Sunnyside fans conjure up some mojo to help send good vibes to a Sunnyside free throw shooter.
It's been a long time coming. So long in fact, Sunnyside Coach Ron Rowe isn't even sure when the last time the Sunnyside High School boys team won a District Championship.
Rowe's best guess is 1987 or 1988, but it's safe to say it's been more than 20 years.
The Grizzlies erased that draught this past Saturday with a 63-55 win against the West Valley Rams of Yakima and now will wait out the winner of the North Central and East Valley of Spokane game. The Grizzlies will play the winner in the second round of the Regional tournament at the Toyota Center in Kennewick on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m.
Sunnyside this past Saturday allowed the game to become a bit dramatic in the fourth quarter, allowing West Valley to pull within two points after leading by 12 points to start the final period. But the Grizzlies' defense came up big and Sunnyside was able to hit its free throws down the stretch to pull out the win.
Things started well enough for Sunnyside. The Grizzlies pulled out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter and led 24-15 heading into the second period.
"We had some good ball movement offensively," Rowe said.
Sunnyside shot 9-for-13 from the field in the first quarter, led by Alfredo De La Barrera (8 pts.), Jacob Bos (6 pts.) and James Sanchez (6 pts.). Sunnyside's defense came up big as well, limiting the Rams to 15 first quarter points despite two three-point baskets by Tanner Albrecht and Casey Croshaw.
The second quarter was back and forth, with both teams scoring 12 points. Six Grizzly players scored in the third quarter as Sunnyside gained a slight advantage, outscoring the Rams 15-12 to build a 12-point lead heading into the final period.
Led by Albrecht, West Valley went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth to cut Sunnyside's lead to just two points, at 52-50.
"We hit a dry spell," Rowe said of his team's performance in the fourth. "We were just 2-of-13 from the floor."
That's when the Grizzly defense stepped up, getting steals from Israel Manzo, Sanchez, De La Barrera and Jordan Esqueda.
"It was good team defense," Rowe said. "We kept the pressure on their shooters and kept Tanner Berndt from getting open. We took away the shots they wanted to take."
The result? Sunnyside outscored the Rams 7-1 in the final two minutes of play and escaped with the win and title of District Champions.
"We did a good job of withstanding their push," Rowe added. "We also did really well on the free throw line."
The Grizzlies were led by Sanchez with 18 points and five rebounds. Bos added 15 points and pulled down five rebounds in the game. De La Barrera contributed 10 points in the Grizzly win and had nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Manzo came up with nine points and two steals for Sunnyside. Esqueda added six points, recorded four assists and had three steals. Jesse Leija had three points and two steals, Matt Johnson had two points and Chance Graff recorded five rebounds.
West Valley was led by Albrecht with 21 points. Berndt dropped in 12 points for the Rams and Austin Strock had seven points. Teammates Kevin Taffolla, Josh Lange and Steven Wagar each added four points in the West Valley effort. Casey Croshaw contributed three points.
It's an exciting time for Grizzly basketball (15-6), made more so by the support of the fans.
"I would like to thank all the fans for staying around after the game and watching us cut down the net," Rowe said. "We thank them for supporting the boys and hope to see them next week at the Toyota Center."
