Naselle boys fade against Navigators

Friday, February 22, 2008
By Ben Zimmerman The Daily News

Naselles Nathan Sultemeier drives on Northwest Christian's Steven Dunn on Thursday.

Bill Wagner / The Daily News

CHEHALIS - Naselle dug itself too big of a hole in a Southwest Washington 2B District semifinal at W.F. West High School on Thursday against Northwest Christian.The Comets were "tighter than a drum," said head coach Brian Macy.They did too much standing and watching, "and not enough playing," he said."We came out like we were deer in headlights," Macy added.

Those headlights belonged to Navigators senior Ryan Fox. They are locomotive headlights, and they've been on high-beam for the whole darn tourney."He has been astonishing," NWC coach Ed McClanahan said of Fox, who scored 29 points to lead the Navigators to a 65-57 victory that clinched the school's first state tournament berth in its 12-year existence. "He really knows how to score."Fox had 31 points in NWC's district opener and 30 in a quarterfinal victory over Adna. He'll lead the Navigators into the district title game against unbeaten Toutle Lake at 8 p.m. here Saturday. The win avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Naselle, which edged NWC on the final day of the regular season to win the Pacific 2B League title."This is incredible," said Fox, a 5-foot-11 point guard whose slight build belies his assassin's skill set. "I've dreamed of going to state all my life. They can have the league title. We'll take the trip to state."The Comets must regroup quickly for a winner-to-state, loser-out game against Napavine at 6:30 p.m. tonight in Centralia. Naselle's biggest priority will be a good start, or at least something better than the 10-0 mine shaft they stepped into against NWC."I'm not sure why we were so tight. A lot of it was about (Fox), but we were also just very tight," Macy said. "It seemed like we could never get over that hump."Nathan Sultemeier scored 18 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter for the Comets, and brothers Kyle and Austin Burkhalter chipped in 13 apiece. Conor Smith also had nine points for Naselle, which made several runs but could never tie or take the lead.The Comets went on a 10-2 run to answer NWC's 10-0 start, but trailed 16-12 after one quarter. A putback by Smith made it 24-22 in the second, one of four times in the game that Naselle would pull within two points.But Robbie Groeschell (13 points) hit a 3-pointer and Fox scored on one of his trademark floaters in the lane as the Navigators re-established a more comfortable lead.The Comets made a big push at the start of the fourth quarter, which they began trailing 48-41. Kyle Burkhalter swished a jump shot, and Austin Burkhalter had a steal and pull-up jumper in transition to make it a three-point game. After NWC split a pair of free throws, Sultemeier made two freebies and it was 49-47 with 6:27 left to play.But after an NWC miss, Naselle struggled through an agonizing possession that epitomized its night. The Comets missed five shots, scrapping for rebounds in between, before the Navigators finally corralled the ball - and set up a Fox jumper."We held him to 10 points the last time we played them," Macy said of Fox. "He just came out with an attitude."A free throw by Smith cut Naselle's deficit to six points with 1:31 remaining, but NWC tidied things up at the charity stripe, where they went 9-of-15 in the quarter."We've just gotta wipe this one away, come out (tonight) and get after it," Macy said.

Navigators 65, Comets 57

NASELLE (57) -Nathan Sultemeier 18, Nick Hines 2, Kyle Burkhalter 13, Austin Burkhalter 13, Conor Smith 9, Alan Erickson 2

NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN (65) -Ryan Fox 29, Cameron Hamilton 7, Dan Mailhot 2, Steven Dunn 8, Robbie Groeschell 13, Owens 2, Sowers 4

Naselle 12 14 15 16-57
NWC 16 13 19 17-65