.
Royal earned its second seed in the tournament with a wild and crazy 73-59 win over South Central Athletic Conference rival Zillah on Feb. 21.
“The people that went (to the game) - they will never forget it.” Jenks said.
The Knights got off to a very rocky start, falling a long way behind and struggling to catch up.
“It was 31 to 4 (in the first quarter),” Jenks said. “With three and a half minutes left in the third quarter, it was still a 26-point deficit.”
It was the third meeting of the season for Zillah and Royal; each had defeated the other at home. Jenks said the Knights weren’t ready early on.
“I believe the adrenaline was so high that it affected our decision making on both offense and defense,” Jenks said, while Zillah was rebounding and shooting well.
Things changed midway through the third quarter.
“Everything flipped,” he said. “In those three and a half minutes (at the end of the third quarter) we got the lead down to 12.”
The Knights found their game; Zillah started making the mistakes Royal had been making, Jenks said.
“It really just flipped,” he said. “What flipped it? I’m still trying to figure what did.”
One of the keys, he said, was that Royal players didn’t give up even in the middle of a bad game.
“The boys kept on believing and kept on working, and we were able to start playing our style ball as far as getting out to the open floor. We were able to get some fast breaks, we were getting a few steals.”
The Knights’ shooting improved; so did their defense.
“We were just making better decisions. We got three (3-point shots) in the third quarter — we didn’t have any in the first half. We had to change up defenses; we had to start doing some pressing and we got some turnovers that led to some easy baskets,” Jenks said.
Now Royal must concentrate on the next game, against a team that is one of the top eight in the 1A classification in the state.
“We’ve got to move on,” Jenks said. “I thought we had a good practice (Monday), which tells me (the players) are moving on.”
Meridian has a frontcourt with a lot of height, Jenks said, with at least one player that’s scored more than 30 points in multiple games.
“We’ve placed some really good players this year, so we feel like we’ve got the game plan that will work. It’ll be a team effort,” Jenks said.
The Royal boys basketball team will take to the floor Friday in its first state basketball game.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Comment period still open for 2027 Grant PUD budget
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District customers can still submit their opinions on the proposed 2027 budget in writing on the PUD website until the budget is adopted. Utility district commissioners are scheduled to vote on the final budget Nov. 24. The PUD is projected to spend $738.1 million in 2027, according to a presentation at the budget hearing Oct. 27. That's about a 5% increase over the 2026 budget. Some of those expenses will be offset by money the PUD gets from its customers and from selling power to outside customers. That's projected to be about $224.6 million.
Two hospitalized after collision near Othello
OTHELLO — Two people were injured and hospitalized when a car collided with a semitruck about 12 miles west of Othello Wednesday morning. According to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol, Leslie Villalobos, 23, was driving south on Road D Southeast at about 8:15 a.m. when she failed to slow down at the intersection. Rigoberto Pruneda, 41, Othello, was driving west on SR 26 when Villalobos's car entered the intersection, the WSP memo said. Trooper Jeremy Weber, WSP District 6 public information officer, said Pruneda attempted to steer out of the way of her vehicle, which is difficult to do in a semitruck.
State Route 26 closed due to collision
UPDATE: As of 12:30 p.m. SR 26 has been reopened. OTHELLO — State Route 26 is closed about 12 miles west of Othello due to a serious two-vehicle collision, according to a media alert from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The highway is closed in both directions, according to a release from the Washington Department of Transportation. The closure is at the intersection of SR 26 and Road D Southeast, according to the GCSO release. There is a detour in place, the WSDOT release said. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, there was no estimated time for reopening, the WSDOT release said. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.