Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Lancers tie game in regulation before holding on in overtime
Davenport junior Tennessee Rainwater soars in for a bucket against Liberty Tuesday, Dec. 7. Rainwater scored 39 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Davenport's 89-86 overtime loss.
Davenport senior Jake Coffman tries to take the ball to the basket. Coffman scored eight points in the Gorillas' 89-86 overtime loss to Liberty Tuesday, Dec. 7.
DAVENPORT-It appears whether the sport is football or basketball, Davenport and Liberty are destined for heart-pounding games this school year. Unlike the football game in October, however, it was Liberty coming out on top of the nonleague contest in overtime 89-86 Tuesday, Dec. 7.
A combined 47 points from junior leaders Tennessee Rainwater and Brenick Soliday in the second half and overtime weren't enough for Davenport Tuesday, which faced Liberty's own dynamic duo of Ethan Marsh and Tayshawn Colvin.
Marsh had 30 points and a game-tying basket in regulation, while Colvin scored 20 points, including the go-ahead basket in overtime.
"Since it's early in the season, (we had) mental mistakes," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said. "Too many turnovers, too many tipped balls. When you get turned away empty on offensive possessions, it makes it difficult to maintain a lead."
Rainwater scored eight early points in the first quarter as Davenport closed the period on a 10-2 run to tie the game 15-15 after Liberty jumped out to a 13-5 lead. Marsh then began to get open looks underneath, helping the Lancers build a slim 32-28 halftime edge.
Liberty and Davenport held serve throughout most of the third quarter, but a clutch Soliday three before the buzzer drew the Gorillas within a point with eight minutes left in regulation.
The teams swapped leads throughout the fourth quarter, when Soliday drilled a three-pointer while drawing a foul with 30 seconds left to give Davenport a 74-72 lead.
Davenport got two straight stops, but two breakaway layups by sophomore Jaeger Jacobsen and senior Jarrett Jacobsen were contested and rimmed off to give the Lancers a chance.
Liberty's ensuing shot with 15 seconds left was no good, but Marsh followed the miss in to tie the game 74-74 with 10 seconds left.
Jaeger Jacobsen got off a contested right wing jump shot from 17 feet out as time expired, but it rimmed off short to send the game to overtime.
Liberty scored first in the extra four minutes, but Rainwater tied it back with a thunderous dunk down the lane. After Liberty re-took the lead later in the frame on a three from Wyatt Sego, Rainwater banked in a three while getting fouled to give Davenport an 85-84 lead.
Colvin then spun in the lane and drew a foul on Soliday while hitting the fadeaway. He converted the free throw, and Liberty led 87-85 as time wound down.
Then, Davenport senior Jake Coffman drove to the hoop and drew a foul with 4.5 seconds left. He swished the first free throw, but the second rimmed off, Rainwater's tip attempt rimmed out and Colvin was fouled with 1.7 seconds left.
He converted both free throws again to give Liberty its 89-86 winning edge as Soliday's desperation heave from half court as time expired bounced off the backboard.
Colvin's clutch free throws were a trend throughout the second half and overtime as the Lancers converted 24 of their 28 foul line attempts in the final 20 minutes. Colvin was a perfect 11-for-11 in that stretch, while Marsh was a clutch 10-for-13.
Conversely, Davenport struggled to make charity stripe shots consistently. The Gorillas were 7-for-16 from the foul line in the second half and overtime.
"When you get down to it, free throws make the difference in a close game," Henry said.
Rainwater finished with 39 points (27 in the second half and overtime) and 15 rebounds for Davenport, while Soliday had 27 points, including 20 in the second half and overtime.
Davenport fell to 2-1 with the loss, while Liberty improved to 4-0. The two squads will face off again in the league regular season finale Feb. 4 in Spangle.
Davenport will look to get back on track at Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Dec. 10 before hosting rival Reardan Dec. 11. LRS came back to knock off Medical Lake Tuesday.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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