Morton-White Pass, LRS Broncos face-to-face once again at state

On paper, the best team in the state tournament bracket that isn’t from the Bi-County is Morton-White Pass.

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos have had a taste of the Timberwolves during the past two years, winning back-to-back state football championships against them.

This time the two teams will clash on a different playing surface. They meet in the opening round of the WIAA 2B Hardwood Classic on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. in the Spokane Arena.

Morton-White Pass will most assuredly be looking to avenge its gridiron defeats. As was true in football, they will be a force to be reckoned with. They come into the state basketball tournament with an impressive record of 26-0.

During the season they have enjoyed blowing out the majority of their opponents. On Dec. 17, they defeated Mossyrock, 96-54. Mossyrock was good enough to recover and at the end of the season qualify for state. Mossyrock also has the distinction of playing the closest game against the Timberwolves. On Jan. 24, they fell to MWP, 61-51.

Last Saturday’s regional bracket put MWP against LaConner. They survived that outing, 54-40.

LRS head coach Dustan Arlt knows the Broncos have their work cut out for them if they expect to win the opening round contest.

“They are very athletic. Probably the most athletic team we will play all year,” Arlt said. “They are guard oriented and it will probably be a very fast game. It could be challenging defensively for us to stay in front of them.”

Late in the season, more teams have challenged MWP, and the margin of victory has narrowed, just slightly.

The state tournament has eight teams, four of them from the Bi-County, now known as the Northeast 2B League. Three teams come from MWP’s district.

Arlt said the Thursday battle will likely be the best game of the day among 2B boys teams.

“I’ve got to think its going to be a physical game,” he said. “These are two of the more athletic teams out there. Either way it is going to be tough.”

Arlt’s assessment of MWP is that the offense is potent, and the Broncos must respond quickly and defend well. He also sees opportunities when LRS is on offense.

“I would not call them a great defensive team,” Arlt said of MWP. “I think there’s points to be scored on them. And, we’re going to need all of them. It would be nice to get a good start.”

The team with the best mental preparation and control of their emotions might end up the victor. Arlt said the Timberwolves will likely by motivated by the chance for revenge. An early LRS lead could help quash that.

On defense, LRS will need to have quick feet and keep their hands up as MWP is a perimeter shooting team. If they get out in front of the Broncos, it will be a very long day.

On offense, LRS will want to lean on their posts. The MWP defense, Arlt said, could struggle wih that.

“With our three posts, we’re stronger,” he said. “They (post players) need to show up and play. Here is our final exam. The defense is going to have to play better than it did on Saturday”

Regional versus

Lake Roosevelt

The Broncos advanced to the state championship bracket following a regional tournament win over Lake Roosevelt, 67-49.

Don’t let the margin of victory fool you. Lake Roosevelt put the Broncos on their heels in the first quarter. LRS took Lake Roosevelt lightly in the opening minutes and found themselves trailing, 12-9, at the end of the first quarter.

After a gut check and short discussion between quarters, the Broncos came to life and racked up a 27-19 second quarter effort. They followed with a 22-7 run in the third period.

“Lake Roosevelt came out pretty fired up,” Art said. “They played a defense we hadn’t seen before and we couldn’t make a lay-in to save our life. They were a little amped up and our three posts were missing shots.”

The post players struggled, converting four of 17 attempts from the field in the first half.

The momentum took a swing in favor of the Broncos when two of their players off the bench got hot from the perimeter. Jacob Saetre and Kyle Canaday lit the scoreboard, each draining three, three-point buckets.

The Broncos also switched defense going from man-to-man to zone.

“Our zone really threw them off,” Arlt said.

One thing that needs to be fixed before the state games is free throws. LRS struggled at the free throw line, going 11 of 28 in the game and making just five of 16 in the second half.

The players turned in crucial scores in the second and third quarters, giving LRS the chance to crush Lake Roosevelt.

Tyler Frederick scored 15 and grabbed five rebounds. Ryan Whitmore had 12 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Connor O’Neill scored five, despite recovering from an ankle injury. He also grabbed six steals, six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Dylan Hartz finished with five points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. For the game, Hartz took just three shots.

Saetre finished with a total of nine points, seven assists and two rebounds. Cort Ruzicka scored six and grabbed six rebounds. Canaday finished with nine points and three assists. Wyatt Roettger scored four points.