Walla Walla defeats Kamiakin, 63-53

WALLA WALLA-The Walla Walla Boys Varsity basketball team hosted the Kamiakin Braves in a conference game on Saturday January 4th. #2 Dylan Ashbeck opened the scoring for Walla Walla. A few possessions later, #10 Michael Cornia had a nice block in the paint on defense. Ashbeck was active on the boards and scoring from all over the floor with 10 points on hot shooting in the 1st quarter. Walla Walla led at the end of the quarter 16-12.

In the 2nd quarter, Kamiakin would cut the lead to one point at 16-15, after a free throw from their 6'9" forward Kyson Rose. Ashbeck quickly answered with two free throws of his own, to extend the lead 18-15. At 6'6", Trey Arland lived up to his name with a three-pointer to take the first lead of the game for the Kamiakin Braves at 26-24. Walla Walla's #10 Michael Cornia would retake the lead with a three-pointer to take the score to 29-26 at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, #14 Diego Jaques made his first three-pointer of the game which made it 36-32 Walla Walla Braves. 6'4" guard Steven Westermeyer would later tie the game at 36-36 with a three-pointer. It was again tied at 41-41 until Diego Jaques hit back to back three-pointers on consecutive possessions for Walla Walla making the score 47-41. A tip-in by Kyson Rose with time running out in the 3rd quarter made the score 47-43.

Threes to open the 4th quarter by Diego Jaques (his third in a row) and #12 Dillon Wasser gave Walla Walla their biggest lead of the game at 53-43. All of those three-pointers took their toll on Kamiakin and forced them to try to make their own three-pointers to get back into the game. Walla Walla had the game under control at this point, and cruised to a 63-53 win.

All of the players that scored for Kamiakin were at least 6'4" in contrast to Walla Walla's scorers that ranged from 5'11" to 6'4". That they were faster and out-rebounded a much larger team was very impressive. The difference in the game was certainly three-point shooting. Kamiakin made four of their attempts, while Walla Walla made ten, with five of those coming from Diego Jaques.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total

Kamiakin 12 14 17 10 53

Walla Walla 16 13 18 16 63

Scoring

WW: Dylan Ashbeck 18, Michael Cornia 15, Dillon Wasser 9, Diego Jaques 15, Jacob Coram 6

Kamiakin: Kyson Rose 20, Tyler Bilodeau 2, Trey Arland 10, Messiah Jones 12, Steven Westermeyer 9