YAKIMA — The Acorns learned two things here Wednesday in the first round of the State 1B Boys Basketball Tournament.
First off, their speed is enough to keep them in games with the fastest teams in the tournament.
Second, Cody Flett is worth the hype. The Wellpinit senior led his Redskins with 26 points in a 73-62 win over Oakville.
“They fit our style pretty good,” Oakville coach Steve Reinitz said of No. 2-ranked Wellpinit, “We were right there, and then just had a couple of unforced turnovers, and a couple of shots didn’t fall.”
The Acorns trailed by 22 points in the third quarter, but hacked the lead to just 5 points with 3 minutes left in the game.
“We actually played one of the better disciplined ballgames we’ve played in a while,” Reinitz added.
Rikki Sutterlict led Oakville with 19 points. Tucker Reinitz added 11 and Bryan Witt and Rhyse Pettit each scored 10.
Flett shot 4 of 7 from the 3-point line in the game and, after helping his squad to a 23-14 advantage after one quarter, was shadowed in a box-and-one defense by Tucker Reinitz.
“That’s some of the best defense I’ve ever seen him play in high school,” the Acorn coach said.
Oakville (12-8) will now meet Lopez — which lost to Rosalia Wednesday — in a loser-out contest tipping off at 12:30 this afternoon.
“They’ve got some pretty good-sized kids,” Reinitz said, “but if we can get our kids to bring the speed game, I think we’ll be alright.”
