YAKIMA, Wash. -- Elijah Pepper was dealing with his own frustration and trying not to let it become contagious.
But it was hard not to when Selah鈥檚 all-time leading scorer was halfway through the third quarter and had just one basket.
And Saturday was no ordinary game 鈥 it was against Columbia River for fourth and sixth place in the Class 2A state tournament.
鈥淭heir defense was tight and it was kind of getting to me,鈥 Pepper conceded. 鈥淢y shots weren鈥檛 falling and it was getting in my head a little.鈥
Coach Tim Gazra called timeout, pulled Pepper aside and reminded him to just have trust. In himself, his coaches and his teammates.
And trust that he would find his game.
Which he did.
After a 1-for-10 start, the junior guard found his shot and ran with it, scoring 11 of his 22 points in a third-quarter burst that woke the Vikings up and carried them to a 58-51 victory in the SunDome.
Senior Zak Donato delivered a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Noah Pepper netted 12 points as Selah shook off its 20-point first half and dashed to the finish.
With his team trailing 28-26, Pepper started his spree at the 3:18 mark in the third quarter and by the end of the period he had made five consecutive shots with a 3-pointer and Selah was up 39-33.
鈥淲e talked in the timeout about it being time to go on our run,鈥 said Selah coach Tim Garza. 鈥淎nd Eli, I just got in his ear a little bit. He ignited us and we had a fabulous finish.鈥
Columbia River, which made 12 3-pointers in a 75-69 loss to Selah a week ago in the regional round, made nine more on Saturday to keep it close. But the Vikings let them shoot out there and only committed seven fouls, allowing Selah to outscore CR 12-0 at the foul line.
The closest the Chieftains got in the final period was the seven-point final margin.
鈥淚 usually try to get to the hoop quick, which gets me going, and that鈥檚 what I did in the third quarter,鈥 said Pepper, who was named first-team all-tournament for the second straight year. 鈥淭he shots finally started fall, which was nice.鈥
The Vikings, who fell to runner-up W.F. West in Thursday鈥檚 quarterfinals, eliminated Liberty on Friday 72-70 and then faced Columbia River in a 12-hour scheduling swing from Thursday.
鈥淲e had a very disappointing loss on Thursday and we could鈥檝e checked out,鈥 Garza said. 鈥淭hese guys have been so resilient and they鈥檙e competitors. They dedicated these two games to our two seniors (Donato and Keegan Morford) and finished strong.鈥
Selah wrapped up the season 24-2 with a fourth-place trophy, and Columbia River (21-7) placed sixth.
鈥淚t was frustrating losing but we still had games to play,鈥 said Pepper, who produced 63 points, 19 rebounds, 14 assists and eight steals in three state games. 鈥淲e wanted that hardware and that鈥檚 what we focused on. We鈥檙e definitely ready for next year.鈥
COLUMBIA RIVER 鈥 Jacob Hjort 17, Evan Dirksen 10, Dezort 0, Armstrong 7, Gutierrez 8, Snook 6, Anderson 0, Waite 3, Brar 0, Grote 0, Geist 0, Gomez 0.
SELAH 鈥 Herting 3, Zak Donato 11, K. Morford 6, Noah Pepper 12, Elijah Pepper 22, Quincy 0, Middlebrooks 1, Seekins-Lakey 0, Rayburn 0, Giles 0, A. Morford 0, Rasmussen 3.
Columbia River 14 8 11 18 鈥 51
Selah 13 7 19 19 鈥 58
3-point goals鈥擟olumbia River 9-27 (Hjort 5-9, Jack Armstrong 1-3, Nate Snook 2-5, Mason Waite 1-2); Selah 4-13 (Donato 1-3, N. Pepper 1-2, E. Pepper 1-4, Reid Rasmussen 1-2). Rebounds鈥擟olumbia River 26 (Dirksen 9, Hjort 5); Selah 27 (Donato 10, E. Pepper 5). Assists鈥擟olumbia River 15 (Dezort 6); Selah 5. Turnovers鈥擟olumbia River 16, Selah 8. Total fouls鈥擟olumbia River 16, Selah 7. Fouled out鈥擭one.
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