Prescott Tigers lose to Garfield-Palouse Vikings in district playoffs, 50-31

WALLA WALLA-The Prescott Tigers boys basketball team returned to Walla Walla Community College this time to play the Garfield-Palouse Vikings Saturday February 22nd at the Dome. At stake was a spot in the 1B State Tournament. Most were expecting to see Oakesdale in this game, but they defeated Garfield-Palouse in overtime for the district championship the night before.

It was a slow start for both teams and the anxiety of knowing the season would be over for the losing team was palpable. With 4:40 left in the first quarter the score was just 2-1 GarPal. Prescott took the lead a possession later with a steal in the backcourt by #12 Jonathan Cardenas who took the ball the length of the floor for a layup and Prescott's first lead at 3-2. #1 Omar Velazco made it 6-2 Prescott with a three-point play. The first quarter would end with the score 11-4 after two technical foul shots were made by Prescott. GarPal's head coach Steve Swinney received the technical apparently for something said to one of the officials. He had already been given a warning with 1:46 left to play in the first quarter. All in all, a great quarter for Prescott and arguably the best defense they had played all year.

The second quarter didn't go well for Prescott as the Vikings made a comeback behind Blake Jones. He scored eleven of his twenty-three points in the second quarter. The previous night he was visibily limping from a leg injury he received in the fourth quarter of the district championship game. With the score 25-21 GarPal, what looked like a potential three-point play for Prescott was instead called traveling. Not only did it change the momentum of the game it earned head coach Allyn Griffin a warning from the referees before the half. The first half would end with the score 25-21 GarPal.

The game remained close in the beginning of the third quarter but in the later part of the third, GarPal began to pull away. Absolutely nothing would fall for Prescott and they would manage only six points in the quarter. With about eight seconds left in the quarter coach Griffin received a technical foul from the officials. Following the game, I asked some people sitting closer to the bench why it was called. Many of them thought the official heard someone in the crowd say something and thought it was the coach. The third quarter ended with the score 36-27 GarPal.

Things continued to go poorly in the fourth quarter for Prescott. Once again, no shots were falling for the Tigers. Victor Garcia and Jonathan Cardenas combined for all of Prescott's four points in the quarter. With a 1:11 left in the game and GarPal on their way to the win, a Prescott player was dangerously pushed from behind into his bench going after a loose ball. No foul call was made. Coach Griffin could be heard saying "That's how kids get hurt." The ensuing argument with the referee resulted in Coach Griffin getting his second technical foul and having to head to the locker room. During this delay Victor Garcia was also ejected from the game. It took several more minutes after that before play resumed. GarPal would go on to win the game 50-31 and advance to the state tournament.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total

Prescott 11 10 6 4 30

GarPal 4 21 11 14 51

Prescott: Omar Velazco 9, Victor Garcia 6, Jonathan Cardenas 11, Miguel Ayala 3