Dragons toast Panthers

Jan. 7—ASOTIN — In a physical game that included 43 total fouls, Kamea Kauhi's free throw early in the fourth quarter cut the St. George's lead to eight points.

But that was as close as Asotin would get against a Dragons team that limited the Panthers to just three points the rest of the way and went on to win 60-41 on Friday at Asotin High School.

The Spokane school also won on the girls' side, 43-23.

While the final scores were lopsided, Asotin boys coach Perry Black was mostly just happy to have a full roster after a season ravaged by injury and illness.

"Stretches of that game were the best we've played all year," Black said. "First time we've played with our entire roster for the year. That was exciting to see."

The Dragons' hot hand

Going into the game, the Panthers (4-6) mostly were concerned about St. George's Shawn Jones (14 points), John Newland (nine) and Tanner Watkins (five), Black said, but it was a fourth Dragon (7-3) who shined the brightest.

Sophomore guard Mason Zarlingo hit five 3-pointers — several tightly contested and one from NBA range — en route to a game-high 24 points. He also had several big assists that led to buckets in transition.

"I actually gotta tip my cap to him," Black said. "He got hot tonight and made some shots that were tough, contested shots."

Welcome back, Cody Ells

In just his second game back from a "severe" ankle sprain, Asotin guard Cody Ells put on a scoring clinic.

The freshman showed no signs of his age in racking up 23 points, scoring in a variety of ways.

Ells made a 3-pointer, went 6-of-10 from the free-throw line and also scored with driving layups and floaters.

"He's a great player and he works real hard at it, so I'm glad he got rewarded a little bit tonight after missing so many of the games," Black said. "He's a freshman so he's learning stuff, but man the dude plays hard and you can tell from the other team (too). The coach said the same thing: 'He's hard to guard because he goes hard.'"

No other Panther had more than five points.

Asotin led 15-14 after the first period but couldn't overcome four-point quarters in the second and fourth.

Offense stagnant

The Dragons (3-1) held the Panthers (3-7) to seven points in the second half of the girls game, including just two in the third quarter as they slowly pulled away in a defensive battle.

St. George's freshman guard Carsyn Gildehaus set the tone on offense with a game-high 14 points, but it was her defense that hurt the Panthers the most.

"She just brings the energy for them, she goes after the 50-50 balls, she's a really good teammate for them and the rest of them follow suit with her," Asotin coach Kaiti Whitmore said.

Digital subscription only $3.40 per week

Asotin was paced by senior forward Carlie Ball with eight points. The Panthers held the Dragons to five points in the third quarter but couldn't get much offense going.

"For us, we've just gotta capitalize on our strengths, start off strong, hit those (shots) right off the bat and just limit our mental errors and we've got it," Whitmore said. "We really focus on our defense and hold our head high on our defense, and now we've just gotta work a little more on offense."

BOYS

ST. GEORGE'S-SPOKANE (7-3)

Ben Sudlow 1 0-0 2, Shawn Jones 4 4-4 14, Robby Witmer 0 0-0 0, Zach You 0 0-0 0, Kayden Gu 0 2-2 2, Tanner Watkins 2 0-0 5, Braeden Parker 0 0-0 0, Mason Zarlingo 9 1-2 24, Elden Pierce 1 1-2 4, John Nowland 4 1-6 9. Totals 21 9-16 60.

ASOTIN (4-6)

Gavin Ells 1 0-0 2, Cody Ells 8 6-10 23, Sawyer Biery 0 0-0 0, Cooper Biery 1 3-8 5, Brady Moore 0 0-0 0, Reuben Eggleston 2 0-0 4, Dylan Finney 0 0-0 0, Kamea Kauhi 2 1-2 5, Justin Boyea 0 0-0 0, AJ Olerich 1 0-2 2. Totals 15 10-22 41.

St. George's 14 20 12 14—60

Asotin 15 4 18 4 — 41

3-point goals — Zarlingo 5, Jones 2, Watkins, Pierce, C. Ells.

GIRLS

ST. GEORGE'S-SPOKANE (3-1)

Kalea Schlenker 0 0-0 0, Clara Witmer 3 0-0 6, Regan Thomas 1 0-0 2, Annika Bergquist 5 2-2 12, Skyler Peplinski 0 0-0 0, Sarah Harbaugh 0 0-0 0, Carsyn Gildehaus 5 5-8 15, Rachel Sudlow 0 0-0 0, Henri Osborne 3 2-2 8. Totals 17 9-12 43.

ASOTIN (3-7)

Kelsey Thummel 0 0-0 0, Sadie Thummel 1 0-0 3, Emmalyn Barnea 0 0-0 0, Abby Ausman 0 0-2 0, Cady Browne 2 0-0 4, Carlie Ball 4 0-2 8, Hannah Appleford 0 0-0 0, Emily Elskamp 2 1-2 5, Haylee Appleford 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 2-8 23.

St. George's 13 13 5 12—43

Asotin 5 11 2 5 — 23

3-point goal — S. Thummel.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @StephanSports.