Bombers Win Eight Straight - By Drew Johnson
The Richland Bombers boys’ basketball team played the Kennewick Lions Friday night at Art Dewald. Coming off their win Tuesday vs. Kamiakin, the Bombers were on an 8-game win streak and undefeated in MCC play. The Lions were 7-3 and 3-3 in conference play after their win against Walla Walla on Tuesday night.
The game started off with Junior Luke Westerfield winning the tip-off. The Lions would get the first points of the game on a free throw by 6’ 8” Junior Nathan Knapik, who would be Westerfield’s closest matchup in height so far this year. The Bomber scored their first bucket of the game on a fast break layup by Junior Josh Woodard, but the student section stayed quiet. Friday Night was Silent Night for the Richland High student section. They would remain silent until the Bombers put their 10th point on the scoreboard. The flow of the first quarter was pretty slow for both teams until Senior Jordan Valencia-Alvarado went to the line with 35.8 seconds left on the clock and made back-to-back free throws, making the Bomber student section erupt as they would no longer have to remain seated and silent. This last 35 seconds would end with both teams scoring once more. With 16.7 seconds left, Junior Jack Forbes would make a layup to take the lead from the lions 12-11. The lions would answer back with a buzzer-beater three-pointer by Knapik and retake the lead 14-12 to end the 1st quarter
The second quarter started off quick as Valencia- Alvarado had a putback layup to even the score for Richland. This would be the start of a 6-2 run to start the 2nd led by the offensive and defensive effort from Jack Forbes. After a timeout from Richland, the bombers led the game 18-16. With about 4 minutes left, Freshman Landen Northrop hit a fast break three, extending the lead to 25 –16 and a wave of momentum for Richland. At the two-minute mark, Senior Brock Streufert came up with a steal which led to an and-one layup for Northrup, putting the bombers up 30-20 after the made free-throw. At the buzzer, Forbes hit a three off the screen from Westerfield to end the half with a score of 34-24.
Kennewick had possession to start the second half, but that wouldn’t stop Westerfield from making a huge block on the Lion’s junior Adrian Cervantes, which would lead to an offensive rebound and jumper for Northrup. No less than a minute later, Westerfield would make another key block that led to Northrup driving through two Lions for an and-one bucket. Richland leads by 15. The Lions, over the next two minutes, would go on a 7-0 run led by Chavez, Gebers, and Knapik. This did not last long, though, as Woodard found Westerfield on for a big dunk, ending the Lion’s momentum. The 3rd quarter ended with another buzz-beater from Knapik underneath the basket, but Richland still led 50-39
The lions scored to start the fourth quarter as Knapik found a cutting Gebers that brought them to within 9 points of the Bomber lead. The following possession would lead to an and-one for Westerfield and a huge wave of energy throughout the student section. Both teams would go back and forth for the next 2 minutes, but an easy layup for Senior Jase Vopalensky and a 3-pointer by Westerfield pushed the Bomber lead up to 12. Around the 5-minute mark, Luke Westerfield had his 2nd throwdown of the night and ignited the “I believe that we have won” chants from the Richland High student section. The Bombers would continue to finish the game strongly and defeat the Lions 71-59.
After the game, Coach Earl Streufert was asked how he keeps the team motivated after a game like Kamiakin. He said, “I shouldn’t have to keep them motivated. They get to be one of the ten guys to play for the school and play in front of 500 fans and a packed-out student section. Nothing should come from me. That should be all from them.”. It’s obvious that the Bombers gain their energy from the fans, and this is the reason that they have been successful so far this year. The Bombers will play the 5-6 Walla Walla Blue Devils on Tuesday in Walla Walla.
Bombers leading scorers for the night were Landen Northrup (18 pts, 4 reb , 3 blk) Jack Forbes (15 pts, 8 reb ,3 blk 3) Luke Westerfield (14 pts, 10 reb, 6 blk )
Lions leading scorers were Jonah Gebers (14 pts, 9 reb) Charlie Tipke-Henry ( 13pts, 3 reb) Nathan Knapik (12 pts, 5 reb)
