DeVries Threes Highlight Explosive Bomber Win in Quarterfinals

DeVries Threes Highlight Explosive Bomber Win in Quarterfinals
By Steven Dion

Day one of the Hardwood Classic concluded with a 4A matchup between two schools east of the mountains: Wenatchee and Richland. The Bombers of the Tri-Cities carried a perfect 23-0 record into this ballgame averaging nearly 90 points per contest. They also made an appearance to state last season with much of the same returning cast. Wenatchee with its 16-7 record relied on a hot streak down the postseason road to find itself in “The Woodshed” in 2014 including a one-point victory over defending state champions Curtis in regionals. The well-represented fan sections of each side were eager to finally watch some basketball after long drives from the other side of the state.

In the opening minute, Richland senior Jacob DeVries scored five points after a three, steal, then put-back. Wenatchee head coach Ron Stone quickly called a timeout to calm his team down. Stone clearly understood the fast pace the Bombers like to play, and his strategy after the timeout paid off in the short term. The Panthers slowed the tempo of the game down and matched RHS bucket for bucket. After one frame, the contest was tied at ten apiece. The second quarter is when the game was blown apart like something seen in Hanford near Richland.

The Bombers went on an offensive surge as they notched 26 points in eight minutes, the highest scoring quarter of all eight boys games played at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday. DeVries supplied a huge dose of these points as his 33 in the game was the highest for a single player all day. The impressive part of the senior’s performance was the remarkable efficiency of 65% from the field and 71% from downtown! The Bombers built a 14 point margin at the half and did not look back.

When play resumed, the Bombers churned out another high-octane quarter and separating themselves 14 more points in the process. Credit Chase Resch of Wenatchee for staying tough down the stretch as he got a few tough shots to go. Also, Panther senior Dillon Sugg was able to register a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. But this game was all Richland as they had ten different scorers combining for their 78 points. If Richland can keep the hot shooting going, the rest of 4A will have their hands full handing the Bombers their first loss of the season.

Top Performers:
Richland
Jacob DeVries-33 points (13/20 FG’s, 5/7 3-pt FG’s), 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists

Wenatchee
Dillon Sugg-12 points, 10 rebounds