CHENEY — The Cheney boys have been playing some pretty good basketball lately with five wins in their last six games and five points away from being undefeated in that stretch.
But the Blackhawks arguably played their best game in the Jan. 4 Greater Spokane League opener, a 72-50 victory over Ferris at home — leading from tipoff to final buzzer, never much faltering.
“We executed our game plan and really focused on having zero lapses in effort all four quarters,” head coach Travis Peevey wrote in an email.
As usual, Evan Stinson did his thing with a game-high 22 points, but this time he got a healthy helping of points from Grayson Burton who chipped in 21 with Liam Carver adding another 12.
“We had some juniors, Burton and Carver, step up and play to their potential that we know they are capable of and it allowed us to play very balanced,” Peevey explained.
Stinson’s steal and crowd-pleasing rim-hanging jam as time was running down in first half seemed to fuel one of the Blackhawks’ best 8 minutes of the season. They outscored the Saxons, 24-14, in the third quarter and put all the breathing room needed to open GSL play with a win, improving to 6-5 overall.
“We got our first league win since the end of the 21-22 season beating Ferris in a huge team effort,” Peevey said.
The turnaround from Cheney’s 1-4 start could be some simple instructions from Peevey.
“We instructed each guy to ‘do your job’ and to ‘do our job’ as a collective and they took it to heart,” he said.
Cheney has had both cold starts and finishes that have meant the difference this season, but not against Ferris (0-1 GSL, 4-7 overall).
“We have talked a lot about expecting to win instead of just surviving,” Peevey said. “I think if we can continue to have that mindset every day in practice, we will be well prepared to face league opponents all through January and beyond.”
Cheney returned home Jan. 9 to host Gonzaga Prep (0-1, 8-4).
The Bullpups came in with something to prove following their non-league upset Jan. 2 to North Central 77-72 in double overtime, and then 59-53 to University in their GSL-opener.
Cheney plays at Central Valley at 7 p.m. Jan. 12, and returns home to face Mead on Jan. 16.
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