Bears place second in District, face No. 1 in Regional rematch

GRANGER – Like Groundhog Day at the playoffs, the Brewster Bears varsity basketball team took second place in the Central Washington 2B District 5/6 championships for the second consecutive year, following a 96-60 loss to defending state champion Kittitas-Thorp last Saturday, Feb. 17.
Brewster will face the No. 1 Coyotes again in the first round of Regional play at Ellensburg, Saturday, Feb. 24. The Regional match-up, based on the WIAA’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) pits No. 1 Kittitas against the No. 8 Bears in the loser-out opener.
The first quarter started well with Kittitas up by only three points, 25-22, but the Coyotes, behind the three-point shooting of junior guard Brock Ravet, began to pull away by halftime, 49-31. Ravet, who set a Yakima Valley single-game scoring record with 55 points against Walla Walla in the regular season, led all scorers with 40 points including 21 from three-point range.
Brewster junior guard Joe Taylor led the Bears with 33 points, but it wasn’t enough as Kittitas extended its lead 68-45 by the end of the third quarter. The Bears’ other scoring threat, sophomore Corey Jarrell, got in early foul trouble   
Brewster captured the CW2B League crown and took an undefeated 16-0 record into District competition at Granger, Feb. 10. In the second round of eliminations the Bears took the wind of out DeSales, 59-46, to advance to the semifinals against Tri-Cities Prep. of Pasco, Feb. 16. Brewster’s 16-point margin of victory over the Jaguars was three more than the baker’s dozen over DeSales and set the Bears for the championship final against Kittitas-Thorp.
Meanwhile the unbeaten Coyotes, No. 1 in the 2B Eastern League, put their 14-0 record on the line against CW2B No. 4 Lake Roosevelt. After a 40-point win over the Raiders, Kittitas-Thorp manhandled CW2B No. 2 Oroville, 86-32, to move to the finals against Brewster.
Lady Bears advance
The Lady Bears bounced back from their 54-48 District loss to Lake Roosevelt on Feb. 10 to defeat DeSales, 47-31, on Feb. 16. In the battle for fifth place the following day, Brewster downed Liberty Bell, a team it had beaten twice during the regular season. The wins clinched fifth place for Brewster and the only team from the CW2B to advance to Regional play in Wenatchee this weekend.
The Lady Bears will face Mossyrock that came into the playoffs in fourth place in the 2B Central with a 11-5 regular season league record. The Vikings and Lady Bears will square off at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in the Wenatchee High School main gym.