Defense key to ACH boys state basketball round two win
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
Josh Booker (13) drives the lane in Almira-Coulee/Hartline’s second round state tournament win. Booker was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIABASINHERALD
ACH’s Brody Pitts (24) guards Ocosta’s Luis Solis. Coach Graham Grindy said defense was key to the Warriors’ 69-34 win.
Max Grindy of ACH makes a move for the basket.
Max Grindy (25) goes up for the shot during Almira-Coulee/Hartline’s win over Ocosta.
ACH’s Brody Pitts (24) pushes the ball up the lane.
Caiden Correia (32) heads for the basket in ACH’s win in the second round of the state tournament.
Caiden Correia (32) heads for the basket in ACH’s win in the second round of the state tournament.
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. | March 3, 2025 2:10 AM
WENATCHEE — The Almira-Coulee/Hartline Warriors used a stifling defense to take a decisive 69-34 win over the Ocosta Wildcats in the second round of the Class 1B boys state basketball tournament Friday at Wenatchee High School.
ACH held Ocosta to less than 10 points in the second and third quarters, and coach Graham Grindy said defense was the key.
ACH took a 12-7 lead halfway through the first quarter and never trailed after that, leading 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and 30-17 at the half. That was despite a cold shooting spell in the second quarter.
“We did a good job defensively,” Grindy said. “We started out pretty good offensively, we were able to score out of a couple sets, but then we just didn’t really have a good flow going.”
The offensive effort was complicated by some first-half foul trouble.
“I always tell the guys you have to adjust to the way the game is being called. It’s not going to be the other way around,” Grindy said. “We picked up some quick ones – my better players picked up some early ones. On the flip side of that though, they responded really well to it and didn’t get frustrated, you could tell. They stayed out of foul trouble for the rest of the game.”
The Warriors got in the flow in the second half, outscoring Ocosta 20-6 in the third quarter, an offensive run aided by three-point baskets from Josh Booker, Carter Pitts, Max Grindy and Caiden Correia. The coach said the improved offense was a tribute to the Warrior defense.
“Our defense definitely gets our offense going. I think even coming out in the second half with a little full court pressure kind of got us going and got our offense going,” he said. “That’s the way we’ve been designed, because in my mind, your defense should always be there. If you depend on your offense – that's tough. Guys get tight. They get upset because the shots aren’t falling. Defense just takes work, dedication, communication, those things. We worked hard tonight.”
The work the team put in showed, he said.
“I thought we communicated really well defensively. Our energy was great. We shared the ball on offense; multiple guys hit shots. It was a team effort,” Grindy said. “That’s kind of how we’ve played all year – and when we’re doing that, (we’re) pretty tough. It’s just a fun style of basketball to play. Everybody enjoys it. It was fun.”
The Warriors advance to the state quarterfinals Thursday at the Spokane Arena. Their opponent will be determined in the round of 12 on Wednesday.
Box score
ACH: 14-16-20-19 69
OCO: 10-7-6-11 34
ACH’s Brody Pitts (24) guards Ocosta’s Luis Solis. Coach Graham Grindy said defense was key to the Warriors’ 69-34 win.
Max Grindy of ACH makes a move for the basket.
Max Grindy (25) goes up for the shot during Almira-Coulee/Hartline’s win over Ocosta.
ACH’s Brody Pitts (24) pushes the ball up the lane.
Caiden Correia (32) heads for the basket in ACH’s win in the second round of the state tournament.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Quincy Intermodal Terminal to expand
QUINCY — The Port of Quincy will be expanding its intermodal rail yard. Commission chair Curt Morris said the port has an apparent low bidder for the project, but the contract award is delayed until federal rail officials give final approval for the funding. “We should have that (approval) this week, for sure,” Morris said.
Like other local districts, Quincy’s school enrollments declining
QUINCY — The trend is gradual, but it’s the same in the Quincy School District as other Columbia Basin school districts, and districts statewide – student enrollment is declining. For the 2026-27 school year, QSD officials are projecting enrollment at the equivalent of about 3,120 students, plus 48 children in the district’s transitional kindergarten class. The 2025-26 school year ended with the equivalent of 3,181 students, but the graduating senior class was considerably bigger than the incoming kindergarten class.
Grant County PUD preliminary budget released, budget hearings scheduled
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners will hold two public hearings on the 2027 budget Oct. 27 at the PUD headquarters building, 30 C St. Southwest in Ephrata. Commissioners approved both the meeting schedule and filing the preliminary budget at their Aug. 25 meeting.