QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (6-15) fell to the Toppenish Wildcats 93-96 in double overtime Tuesday. Despite the loss, Pierce Bierlink put together a historic performance with 64 points. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said the atmosphere in the gym made for a memorable night.   

“It was a packed house. I've been coaching 20 years. That was probably the top two or three high school basketball atmospheres that I've been in,” he said. “The gym was packed, the band was loud, the student section was loud, it was a phenomenal game. It's unfortunate that we came out on the losing end of it, but it was a back-and-forth game all game long.”   

Toppenish jumped out with a commanding lead in the first quarter after Alex Bazan drilled six three-pointers to give them an 18-28 lead. By halftime, the Jacks were able to cut the deficit to 38-43. The second went back and forth as each team traded the lead on several occasions, before heading into overtime as they were tied 73-73 at the end of regulation. From there, the Wildcats edged ahead of the Jacks with consistent scoring and Pierce fouling out, which helped them seal the win in double overtime.   

Scott said he could tell Pierce was motivated going into his final home game to put on a performance. He noticed a positive energy that indicated he was feeling good, which he has experienced before in practices.   

“Like you can just tell he's feeling pretty good today. I didn't think 64 (points) good, I wasn't even sure if it was going to be 40 good, but he just kept trucking. He scored in a variety of ways. He had 10 threes from deep. He had floaters, he had post ups, got to the free throw line. I've never seen anything like it. It's an incredible performance,” Scott said.   

After falling behind 18-28 in the first quarter, the Jacks found their rhythm behind Pierce’s shooting frenzy. After accounting for 16 of their points in the first quarter, he continued to find the basket for 12 more in the second. Erick Zepeda and Kayden Baughman each contributed their own three-pointers while Nash Bierlink scored two points as well. By halftime, they cut their deficit to five points.   

Both teams took their play to another level in the second half, but it was Quincy that was more consistent in scoring. As they continued to put their trust in Pierce, his 23 points in the second half helped the Jacks outscore the Wildcats 35-30.   

“We locked down defensively, focused on getting rebounds, and we kind of just chipped away at that lead. Then it was just a back-and-forth game all the way until overtime,” Scott said.   

With four seconds to go, the Jacks led 73-70, but a last ditch three-pointer by Toppenish sent the game into overtime. One overtime period was not enough to settle this game. After being tied 85-85 at the end of the first overtime period, they advanced to a second OT period.   

Quincy and Toppenish continued to trade blows on the scoreboard until Pierce fouled out on a charging call, which derailed their momentum, according to Scott. They still battled, but the Wildcats took the lead in the final seconds to win 96-93.   

Despite the loss, Scott was proud of his players for competing to the very end.   

“We tied it up with about 20 seconds to go. We didn't execute down the stretch there and ended up losing by three, but it was a great game,” Coach said.   

With the regular season wrapped up for the Jacks, they will wait for the rest of the Central Washington Athletic Conference teams to finish their games to find out who they play in the district tournament as the eighth seed. Scott and the Jacks still have a lot of confidence to make some noise in the postseason as they are peaking at the right time, he said.   

“As a coach, that's always your goal,” he said. “We've been competitive all year. We just haven't been able to get over the hump. Despite the last couple losses that have been close games, I feel that we can make a run here in the playoffs.”   

BOX SCORE:  

TPSH: 28-15-15-15-12-11: 96  
QNCY: 18-20-19-16-12-8: 93 

    The Jacks’ Jesus Armando Carrillo (23) shoots a free throw for the Jacks against Grandview earlier this season. Head Coach Scott Bierlink feels confident his players are peaking at the right time, he said.
  

    Quincy's Jose Buenrostro (32) shoots a free throw for the Jacks against Ephrata earlier this season. Head Coach Scott Bierlink said his players are coming into their own as the regular season comes to a close.
  

    Cristian Ruiz (10) dribbles the ball up the court against Ephrata earlier this season.