One bad quarter proved costly for Rainier as the Mountaineers stalled in the second quarter in a 66-64 road defeat to Chief Leschi in the opening round of the 2B District 4 tournament on Saturday.
It was especially frustrating after the Mountaineers erupted on a 20-4 run to start the game and led 22-13 after one quarter.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Rainier coach Ben Sheaffer said.
But the Warriors switched to a zone and the Mountaineers went cold in the second quarter, getting outscored 14-4 to end the half and were never able to quite catch Chief Leschi from there.
“Although we made a few adjustments throughout the game, we had stretches where he had a tough time scoring,” Sheaffer said. “We had some opportunities but, in the end, we weren’t able to take advantage of them.”
Ian Sprouffske led the Mountaineers with 24 points, while Josh Meldrum added 16 and Jake Meldrum chipped in nine.
Rainier now faces Northwest Christian (Lacey) in a loser-out game at 6 p.m., Wednesday, at Rochester High School. Northwest Christian lost 75-51 to Napavine in the opening round on Saturday.
