Ritzville boys knock Davenport from districts

SPOKANE VALLEY – Two nights ago, No. 3 Davenport was a controversial no-call away from upsetting No. 2 Colfax, advancing to the district finals and earning an automatic berth to state. But it wasn't to be, and tonight it was No. 5 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague doing the upsetting as the Broncos ended the Gorillas' season with a 65-58 victory in a District 7 2B Tournament loser-out game Thursday, Feb. 17 at West Valley High School.

The Gorillas didn't look particularly rusty out of the gate, taking a 15-12 first quarter lead. But the Broncos went on a second quarter spurt to take a 29-26 halftime lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"We mixed defenses a little bit and rebounded much better than we ever did the first two games (against Davenport)," LRS head coach Dustin Arlt said. "We took care of the ball and hit free throws coming down the stretch."

LRS built a seven-point advantage throughout the second and third quarters, but Davenport kept the game close. The Gorillas could never get over the hump, as LRS seemed to hit its timely shots while Davenport had several good looks bounce once or twice off the rim.

"Every day you come out and you try to put the kids in the best positions, and they worked their tails off to try to do that," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said. "Sometimes the shots just don't fall and that's the bummer of it...those kids wanted it really bad, and they gave it everything they had."

The Broncos rode a balanced scoring effort that featured eight players in the scorebook and three players in double figures.

The high scorers were Chase Galbreath and Hunter Dinkins, who scored 16 points apiece. They were aided by freshman Jayce Kelly, who hit 15 points and three key free throws down the stretch.

"We have three guys that do a lot of our scoring...all three of them put it together tonight," Arlt said. "I thought Hunter hit some huge shots in the fourth quarter. He hit some free throws, Jayce hit some free throws and Chase gets a lot of attention. He finished strong, rebounded the heck out of the ball. One of our most complete games."

Tennessee Rainwater scored a game-high 24 points for Davenport, but many came in desperation mode down the stretch. No other Gorilla was in double-figure scoring.

The game was the final for seniors Jarrett Jacobsen and Jake Coffman's careers.

"I loved the seniors. They've seen this program when it was really struggling to get wins, and they played a lot of minutes their freshman year," Henry said. "To see it brought back on solid footing because of these kids is what I'll take away from this year."

Davenport will now look ahead to next season with a senior-heavy lineup that should have state-level expectations.

"The goal is to get farther than this. We want an opportunity to play for state every year," Henry said. "Being where we're at right now and finishing a little bit lower than we wanted to, you're just disappointed so you set those sights back to where you want them."

LRS advanced to the district third-place game and will play for a spot at the state tournament Saturday, Feb. 19 against No. 4 Northwest Christian at 12:30 p.m. The winner advances to regionals, while the loser's season will end.

"We've won three games in a row and are going to play Saturday to try and move on," Arlt said.