Onalaska and St. George's players scuffle for a loose ball at regionals on Saturday. (Brandon Hansen / For The Chronicle)
Onalaska's Kayden Allison (40) leaps for the opening tip against St. George's at regionals on Saturday. (Brandon Hansen / For The Chronicle)
Onalaska senior Cade Lawrence (34) gets a layup against St. George's at regionals on Saturday. (Brandon Hansen / For The Chronicle)
By The Chronicle
SPOKANE — No. 7 Onalaska was held to 15 total points in the second half as the Loggers offense stalled in a 43-37 regional playoff loss to second-ranked St. George’s Saturday in Spokane.
“It was a thriller,” Onalaska coach Wayne Nelson said. “We had a tough time scoring all night, but so did they. It was a low-scoring, tough game. We were in it down to the last minute.”
The Loggers led 30-24 midway through the third quarter then chalked the ball up twice in the backcourt, which led to four easy buckets for the Dragons. It was all the momentum St. George’s needed as it outscored Onalaska 25-16 in the second half.
It didn’t help that Onalaska was in foul trouble the final frame as three Loggers fouled out in crunch time.
“That doesn’t help at all,” Nelson said. “Especially when you play six guys, primarily.”
Onalaska (20-7) was led offensively by senior guard Carter Whitehead’s 10 points. Danny Dalsted added nine points and Ashton Haight chipped in seven. Alex Frazier pulled down a team-high seven boards and Kayden Allison hauled in six.
The Loggers shot just 33 percent from the field (15 of 46) and were two of seven from the charity stripe at a 29 percent clip. St. George’s shot 38 percent from the floor and got to the foul line 25 times, connecting on 13 (52 percent).
Onalaska faces District 4 foe Willapa Valley (18-8) in a loser-out state opener at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, in Spokane. The Loggers beat the Vikings 69-42 at the district tournament on Feb. 21.
“I don’t usually like playing people we’ve already beat, but you do what you’ve got to do,” Nelson said. “We just need to play hard, guard some people and be a little more relaxed on offense. They know us and we know them. We’ll see how it goes.”
