QUINCY — The Quincy Jacks (5-13) kept their postseason hopes alive after defeating the Ephrata Tigers (3-13) 72-39 on Friday. Quincy head coach Scott Bierlink was proud of how his players came out energetic.  

“It was a huge game, our fans came out, and this place was packed. Our band is 100 people deep and sounds awesome. We knew it was a huge game; it had playoff implications. We were both tied for last place. We came out, we had a game plan, we executed it and the guys played great. I got to give all the credit to our guys,” the coach said.  

Once the Jacks were rolling in the first quarter, they climbed to a 20-10 lead after Pierce Bierlink buzzer beater heading into the second quarter. The Tigers remained consistent in the second to keep the game close, but another buzzer by Pierce at the end of the period shifted all of the momentum in Quincy’s favor. In the second half, the Jacks kept their foot on the gas as they stormed their way to victory.  

“This was my last time playing against a rival like Ephrata. I've only ever won one game against them, so I wanted to bring a second one here tonight,” Pierce said.  

Pierce was a driving force for the Jacks on offense in the first quarter, scoring 11 points. Erick Zepeda and Cristian Ruiz backed Pierce on the offense as they took a 10-point lead heading into the second quarter.  

In the second, the Jacks continued to lean on Pierce while the Tigers' defense dug in and held them to a lower score as they tried to cut the deficit. Brady Hendrick, Cooper Black and Cody Ogle formed a productive trio to cut the score to 32-24. However, Pierce drilled a buzzer-beater three-pointer from deep to make it 35-24 at halftime.  

“It makes it nice to have a player like that on your side, because I can just say, ‘Give him the ball and get out of his way,’” Scott said.  

In the third quarter, the Jacks turned up the heat as Pierce and Ruiz formed a formidable duo. They combined for four three-pointers, three of which belonged to Ruiz. Nash Bierlink also found consistency on offense, as Pierce began to see double teams, he passed to Nash inside for easy buckets. The Jacks outscore the Tigers 22-8 in the third.  

Quincy cruised to a victory after slowing the game down in the fourth quarter and milking the clock. With the win, Quincy is no longer ranked last in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. Positioned in seventh place behind the Othello Huskies (6-11), their aspirations for a postseason appearance are still within reach.  

“This is a huge win,” Pierce said. “It always feels good to win against your rivals, and especially when it's a game that matters this much.” 

Results of the Tigers' game against Selah on Jan. 24 were not available at the time of press. They host the Huskies on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. 

The Jacks return to the hardwood Jan. 27 to host Ellensburg at 7 p.m. Scott is hopeful his players are starting to peak at the right time and continue to improve during the final stretch of the regular season.  

“We've got a lot of work to do,” he said. “I would assume that our fans are going to show out, and so we've got to come ready, and hopefully we have some confidence now that we've won a couple games in a row. We're going to take it one game at a time ... why not us?” 

BOX SCORE:  

EPHT: 10-14-8-7: 39
QNCY: 20-15-22-15: 72 

    The Tigers’ Benson Bair (34) knocks down a free throw during their game against the Jacks.
  

    Quincy Head Coach Scott Bierlink, in purple, goes over offensive schemes with his team during a timeout.
  

    Erick Zepeda (3) celebrates with Pierce Bierlink (1) after he drilled a buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter.