Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Screaming Eagles fall to Lake Roosevelt
Reardan sophomore Zander Thornton tries to beat a full-court press against Lake Roosevelt. The Screaming Eagles fell to the Raiders in the District 6/7 2B Crossover to end their season Saturday, Feb. 18.
WENATCHEE -Something of a Cinderella story struck midnight for the Reardan boys team in the District 6/7 2B Boys Crossover against Lake Roosevelt. The Raiders ended the Screaming Eagles' season with a 57-41 victory at Wenatchee High School Saturday, Feb. 18.
Reardan, which came into the crossover as District 7's No. 5 seed after upsetting Colfax in the District 7 2B Boys Tournament a week prior, held tough with District 6's top seed for a quarter. Lake Roosevelt took a 14-12 lead, but Reardan stayed in the game behind six points from Jakari Singleton and a pair of threes from Logan Flaa and Evan Krupke.
The Raiders then used the hot shooting of Ivan Alajandre to build a 28-15 lead in the second quarter, forcing a Reardan timeout as the Lake Roosevelt faithful rose to their feet.
Reardan wasn't done fighting back, though. The Screaming Eagles ended the half on a 9-0 run to draw within four at 28-24 by halftime.
That second quarter run was about all Reardan had left in the tank. Lake Roosevelt employed a defensive pressure that suffocated the Screaming Eagles and forced turnovers, which turned into easy baskets for Chase Marchand, Brandon and Alajandre.
By the end of the third quarter, Lake Roosevelt led 44-30, a deficit that Reardan wouldn't come close to threatening.
"The long passes against the press hurt us," Reardan head coach Brian Graham said. "On these collegiate courts, every pass is a little longer, especially in the middle. That's where they hurt is. Their tenacity defensively makes them a great team."
Alajandre was indefensible all game, scoring 28 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Raiders. Marchand and Pino added 11 points apiece.
"We kept having weak closeouts on him, and that killed us," Graham said. "We gave up 28 to a kid that shouldn't have had that."
Singleton led Reardan with 14 points and six rebounds. Krupke added eight points and six boards for the Screaming Eagles.
Graham was optimistic about the future of the Reardan boys program going forward. The Screaming Eagles are expected to return a core including Singleton, Krupke, Rysen Soliday, Zander Thornton and a strong incoming freshman class.
"They learned a ton from today, from the experience (and) the week leading up to it," Graham said. "Our seniors Logan (Flaa), (Hunter Wynecoop) and Tristo (McCrea) were able to lead us to this point, which we haven't done, so now these boys, when we have to play in this game next year...we understand the immensity of the moment."
Reardan finished this season with a 11-15 record. Lake Roosevelt earned the No. 3 seed in the State Tournament and plays Napavine in the opening round at Wenatchee High School at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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