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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Rainwater injured in semifinals
Davenport junior Jaeger Jacobsen drives into the lane against Kettle Falls Monday, Feb. 6. The Gorillas dusted off the Bulldogs 78-56 to advance in the District 7 2B playoffs.
SPOKANE VALLEY - The Davenport boys' run through the NE2B and District 7 2B Tournament continued this week, with the Gorillas notching two convincing wins against the Kettle Falls Bulldogs in the quarterfinals and Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos in the semifinals.
Tennessee Rainwater's 36 points ignited a Davenport offense that exploded against Kettle Falls in a 78-56 win Monday, Feb. 6. He scored 13 points in the opening frame.
In the second quarter Brenick Soliday took the reins from Rainwater, scoring 10 of his team's 17 points, helping extend the Gorillas' halftime advantage to 40-22.
Rainwater exerted his will on the Bulldogs again in the second half by scoring 18 of his game high 36 points en route to the 78-56 win.
Besides his points, Rainwater grabbed 12 rebounds. Soliday's consistent play netted him 18 points and five rebounds while Cash Colbert scored 10 points and hauled in 12 rebounds. Jaeger Jacobsen and Evan Gunning scored seven and five points, respectively.
"We played pretty good," Soliday said. "There were definite stretches when we didn't block out and rebound like we wanted to but overall, it's a good win. I liked the way we pushed the ball and got open looks down low."
Next up was a semifinal matchup with LRS, which ended Davenport's hopes of a state tournament appearance at Districts last year. The opening quarter in the game to decide a district title berth was a physical, tight affair.
LRS senior Chase Galbreath asserted himself with nine quick points to keep the Broncos close at 14-12.
Cousins Soliday and Jacobsen kept Davenport's offense humming in the first half, scoring 10 points apiece while Rainwater was held to five points amidst early foul trouble.
"The teams see our top scorers like Brenick and (Tennessee) and they plan to shut them down, and they did in the first quarter," Jacobsen said. "That opens it up for backup players like myself."
Rainwater took over in the third quarter. He exploded for 13 points in the period, and LRS's offense couldn't keep up. Davenport extended its lead to 52-37 by the frame's end.
"I thought we missed out on an opportunity in the second quarter," LRS head coach Dustan Arlt said. "Tennessee was out and we kept it right around one possession. I thought those last two-and-a-half, three minutes, some of Davenport's role players hit some shots and all of a sudden we were down by nine at half."
Davenport expanded its lead to 19 points in the fourth quarter, but Rainwater suffered a hip flexor injury with five minutes remaining that caused him to head to the locker room early.
The severity of the injury wasn't immediately known by the team after the game, and Rainwater's status for Saturday's District title game was unclear as of press time.
Rainwater finished with 22 points, while Soliday had 16 points. Jacobsen added 10 points and six boards.
"Once we got focused on the right spots and the right positions, we tended to be able to execute better," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said.
Galbreath led LRS with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jayce Kelly added 14 points for the Broncos.
Davenport will face Northwest Christian in the District Championship at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at West Valley High School. The Broncos face Reardan to go to the 3rd/4th place game at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9.
Reporter Byrne Bennett contributed to this report.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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