Walla Walla rediscovered its shooting touch here Wednesday night in a rousing 106-72 victory over Blue Mountain in a Northwest Athletic Conference Eastern Division men’s basketball game.
The Warriors hot 59 percent from the field overall (36-for-61) and slightly better (22-for-37, 59.5 percent) from the 3-point arc as they snapped a five-game losing streak and notched their first win during the second round of division play.
The Walla Wallans will take a 5-8 East record and a 13-15 overall mark into their final game Saturday afternoon when they entertain Columbia Basin in the Dietrich Dome. Tip off is slated for 4 p.m.
“It was a little bit late, but we played really well, like we are capable of playing,” Warriors coach Jeff Reinland said. “We played like we played the first three or four games of league play.
“And it’s kind of strange, too, because we had five guys playing with the flu. Payton Radliff didn’t even practice one day before the game and we had to play him sparingly because he was having trouble breathing. And at least four other guys had the crud pretty badly.”
Radliff managed to put up 15 points in exactly 20 minutes of playing time on 5-for-6 shooting from outside the 3-point line. Four of his baskets came early in the game as the Warriors assumed a quick lead and never looked back.
Satchel Schetzle led the Warriors offensively with 30 points on 9-for-15 shooting overall and 7-for-12 from 3-point distance. Nate Richards tallied 17 points and led WWCC with eight rebounds, Matt Grooms was 100 percent across the board (1-for-1 on 3-pointers, 5-for-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line) for 15 points, and Garrett Sawyer was a fourth Warrior in double figures as he came off the bench to score 13.
Coleman McElroy and Max Mueller scored 16 points each to lead Blue Mountain and Jarred Bell was in double figures with 13 points. McElroy led all rebounders with nine.
Although the Warriors will miss the season-ending NWAC Championships for a second straight year, Reinland expects an all-out effort from his players Saturday against CBC just as he did here Wednesday night.
“We are preparing for CBC just as though we had made the tournament,” Reinland said. “That’s the way I run my program and the kids know that.
“And you never give up on your sophomores just because they are moving on and our season didn’t go as well as we would have liked. This is their team and we going to go out and try to win Saturday just like we have been all season.”
