State 2B Boys Basketball: Indians Survive First Round, Prep for Kittitas

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SPOKANE — The mood for the Indians here Wednesday morning wasn’t pure excitement.

Toledo pulled away late to beat Asotin, 50-37, in the loser-out opening round of the State 2B Boys Basketball Tournament — but given their less-than-ideal performance in the regional round, surviving to the first day was a chance to take a deep breath and refocus.

And now Toledo (22-3), the Central 2B League and District 4 champion, is guaranteed another two days in the Lilac City.

“It’s more of a relief,” explained senior Bryce Marcil, who scored a game-high 16 points in the win. “Our goal was to win a regional game, but obviously we didn’t. Our goal was first to win league, then win districts and make it to state.

“We got a win today, so it’s more of a relief to win today, just to know you’re staying two more days, for sure.”

Toledo coach Grady Fallon agreed, though he acknowledged the looming obstacle waiting for the Indians on Thursday in Kittitas.

“We did a little better in the district tournament (than in 2018, when Toledo took fifth), and we didn’t want to do worse here,” Fallon said. “It’s these guys’ goal to play on Saturday, and we’re that close.”

On Wednesday, Marcil scored 10 points in the first half to highlight an otherwise slow start, offensively, for both sides.

Toledo’s defense, though, was just fine. The Indians held Asotin to two points in the first quarter and 22 percent shooting from outside (4 of 18), and got a boost by the Panthers’ dismal 3-of-11 performance at the foul line.

Still, the Panthers hung around, trailing by five points early in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws and a three from Brian Wood gave Toledo a little more separation in the form of a 39-30 lead with 2:39 to play, and Marcil added his second three of the game with two minutes to play to give the Indians a 43-30 advantage.

“We were not getting back on defense, and we weren’t really efficient on offense,” Marcil said. “We were kind of nervous, you know? So it was kind of a nerves (thing), just a little.”

The Indians fared better than outside than the Panthers, going 5 of 14 (36 percent), but Marcil was Toledo’s only player to hit more than one. Westin Walllace, meanwhile, was a force inside, scoring nine points and grabbing a whopping 16 rebounds.

Toledo outrebounded Asotin 36-31.



“He’s been better and better and better,” Fallon said of Wallace, who added three blocked shots. “His scoring’s come up a bit, and his rebounds are up. … He’s definitely stepped up in this postseason, for sure.”

Wallace’s three blocked shots gave him 91 on the season, breaking a single-season Toledo record held by Artem Wallace (a cousin). Artem Wallace, who graduated in 2005 and went on to play at the University of Washington, held the previous record with 89 blocks.

Fano Arceo-Hansen added nine points and 10 rebounds for Toledo, while Thomas Martin led Asotin (16-9) with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The win puts Toledo in the first round of the double-elimination portion of the tournament Thursday morning, with a 10:30 a.m. game against two-time defending state champion Kittitas and the Coyotes’ Gonzaga-bound point guard Brock Ravet.

“They’re good, but the odds are in your favor the more times you play them, right?” Fallon joked. “We’re going to have to bring our A-game, for sure, and maybe a little luck and some stars align.”

Kittitas (25-1) beat Toledo 83-56 in a non-league game back on Dec. 29.

“Besides having the best player in the state, those other guys are pretty dang good,” Fallon said. “Those other guys knock down shots and they just play so hard. They’re really good about knowing their role, and they’re aggressive.”

Willapa Valley 58, Oroville 44: The Vikings pulled away in the second half to notch a comfortable 58-44 win over Oroville on Day 1 of the State 2B Boys Basketball Tournament at the Spokane Arena.

Willapa Valley led 21-17 at halftime, but back-to-back three-pointers from Chad Flemetis, and another from Logan Walker, helped the Vikings extend their lead to double-figures in the third frame.

Matt Pearson led Willapa Valley with 25 points, and Walker chipped in 19. The Vikings were coming off a 79-44 loss to St. George’s in the regional round, but with Wednesday morning’s win move on to the double-elimination portion of the state tournament. They’ll face Brewster (19-5) at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Toutle Lake 49, Kalama 30: Mike Adams, Logan Grabenhorst and Broc Keeton all scored in double figures as Toutle Lake eliminated Central 2B League neighbor Kalama on Wednesday in the opening round of the State 2B tournament.

Max Ross led Kalama (15-10) with 12 points.

Adams scored 13 with 13 rebounds to pace Toutle Lake (17-8). Grabenhorst added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Keeton chipped in 10 points. The Ducks move on to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, and will take on St. George’s (22-2) on Thursday at 12:15 p.m.