File photo by Andy Buhler
GSL roundup: Central Valley beats Gonzaga Prep, stays in hunt for top 4A seed; Mt. Spokane secures 3A No. 1
Matty McIntyre took a moment to heap unprompted praise on the guard that lead Central Valley to a win over his Bullpups on Friday night.
The Idaho State commit, coming off of a 3A Greater Spokane League record 58-point outing, delivered another show-stopper.
Darling had a game-high 30 points and along with Nathan Rowell hit a series of late free throws to hold off a late run and Central Valley beat Gonzaga Prep 66-61 in a late regular season 4A battle atop the Greater Spokane League standings at Gonzaga Prep.
“Not just because of the points he scores, but because of the way he gets his teammates involved,” McIntyre said. “I’ve coached against a lot of kids who can score and get 30, 40 points. But he knows how to pick his spots, pick the moments and he just makes the right play. Kudos to him. He’s a terrific player.”
The Bears rode a 17-4 run to lead by as much as 18 in the fourth quarter, but a late run kept Gonzaga Prep close.
Carter Collins hit consecutive 3-pointers and Jayden Stevens pinned a shot off the glass and Jon Harne finished a put-back on the other end to pull the Bullpups within seven with less than two minutes left.
Henry Sandberg drilled another to cut the deficit to two with 20 seconds left.
“We got really aggressive and shots started falling for us, and we made plays,” McIntyre said. “It was now or never and kids were playing fearless.”
Darling is coming off of a GSL record 58 points against North Central on Tuesday night. He entered Friday's game averaging 36.1 points per game, putting him in position to beat the league record set (28.5 points per game) by Adam Morrison in 2002-03.
Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre talks Xs and Os during a timeout at the Hardwood Invite in Auburn, Wash. in December. (Photo by Vince Miller)
Darling took over in the fourth. He had 16 of his game-high 30 and the Bears fielded 11 points from Daniel Crowley and 10 from Nathan Rowell.
“They just shot lights out,” McIntyre said.
Stevens had 24 points for the Bullpups, who were missing standout guard Jamil Miller.
The win keeps the Bears (13-6) in the hunt for the top 4A GSL seed in the District 8 crossover with the Mid-Columbia Conference, if Gonzaga Prep (11-7), which currently sits at first in the standings, loses Tuesday to Mt. Spokane. In the case, thew Bears would own the head-to-head advantage.
McIntyre hopes the sting of a home loss and the incentive of the top seed entering districts will serve as fuel.
“We’ll learn from it, we’ll get better. There’s still a lot of season in front of us,” McIntyre said.
NFHS REPLAY: GONZAGA PREP-CENTRAL VALLEY
Mt. Spokane secures top 3A GSL seed in District 8 crossover
Photo by Andy Buhler
Maverick Sanders scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter to help Mt. Spokane win for the 3A Greater Spokane League No. 1 seed up to an early lead, fueling Mt. Spokane to a thrashing of University at U-High on Friday night.
“We just got up (early),” Wildcats (16-3, 6-1 3A GSL) coach David Wagenblast said, “and that was the difference of the game.”
Senior guard Jeremiah Sibley hit four 3s en route to his 17 points and Shane Skidmore had 18 for the Titans (12-7, 5-4 3A GSL), who nab with the 3-seed entering the District 8 MCC/GSL crossover, which begin Feb. 12.
U-High 6-8 standout Conrad Bippes received two technical fouls — one in the game’s opening moments — and hardly played. He finished with four points.
The Wildcats, No. 5 in SBLive’s 3A state power rankings, are the No. 1.
“That’s always the goal,” Wagenblast said. “I’m so excited for our kids to get a chance to host a playoff game. If you win two playoff games win a row, you’re in.”
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