Fatigue down the stretch exacts toll

WALLA WALLA–At the end of a four-day basketball marathon, the Pomeroy Pirates's stamina faltered in the second half and the Fighting Irish took advantage of the lapse to build an insurmountable lead and finish with a 66-49 win.

Pomeroy battled through the grueling pace but couldn't muster a win against Oakesdale, Yakama Nation or Liberty Christian. The Nighthawks counted a firm 60-49 win Monday, May 24, then the next night, Yakama Nation ran away with a 74-39 victory on Senior Night, followed by Liberty Christian scored a 60-43 win on Wednesday, finishing with the loss to DeSales.

"We played a good first half but fatigue set in in the second half," said Head Coach Chris Wolf. Pomeroy trailed the Irish 18-11 after the first quarter, then nearly matched them with a 10-9 second quarter to trail by just eight points at half, 28-20.

"This was our fourth game in four days and we wore down," Wolf said. "We committed too many unforced turnovers and were a step slow defensively in the second half.

"We return every player on the team next year and we made great strides as the season progressed," he said.

Liberty Christian

The Pirates rallied with strong play in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 37-17 half-time score. In the second half, the Pirates outscored the Patriots 36-23.

"We played a great second half tonight but dug ourselves too big of a halftime deficit to recover from," Wolf said. "The second half was the best team defense we have played this year and we were able to move the ball and get open shots most of the half. This was our third game in three days and the best energy we have played with for a whole game."

Wolf credited the team's handling of LC's press in the second half. "The team defense is starting to come together and is really going to help us next year as we return the whole team," he said

Trent Gwinn led scoring with 19 and Trevin Kimble played his best game of the season with 17 points, Wolf said. 

Yakama Nation

Yakama Nation pressed from the opening tip off and it paid dividends as the Pirates struggled to move the ball. "We committed 14 first-half turnovers that they converted for 24 points," Wolf said. "We are learning how to handle not only presses but pressure defense in the half court."

After the first quarter, Yakama led 21-9 and they grew the lead to 47-15 by halftime.

"They applied a lot of pressure on us in the first half and we struggled to handle it," Wolf said. "Other teams are able to speed us up and make us commit turnovers and force us in to quick shots. We came out and competed hard in the second half and showed improvement."

The Pirates matched Yakama with a 13-13 third stanza and kept close with a 14-11 fourth period.

"This game experience is invaluable for us," the coach commented. "This will benefit these freshmen and sophomores in the future going through these struggles."

Oakesdale

Second-half turnovers scuttled a first half that ended with the Buccaneers leading 25-23 over rival Oakesdale and the Nighthawks capitalized on a cold Pirate third quarter to win 60-29.

"We played our best half of the year in the first half and led 25-23 at the half," Wolf said.

In the third and fourth quarters, however, the Pirates committed 14 turnovers which were converted into 24 Nighthawk points, Wolf said.

"We ran our offense better tonight but struggled to finish around the basket," he said. "This group is young and gaining valuable experience every game they play. We just have to keep learning every game and try to grow from game to game without much practice time."

Pomeroy 49, DeSales 66 (5-27)

Pom 11 9 8 21-49

DeS 18 10 24 14-66

Pomeroy (49) Fruh 0 0-0 0, Gwinn 13 4-5 32, Kimble 2 2-4 6, Magill 0 0-0 0, B. Mings 0 0-0 0, J. Mings 2 0-0 5, Severs 2 0-0 4, Roberts 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 6-9 49.

DeSales (66) Lesko 1 4-4 6, Green 0 0-0 0, Baffney 1 4-9 6, Fruci 6 11-13 23, Lyford 6 0-2 17, Chase 0 0-0 0, Doohan 0 0-0 0, Worden 2 0-0 4, Scott 3 2-3 8, Hicks 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 23-33 66.

3-point goals - Pomeroy 3, Gwinn 2, J. Mings. DeSales 7, Fruci 2, Lyford 5. 

Pomeroy 43, Liberty Christian 60 (5-26)

Pom 7 10 12 14-43

LC 19 18 13 10-60

Pomeroy (43) Fruh 0 0-0 0, Gwinn 7 3-8 19, Kimble 6 5-6 17, B. Mings 1 0-0 2, J. Mings 2 1-2 5, Severs 0 0-0 0, Roberts 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 9-16 43.

Liberty Christian (60) Smith 0 0-0 0, Bishop 7 0-0 17, Dunham 5 0-0 11, McClure 2 2-2 7, Hayden 2 0-1 4, Lesser 1 0-0 2, Mensringer 1 0-0 2, Connolly 7 2-3 17, Bogen 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 4-6 60.

3-point goals - Pomeroy 2, Gwinn 2. Liberty Christian 6, Bishop 3, Dunham, McClure, Connolly.

Yakima Nation Tribal 74, Pomeroy 39 (5-25)

Pom 9 6 13 11-39

Ykm 21 26 13 14-74

Pomeroy (39) Fruh 1 0-0 2, Gwinn 7 5-12 21, Bott 0 0-0 0, Kimble 3 2-4 8, Magill 0 0-0 0, B. Mings 0 0-0 0, J. Mings 2 0-1 4, Severs 0 0-2 0, Slusser 0 0-0 0, Roberts 1 2-2 4, Vecchio 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 9-21 39.

Yakima Nation Tribal (74) Gleason 0 0-0 0, Wahsise 7 1-3 17, Lewis 4 0-0 9, Jones 6 4-8 16, Saluskin 1 1-2 3, Visaya 1 0-1 2, Bueno 0 0-0 0, Mahle 1 0-0 3, Hart 2 0-0 4, Daues 2 0-0 4, Speedis 3 2-2 8, Arbuckle 4 0-2 8. Totals 31 8-18 74. 

3-point goals - Yakima Nation Tribal 4, Wahsise 2, Lewis, Mahle. Pomeroy 2, Gwinn 2.

Oakesdale 60, Pomeroy 49 (5/24)

Pom 11 14 6 18-49

Oak 11 12 16 21-60

Pomeroy (49) Fruh 2 0-0 4, Gwinn 10 5-6 28, Kimble 4 0-0 8, B. Mings 2 0-1 4, J. Mings 0 1-2 1, Severs 2 0-0 4, Roberts 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 6-11 49. 

Oakesdale (60) T. Bober 5 2-2 18, Henning 4 0-2 8, Hockett 11 0-2 22, S. Bober 0 0-0 0, Baljo 1 2-2 4, Shrope 1 0-0 2, Perry 1 3-4 6. Totals 23 7-12 60.

3-point goals- Oakesdale 5, T. Bober 4, Perry. Pomeroy 3, Gwinn 3.