POMEROY–The Pirate Boys finished the season first in the Wheat Division of the Southeast 1B Basketball League and are headed into the playoffs tonight with home-court advantage against the Grape Division No. 4 seed, either Touchet or Liberty Christian, tonight, February 9, with a 6 p.m. tip off.

A win will set the next game again in Pomeroy on Saturday, February 11, versus the winner of the Oakesdale/Sunnyside Christian game. If the Pirates fall, they will still host the game but against the loser of that Nighthawk/Crusader contest.

District play will be at Dayton High School on Wednesday, February 15 and Friday, February 17.

The Pirates slipped past Garfield-Palouse last week, taking a 52-41 Senior Night win, then traveled to Touchet to defeat the Redhawks 62-36.

“We finished the regular season of strong,” Head Coach Chris Wolf commented. “We got off to a great start with a 23-4 first quarter and then played solidly the rest of the game.

“We had our best ball movement of the year against their 2-3 zone and had all five players score in the first quarter,” Wolf said.

“Defensively we were locked in and played great team defense,” he added.

Ollie Severs lead with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds, Wolf said, and Trevin Kimble popped in 15 points, dished six assists and had three steals. Jett Slusser finished with nine points and five assists.

Trace Roberts stepped up with a game-high 18 points against Gar-Pal on Senior Night, but Wolf was disappointed in the team’s performance.

“We got a win tonight without playing our best basketball,” he said. “We were just a step slow defensively, and not aggressive offensively.”

The Pirates were snappy at first with a 20-8 first quarter and pumped it up to 26-9, but let off the gas, Wolf said, allowing Touchet to creep back into the game.

“We never regained the momentum from the first quarter and a half,” Wolf said. “Early on we had good ball movement and were sharing the ball and getting great looks. The ball began to stick in place too long from that point on.

“We only had three first half turnovers but in the second half we had 13 and that led to our offensive woes,” he said. “We didn’t rebound as well as we have most games this season.”

Wolf praised Roberts for playing a great game. “He was aggressive attacking the basket and did a good job of finishing around the rim,” Wolf said. “He led us with 18 points and added 8 rebounds. That was good to see. We will need Trace to continue to play that way going into the playoffs next week.”

Trevin Kimble added 15 points and six assists, and Ollie Severs had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Pomeroy 52, Gar-Pal 41 (2/2)

Pom 20 12 6 14-52

GP 8 13 8 21-41

Pomeroy (52) Severs 5 2-2 12, Jett Slusser 1 0-0 2, Kimble 6 2-2 15, Magill 1 0-0 3, Jayden Slusser 1 0-0 2, Roberts 9 0-1 18. Totals 23 4-5 52

Gar-Pal (41) Pfaff 5 0-3 10, Collier 3 0-0 9, Rardon 1 0-0 2, B. Snekvik 5 0-2 12, K. Snekvik 1 2-2 4, Orr 1 2-4 4, Totals 16 4-11 41.

3-point goals Gar-Pal 5, Collier 3, B. Snekvik 2, Pomeroy 2, Kimble, Magill.

Pomeroy 62, Touchet 36 (2/4)

Pom 23 10 16 13-62

Tou 4 9 12 11-36

Pomeroy (62) Severs 7 2-2 17, Bott 1 0-0 3 Jett Slusser 3 0-0 9, Kimble 5 3-6 15, Magill 2 0-0 5, Ledgerwood 1 2-2 5, Roberts 3 2-2 8. Totals 22 9-12 62.

Touchet (36) Godinez 1 0-0 2, Orosco 2 0-0 6, Mendoza 0 0-1 0, Gonzalez 4 0-0 12, Zessin 2 2-2 6, Krumbah 0 1-4 1, Kincaid 2 0-1 4, Huntly 2 1-3 5, Totals 14 4-11 36.