Hawks regular season ends with Pullman, Clarkston losses

See a photo gallery from the event here.

The Cheney High boys basketball team wrapped up its regular season with a pair of Great Northern League losses whose final scores don't necessarily reflect the closeness of each game.

Last Tuesday in Pullman, the Blackhawks trailed the host Greyhounds, ranked fourth in 2A state in the latest Washington Interscholastic Activities Association's RPI, by five at the half and eight heading into the fourth quarter, only to fall 60-40. Saturday, Cheney was within three of top-ranked Clarkston at the half, 28-25, and nine at the end of the third, 45-36.

The Blackhawks played the Bantams evenly through most of the fourth, but had a chance to cut the lead to five with about 40 seconds remaining. Twice, however, Cheney couldn't get multiple close-in shots to fall, all while Clarkston was struggling to make their shots at the foul line.

In the end, Cheney couldn't capitalize on the opportunities, losing 62-53 to the two-time defending league and state champions.

"The kids battled, it was great," head coach Gregg Smith said.

Devin Cook and Nick Berman led Cheney in scoring with 11 points each. Cheney shot 51.5 percent from inside, but struggled from behind the 3-point line, going 3 for 17, 17.64 percent for an overall average of 41 percent.

The Blackhawks out rebounded Clarkston, 28–25, but committed 17 turnovers.

At Pullman, Cheney was aggressive offensively, reflected by its 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second, they didn't attack as much, getting outscored by 14-4 by the Greyhounds who never trailed after that.

Cook led Cheney in scoring with 15 points as the Blackhawks were out shot 34 percent to 60 percent by Pullman.

Cheney finished the regular season 1-11 in league play, 8-12 overall. They returned to Pullman Tuesday night for an opening-round, loser-out playoff game with the second-seeded Greyhounds.

Smith said he tried something new against Clarkston he hopes will bring success in Pullman - resorting to two, five-man rotations.

"We told them in practice that they only have 3-4 minutes (on the court)," Smith said. "There's no way they should get tired, so work as hard as you can."

The tactic seemed to have some success, and Smith hopes the fact the Blackhawks kept things interesting with the defending 2A state champions until very late in the game serves as a confidence booster for his players in the future.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.

See a photo gallery from the event here.