On to State

The Raiders head to the Spokane Arena on Thursday after defeating Waitsburg/Prescott in the regional matchup at Walla Walla High School last Friday, 70-53.

Ty Egbert continues to show why he is being considered for the McDonald’s All-American team with 36 points and 19 rebounds against the Cardinals. The Raiders came into the game riding high on a winning streak stretching back to Jan. 3 and were looking to extend it one more and make the State 2B tourney for the second straight year.

Waitsburg/Prescott went into the game looking to avenge last year’s 57-49 loss to LR in the State 2B tourney.

In the first quarter, both squads came out about even with the Raiders climbing to a seven-point lead to finish the quarter LR 19-W/P 12.

In the second quarter, the Raiders took off, scoring 18 points and tightening up the defense to build another large halftime lead, 37-19. In the third quarter the Raiders continued to pull away with the lead stretching to 29 points.

The Cardinals tried to come back, outscoring the Raiders 22-13 in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.

“We steadily pulled away throughout the game, with the lead reaching 29 points at one point,” Raider Head Coach Brad Wilson said. “We didn’t shoot particularly well, but offset that with … rebounds. The guys showed good focus coming off of a four-hour road trip.”

Wilson noted that “the team really took notice of all our dedicated fans that made the long trip to Walla Walla to cheer us on. That was great inspiration for all.”

The Raiders will be heading to Spokane for the second year in a row, and for LR, the fifth straight season the boys’ basketball program has made the state tournament.

The Raiders (20 wins, four losses for the season) will face defending 2B state champion Northwest Christian (24-1) at 9 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.

The Crusaders come in with only one loss and with a center/forward combo who are both in 6-8 Ty Egbert’s height range.

“NWC plays a very physical game and is well coached,” Wilson noted. “We need to emphasize rebounding and high percentage shots. They will be confident due to being the defending champions. Our guys have been doing a fantastic job at taking one game at a time, so overconfidence will not be an issue.”

LR 70 - Waitsburg/Prescott 53

Williams 2, Garvin 1, Adkins 6, Rosenbaum 15 points 7 rebounds, Black 1, Saxon 0, Carlson 8 points 11 rebounds 10 assists, LaPlante 0, Egbert 36 points 19 rebounds, Boutain 1, Piccolo 0, DeWinkler 0.