Davenport continues march through NE2B

RITZVILLE-After suffering their only defeat of the season on Jan. 3, Davenport's top-ranked boys basketball team has reeled off five wins in a row. The most recent, a 60-48 win over the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Harrington/Washtucna Broncos Saturday, Jan. 14.

"Every time you come to LRS you're going to get a good game," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said. "Dustan (Arlt) has them coached up real well and they're a strong athletic team."

Shortly after the game started, the Gorillas hit a speed bump when their highly touted senior, Tennessee Rainwater, collected two quick fouls. After scoring only two points, he spent most of the first quarter on the bench. In his absence, Brenick Soliday and Evan Gunning each scored six points to give Davenport an 18-9 lead at the end of the period.

The teams matched buckets in the second quarter. Cash Colbert led the Gorillas with five points and LRS's Hunter Dinkins also scored five points. Davenport maintained a 32-23 advantage at halftime.

Rainwater collected his third foul early in the second half. From the bench he watched LRS's Brock Kinch nail two 3-point shots that helped bring the Broncos to within seven points. The quarter ended with Davenport still leading 43-36.

The Gorillas pulled away in the fourth quarter behind the inside play of Rainwater and Colbert, who controlled the glass and scored ten and six points, respectively.

"We started the game playing well but didn't come out as strong in the second quarter," Colbert said. "In the second half, we executed and played defense, which led to our offense, and it worked great."

Behind Rainwater's 11 points, the Gorillas outscored LRS 17-12 in the last frame to secure the 60-48 win.

"Anytime we can come in here and get a win is really nice," Henry said.

Rainwater led the Gorillas in scoring with 15 points, followed by Soliday and Colbert, who each scored 12. Gunning and Jaeger Jacobsen scored eight and seven points, respectively.

Jayce Kelly was LRS's top scorer with 13 points. Chase Galbreath, Hayden Melcher and Kinch scored eight, seven and six points, respectively, followed by Dinkins and Nick Labes, who each scored five.

"It was a hard-fought game against a good team," LRS's head coach Dustan Arlt said. "They had a little more size and strength than us. I was pleased with our early run. We got within a few points, but they pulled ahead. We didn't stop battling and hope to see them again down the road."

The win improved the Gorillas' record to 14-1 overall and 10-1 in NE2B play. LRS dropped to 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the league.

Reardan boys fall to Broncos, Lancers

The Reardan boys basketball team is currently mired in a four-game losing streak amidst a brutal schedule that has included losses to Northwest Christian and St. George's. The Screaming Eagles fell to the Liberty Lancers 68-54 Friday, Jan. 13.

Reardan then battled LRS to the final buzzer and nearly overcame a double-digit deficit, but ultimately fell to the Broncos 48-47.

The Screaming Eagles are back home to host the Asotin Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.