Lions best Columbia Adventist in semis
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
Lions senior Johnny Ferguson goes in for the dunk during the third quarter against Columbia Adventist in the 1B state semifinals.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
James Robertson, a senior from MLCA/CCS takes a free throw shot in the semifinal round of the 1B state tournament.
Treyson Kast, a junior from the Lions works to rush past a Kodiak defender during the 1B state semifinals.
MLCA/CCS freshman Roman Gulenko makes his way past a Columbia Adventist defender as he works toward the net.
Kevin Jorgensen, a junior from MLCA/CCS puts the ball in the bucket for two points against Columbia Adventist.
Lions senior Dennis Gulenko leaps up to make a layup during the 1B state semifinals against Columbia Adventist.
MLCA/CCS freshman Roman Gulenko makes his way past a Columbia Adventist defender as he works toward the net.
SPOKANE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions move on from the state semifinals after a stunning 57-43 comeback victory over the Columbia Adventist Kodiaks. Following their victory, the Lions prepare for the fourth-place game Saturday morning against Liberty Christian.
“We’re pretty tired and exhausted from a long season, but us seniors know that we have to finish the season strong and bring home some hardware,” said Lions senior James Robertson.
It was a close matchup at tipoff, with the Lions and Kodiaks trading blows in the first quarter. The Lions fell behind in the latter half of the second half after an injury took Max Gulenko out of the game and MLCA/CCS trailed 22-26.
Robertson said the team's mindset at halftime as the Lions collectively decided they were not going to end their season on a loss.
Lions Head Coach Emerson Ferguson said the team did not start out the way they wanted to, likely due to nerves from this potentially being their final game of the season. During the half, the focus for both the players and coaches was to bring back the energy that they are known for to round out the game.
“The boys look to me for that energy. They look for me yelling on the sidelines,” said the coach. “They look for me challenging them and holding them accountable to the standard that we’ve set and if I’m not doing that, they’re not able to get what they’re used to.”
The energy shift from the sideline made a big difference for the second half as Coach Ferguson said the players immediately responded.
The Lions came out of halftime with new life as they put out a dominant offensive performance to claim the lead. The momentum shift was felt on the court after Lions senior Johnny Ferguson made back-to-back dunks to increase their lead.
Dunks have been a staple of Johnny’s this season as he has at least one recorded dunk from each home game.
“It just kind of flows, but I’m looking if (the opponent) is close and then if I see an opening I’m going to try and dunk it,” he said.
This performance continued into the fourth quarter as the Lions gained a defensive foothold on the court. Despite a strong performance from the Kodiaks throughout the state tournament, MLCA/CCS claimed the 14-point victory to head into the finals.
Johnny was the top scorer for the Lions, sinking a total of 24 points into the basket Friday morning. Following him was Robertson with 12 points and Treyson Kast with 11.
Coach Ferguson said he was proud of the efforts from the Lions against Columbia Adventist as they kept the game close throughout the first half, which helped them gain the opportunity to build their momentous comeback in the second half.
“We hit some shots when we needed to and were getting the feel for things,” he said.
With the finals match quickly approaching, the coach said the whole team is excited to bring home hardware after Saturday’s matchup in the finals, but the Lions have set their sights to win with a fourth-place finish.
“That’s a legacy that we get to take with us forever,” said coach Ferguson.
Robertson said he is feeling great as MLCA/CCS prepares for their final matchup of the basketball season. Johnny agreed and said the boys are ready for one last tough matchup.
“It’s going to be a tough one, but we’re just going to try our best,” said Johnny.
BOX SCORE
COAD: 11-15-9-8: 43
MLCA: 10-12-25-10: 57
James Robertson, a senior from MLCA/CCS takes a free throw shot in the semifinal round of the 1B state tournament.
Treyson Kast, a junior from the Lions works to rush past a Kodiak defender during the 1B state semifinals.
MLCA/CCS freshman Roman Gulenko makes his way past a Columbia Adventist defender as he works toward the net.
Kevin Jorgensen, a junior from MLCA/CCS puts the ball in the bucket for two points against Columbia Adventist.
Lions senior Dennis Gulenko leaps up to make a layup during the 1B state semifinals against Columbia Adventist.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.