Spartans waltz into State Final
Bainbridge Buzz - by Dan Mallove
Saturday, 10 March 2007

The clock finally struck midnight last night for the North Central Indians as the No. 1 ranked Bainbridge Spartans ended their Cinderella run through the 3A State Basketball tournament at Hec-Edmundson Pavilion with a 55-40 thrashing.semifinals2 Bainbridge served notice to North Central that it was in over its head right from the start as the Spartan’s player of the year candidate senior Steven Gray grabbed the opening tip-off and raced in for a thunderous dunk. The crowd, swelled with hundreds of Bainbridge students and fans, erupted and clearly rattled North Central never recovered.

The Spartans then went on an impressive 15-0 run sparked by their trademark smothering defense and punctuated by 3 pointers from Gray and junior guard Caleb Davis. North Central was able to muster only 2 baskets in the first quarter and trailed 17-4 as the quarter ended.

The rout continued in the second quarter as the finely tuned Spartans had their way with the undersized and overwhelmed Indians from Spokane . North Central missed 21 of its 23 first half shots and was unable to slow the high powered Spartan offense which received contributions from all 5 starters, plus invaluable sixth man, senior guard Rudy Sharar. Bainbridge’s four big men, 6”9” Coby Gibler, 6’7” Austin Wood, 6’10” Ben Eisenhardt, and 6’4” Gray, dominated the paint and the Indians repeatedly had their inside shots rejected by the active Spartans. The Spartans went on a 12-1 run to close the half to stretch their lead to 31-10 and the game was basically over.

Focused on capturing their first State title in almost 60 years, the Spartans refused to lose their intensity and came out for the third quarter much the way they started the game. Their dynamic duo of Gray and Gibler combined on four straight buckets to open the second half and by late in the quarter the lead had grown to 48-15.

Spartan Coach Scott Orness, knowing his players need to win 4 games in 4 nights to reach their State Championship goal, took advantage of the big lead to rest his starters in the fourth quarter. To their credit, the scrappy Indians refused to quit and responded with a 21-3 run against the Spartan subs to cut the lead to 51-36 with 3 minutes remaining. Orness summoned his starters and they calmly closed out the game.

As usual, Bainbridge was led by their senior duo of Gray and Gibler. Gray, a prized Gonzaga recruit, finished with 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting and six rebounds, and Gibler had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and four blocks. Davis chipped in with 11 points on 3 for 4 shooting from 3 point range.

North Central was led by its talented junior guard Nick Rijon with 15 points. Rijon, who had scored 28 points in the Indians' quarter-final win over Mount Vernon, was held to 3 for 16 shooting by a great defensive effort from Bainbridge’s senior point guard, Nick Fling. Fling also led the Spartan attack with four assists.

North Central, who had finished last in the 4A/3A Greater Spokane League regular season with a 4-16 record, reached the State Tournament with an improbable District Tournament run. Their magical run continued with two victories at State until they ran into the Spartan buzzsaw.

The Spartans now advance to their first State final in 52 years and will meet Metro Conference arch-rival and No. 2 ranked O’Dea, who crushed Southridge ( Kennewick ) 60-35 in the other semifinal. O’Dea used a 23-0 game ending run to reach their third State final in the last 4 years. O’Dea won state in 2004 and 2005.

Bainbridge and O’Dea know each other well as they have met three times already this season. Bainbridge won a thriller at O’Dea 59-58, defeated O’Dea soundly at home 52-42, and then completed the trifecta at the District Tournament 42-38.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of Bainbridge history when the Spartans look to close out their dream tonight at 9 pm at Hec-Ed.