The Cheney High boys basketball team pulled off a sweep of the Great Northern League’s Spokane Valley schools last week — the crowning jewel of which was a 22-point thumping of second-place West Valley.
Blackhawks head coach Gregg Smith said the home win, while maybe not the equalizer, helped put a little salve on the two previous losses to the Eagles. Cheney fell 65-56 on the road on Jan. 9 and 57-55 at home Dec. 8 on a buzzer-beating basket.
“We flat put it to them,” Smith said of the Jan. 23 home game. “I think the guys were just upset.”
The Blackhawks shot the ball well, 52.6 percent overall including a 58.6 percent effort from two-point range and 3 for 9 from beyond the 3-point arc. Cheney’s worst performance was in the first quarter where they went four for 10 and led 10-9.
From there it got much better, including a nine for 14 effort in the second half that saw the Blackhawks lead by as much as 24 points. Cheney also got to the foul line more, hitting 13 of 20 attempts.
Jake Berman led Cheney in scoring with 13 points, with Camden VerStrate and Devin Cook each adding 11. The only statistical category Cheney did not win was rebounding, getting out-boarded 34-25, although the turnover battle was close, with the Blackhawks committing 11 miscues to the Eagles 12.
What proved to be the difference was seven of those West Valley turnovers came in a decisive third quarter, where Cheney turned a 26-16 halftime lead into a 44-26 advantage.
“We got on them quick,” Smith said, adding that West Valley’s reputation as a second-half team was stymied by the Blackhawks performance coming out of the locker room.
Cheney made it two in a row with a 73-55 win Saturday at East Valley in what could’ve been a trap game for the Blackhawks. The Knights (1-10 GNL, 3-15) were coming off a 39-35 upset of then third-place Clarkston on Tuesday and a six-point loss to West Valley Friday.
“I would say if we had an off night, it would’ve been a close game,” Smith said.
It wasn’t as Cheney again shot the ball well, opening a 66-40 lead early in the fourth quarter and cruising to the win. VerStrate led all scorers with 16, with Cole Omlin adding 14 and Cook 11.
The wins give Cheney a 5-5 mark in the GNL, 8-10 overall, and move them one game ahead of Clarkston (4-6, 8-9) in the battle for the No. 3 playoff seed. The Blackhawks can cement that seed, and the accompanying first-round home playoff game, with a win in one of its two final games this week.
Cheney hosted GNL-champion Pullman (10-0, 16-2) on Tuesday night, then wraps up the regular season with a key game down south in Clarkston with the Bantams. Losing both games still might not hurt the Blackhawks seeding chances if Clarkston should lose on the road at West Valley on Tuesday.
Either way, it’s an exciting moment for Smith and his three-year tenure at the head of Cheney’s program.
“We’re going to go to Clarkston the last game of the season and it means something,” he said. “Hopefully, we can come with a little of the fight we’ve had these last two games.”
Hawks’ Boxes
1 2 3 4 Total
West Valley 9 7 10 10 36
Cheney 10 16 18 14 58
Cook 11, J. Berman 13, Beck 3, Omlin 4, VerStrate 11, Reiter 6, Baycroft 5, N. Berman 5
1 2 3 4 Total
Cheney 18 19 25 11 73
East Valley 11 13 16 15 55
Cook 11, J. Berman 12, Beck 2, Omlin 14, VerStrate 16, Reiter 6, Custer 3, McPherson 2, Baycroft 2, N. Berman 5, Hemenway 2
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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