Walla Walla loses in second round to Central Valley, 84-77

SPOKANE-The Walla Walla boys varsity basketball team played in the semi-finals of the district playoffs against the Central Valley Bears Saturday, February 15th on the Bears' home court. Early in the first quarter the Blue Devils #12 Dillon Wasser blocked 6'5" power forward Quinn Johnson and then #24 Jacob Coram hit a three-pointer for the Blue Devils first lead of the game at 9-7. Walla Walla finished the first quarter up 16-11.

A beautiful pass from #2 Dylan Ashbeck to #10 Michael Cornia opened the second. Later in the quarter Michael Cornia made a great move for the reverse layup that put Walla Walla up by ten points with the score 23-13. At this point Central Valley stepped up their defense and went on an 11-2 run. During this time Walla Walla had several possessions where they couldn't keep control of the ball. The game tightened to 25-24 at this point and the Blue Devils would find themselves down by two at the half with the score 36-34.

In the third quarter it was Walla Walla's turn to go on a little run of their own. Dillon Wasser opened the quarter hitting a three-pointer and was fouled during the shot. He went to the free throw line and completed the rare four-point play. After a stop on defense, Jacob Coram hit a three on the next possession. #14 Diego Jaques followed with a three of his own and suddenly the Blue Devils were back in control of the game and up 44-38. They would finish the quarter up 60-57.

The fourth quarter didn't go well for the Blue Devils. They were out-scored 7-1 in the first two minutes of the quarter which made the score 64-61. The main problem was their defense couldn't stop Central Valley who exploded for 27 points in the quarter. Walla Walla would lose by a final score of 84-77. Walla Walla will play next versus the Ferris Saxons (12-10) on Tuesday February 18th at 6 p.m. at Walla Walla high school in a loser out game.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total

Walla Walla 16 18 26 17 77

Central Valley 11 25 21 27 84

Scoring

WW: Dylan Ashbeck 15, Michael Cornia 26, Dillon Wasser 10, Diego Jaques 11, Jacob Coram 15.