By JOHN McCALLUM
Managing Editor
Cheney High School boys basketball head coach Gregg Smith believes his team learned how to win close games last season thanks to its relatively deep playoff run.
That experience may have manifested itself for the first time this year last Friday night as the Blackhawks withstood a late charge by the visiting Clarkston Bantams to preserve a 60-53 Great Northern League win.
“That pays off with confidence,” Smith said of last year’s experience.
The confidence was evident from the opening whistle as the Bantams came out and scored the first six points of the game, all off inside shots — including one stuff — by 6-foot-10-inch senior forward Brandton Chatfield. Cheney’s Jake Berman and Devin Cook provided the answer, combining on the next 13 points — featuring a pair of 3s by Berman — to take a lead they never relinquished.
Even late in the game when Clarkston rallied from a 48-36 deficit early in the fourth quarter, and pulled to within two on 3-pointers by Tru Allen and Austin Roueche, Cheney found a way to answer the threat. Up 50-48 after Roueche’s 3, Berman nailed a short jumper to push Cheney’s margin back up to four.
A pair of Clarkston trips to the foul line proved unproductive, and Cook made them pay with two charity stripe hits with 41.5 seconds play to give Cheney a 54-48 margin that Clarkston (0-3, 0-1) never threatened again to overcome.
Berman led Cheney with 22 points, followed by Cook with 17 and Kaiden Custer with 13. The Blackhawks shot 80 percent from the free throw line, 21 of 26.
“That shows our mentality of attacking other teams,” Smith said of the trips to the line.
Chatfield scored 19 for the Bantams, but after 13 points the rest of the game after scoring Clarkston’s first six points in the first three minutes of the game. Smith attributed this to the defensive effort of the 6-4 Custer and 6-3 Luke Hemenway, who would rotate from the backside to prevent Chatfield from getting free underneath the basket.
The win put Cheney over the .500 mark for the season after they notched their first win on Tuesday against Freeman. The Blackhawks outscored the visiting Scotties — who have a new head coach and several new players from last year’s state 1A runner-up — 40-14 in the first half and cruised from there.
Smith said interior defense again played a role for Cheney, who also had good ball movement to not only get a lot of inside shots, but head to the line again where they were 14 for 18, 79 percent. Cook led Cheney’s balanced scoring — 10 players put up points — with 10 points, followed by Hemenway with nine.
Cheney (2-1, 1-0) returns to non-league action Tuesday, traveling to Idaho 5A Post Falls (1-2). The Blackhawks then return to GNL action with key games at West Valley (3-1, 0-0) Friday and at home against East Valley (2-4, 0-1) Tuesday.
The Eagles are a surprise at 3-1, and are led in scoring by Gonzaga Prep transfer Nick Drynen (21 points per game).
“That will be another measuring stick for us,” Smith said of Friday’s match up.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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