Cheney High School boys basketball head coach Gregg Smith hopes there’s truth to the axiom that “it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season” — plus one.
The Blackhawks have lost three times this season to the No. 2 seed Pullman Greyhounds, all of which, while close late in the game, have ended up being double-digit wins for the Hounds, including a 59-38 loss at Pullman Feb. 2 in the regular season finale. As the No. 5 seed, Cheney (1-11, 5-14) is slated to travel south one more time at least as the two opened the Great Northern League playoffs Wednesday, Feb. 10.
“Hopefully, it’s hard to beat a team four times,” Smith said Monday night.
Last Tuesday, Cheney trailed by six points at the half, and was still within 10 in the third quarter when a defensive lapse led to the Greyhounds knocking down back-to-back three pointers for a 16-point margin. Cheney closed within 12 at 37-25 at the end of the period, and held the home team to 39 points with 6 minutes, 40 seconds to play only to have them score 20 of their 22 points in the quarter in that final timeframe, including eight points in three consecutive possessions.
“That’s just who they are,” Smith said of the Greyhounds shooting capabilities. “We can’t have a two-minute lapse and expect to be successful.”
Senior Jamiel Worthem was the only Blackhawk to score in double figures, leading the team with 16 points.
“We’ve got to score (with) the ball,” Smith said. “We played a good defensive game, other than those couple lapses.”
While two of their losses to Pullman have been by 21 and 19 points, the Blackhawks also lost a 55-44 game on the road in their first meeting of the season, getting outscored 23-9 in the game’s opening eight minutes but outscoring the Greyhounds 35-32 the rest of the way.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will take on the winner of the No. 3 and 4 seed match up between East Valley and West Valley.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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