Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Gorillas stay undefeated this season
Davenport senior Evan Gunning drives to the hoop against St. George's Friday, Dec. 16. Gunning scored 12 points in the Gorillas' 74-55 win over the Dragons.
DAVENPORT - The Gorilla boys basketball team hasn't been challenged much since their opening game at Lake Roosevelt, but the St. George's Dragons put up the best fight a league opponent has offered Davenport Friday, Dec. 16. It didn't matter in the scorebooks, as Davenport beat St. George's 74-55.
Davenport then headed to Chewelah and got an 87-65 win over the winless Cougars Saturday, Dec. 17 to remain undefeated at 5-0.
The Gorillas sought to slay the Dragons early, jumping out to a 23-12 opening quarter win. As usual, Tennessee Rainwater led the team in scoring in the period with 11 points, but all five Gorilla starters found the basket in a balanced first quarter attack.
"We came out fired up on defense. Defense is what wins us games, and that's what's worked for us the past couple games," senior Cash Colbert said. "I think I'm happy with what we're doing right now."
Davenport continued to get contributions from all its players and built a 46-21 lead by halftime.
"We worked hard this year to round out everybody's...capabilities to feel confident with where they're at," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said. "These guys worked really hard this summer to do that and built the trust between the guys. It's starting to come together here and there. It needs to be more consistent, but it's fun to watch when it all comes together."
St. George's put forth a strong second half effort, cutting the lead to 56-38 after three quarters and down to 12 points in the fourth quarter before two back cut layups by Evan Gunning and strong play in the post from Rainwater helped the Gorillas put the Dragons away for good.
Rainwater finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Colbert had one of his best floor games as a Gorilla with 11 points, 10 rebounds and at least four steals. Jaeger Jacobsen had 10 points and five rebounds, while Gunning added 12 points.
"It all started off with defense. When we're playing defense, it leads to our offense," Colbert said. "With our offensive pushes, we're doing great sharing the ball."
Shawn Jones led St. George's with 21 points, while Elden Pierce added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Rainwater again led the Gorillas in scoring with 31 points against Chewelah. Gunning had 17 points, Brenick Soliday had 14 points and Colbert scored 11 points for Davenport in its convincing victory.
A tough nonconference schedule loomed for Davenport. The Gorillas traveled to Brewster to take on the Napavine Tigers in a game played after press time Wednesday, Dec. 21 and will host Columbia (Burbank) Thursday, Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are considered to be state title contenders.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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