Asotin: No Bump In The Road

ASOTIN - It wasn't until the final buzzer of the men's game sounded that WP players and a big contingent of fans knew for sure the Cardinals had passed one of the biggest tests of the season: beating the Panthers in their own den.

It was neither easy nor particularly pretty, especially in the end. The physical game reflected both rivals' appetite to win with composure and smart ball handling, giving the Cardinals just enough of an advantage.

With 45 seconds to go and both teams fouling like it was going out of style, Asotin came within three points of tying the game. But the veteran WP squad drew more fouls and made more free throws than the Panthers, edging them out 59-52.

"It could have been the other way," WP head coach T.J. Scott said. "Asotin is a dang good team. They were by far our biggest challenge in the league. We're fortunate and happy to have a 'W.'"

Before the men's teams appeared on Asotin's home court, the Lady Cardinals beat the Panthers handily 55-40, lifting WP spirits. Though the game had plenty of emotional intensity, the Lady Panthers were never the threat their male counterparts were.

The men's game saw Asotin taking an early lead at 7-4 with 4:40 minutes to go in the first quarter. The WP defense took a while to find its footing in the loud gym, underestimating the Panthers' ability to peel the ball from the Cardinals' midst and find even the smallest gap in the cordon around the key to worm their way beneath the board.

Trailing 11-6, WP found its rhythm after a 2-point layup from Dustin Wooderchak was followed quickly by a Zach Bartlow trey to even the score 11-11 just as the first-quarter buzzer sounded.

The psychologically important score drove up the Cardinals' confidence in the second quarter as WP registered 11 unanswered points, a string finally broken by senior Panther star Ben Servatius. He was fouled and made his two shots from the free throw line to cut the Cardinals' lead to a single digit 22-13.

But WP continued to pour it on, holding on to a lead that hovered around 10 points for much of the second quarter. Several Asotin fast breaks brought the Panthers within seven during the period, but a Kris Cady layup brought the score back up 31-22 before halftime.

Throughout the game, the Cardinals struggled to contain Servatius, a talented all-around athlete they know as the Panthers' quarterback from many fall encounters on the Paanthers' field by the Snake River. The only good thing about him in the WP's eyes is that he's a senior.

"We don't have an answer for Ben," Scott said. "He pretty much did what he wanted all night."

Asotin stepped up the pressure in the third quarter. Back-to-back layups ignited the Panthers crowd. A long throw to the WP key forced the Cardinals to stop the onslaught with a foul, bringing the Panthers within a point 37-36.

But Cardinal Tyler Baxter brought momentum back to the WP side with a layup, followed quickly by a T.J. Hofer trey that brought the score back up to 42-36 before the end of the third.

It didn't take long for the foul epidemic to break out in the fourth with the Cardinals' defense barely hanging on to contain the Panthers' persistent blitz on the key. Servatius was fouled and scored with three minutes to go in the game, bringing his team within four points at 48-44.

The teams traded fouls and free throws several more times, with Asotin less than a handful of points from closing the gap. The Cardinals retained their composure. Cady made an underhanded pass to Matt Hamilton, who laid it up beautifully and pushed his team up to 53-47.

The foul war resumed, but the Panthers never came closer than three points from evening the score. Wooderchak, Hofer and Bartlow each drew fouls that netted points and took the game out of the Panthers' reach in the last minute until the buzzer brought relief to the visiting players and their crowd.

"I thought it was going to be close," Cardinal Justin Zuger said. "But we all worked together on defense."

Though not the contest of the men's game, the Lady Cardinals' game against the Panthers had its own palpable intensity.

For a fleeting moment at the beginning of the first quarter, Asotin led 4-2. But the WP players kept bringing the field goals, rebounds and free throws, missing very few scoring chances led by the crack crew of Krystal Harris, Dionna Baker, Megan Withers, Genesis Pearson and a Kristen Potter who emerged from injury.

The Cardinals were ahead by 10 at the end of the first quarter and had more than double the Panthers' points at 37-15 going into halftime. They never looked back.

"We knew we had to come out explosively in the beginning," said Cardinal Dionna Baker, who has wowed coaches and fans alike with her contributions to the team.

Where Asotin failed to convert many of its shots to points, WP's execution was much more productive, boosting the Cardinals' lead with almost every play. By the end of the third period, the score was 47-26 in WP's favor.

The Cardinals gave head coach Jerry Baker the consistency he was looking for. It wasn't until the fourth quarter, after Baker told his team to slow it down, that WP took its foot off the accelerator.

He figured the game had been decided, and he'd have the players focus on ball control, running down the clock until there was just enough time left to get a shot and score. Though the approach wasn't immediately effective, the Cardinals hung on to their lead without much trouble, benefitting in large part from the Panthers' many technical fouls.

"That was all my fault," Coach Baker said. "They were doing what they were asked to do."

In the end, the Cardinals took it out of the Panthers' hide 55-40 in a victory the girls savored.

Said Dionna Baker: "It was a big emotional game for us."

WP vs Asotin

Women's

55-40

WP 19 18 10 8 55

Asotin96111440

WP (55) Genesis Pearson 23; Dionna Baker 11; Krystal

Harris 8; Megan Withers 5; and Kristen Potter 5. Free throws

14/20 for 70 percent (Asotin 33 percent).

Men's

59-52

WP 11 20 11 17 59

Asotin 11 11 14 16 52

WP (59) Dustin Wooderchak 13; Matt Hamilton 10; Zach

Bartlow 9; Kris Cady 8; Tyler Baxter 7; T.J. Hofer 7; Guillermo Hernandez 3 and Justin Zuger 2.