The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA—The Walla Walla Boys Varsity basketball team hosted the Hermiston Bulldogs in a conference game Saturday January 10th.

Hermiston opened up the game on fire making their first five shots in a row (which included 3 three-pointers) to take a 13-8 lead. The Bulldogs first two misses of any kind came at the free throw line, missing both free throws following the first shooting foul of the game. From that point on they came back to earth as the Walla Walla Blue Devils went on a 14-3 run for the remainder of the first quarter. The most impressive play of the quarter came on a series of three passes that looked like the layup drills you see in warmups. The end result was a layup from #2 Dylan Ashbeck. Ashbeck scored eleven of his eighteen points in the first quarter as Walla Walla led 22-16.

In the 2nd quarter, the Blue Devils big man #10 Michael Cornia showed off his ball handling skills with a behind the back dribble that froze Hermiston’s defender, giving Cornia an easy layup. The Blue Devils later showed how quickly they can put a game out of reach. It started with a deep three-pointer from #24 Jacob Coram. After a defensive stop #12 Dillon Wasser hit a three of his own. Another defensive stop was made, then Dylan Ashbeck completed the three-point play after sinking his foul shot. Suddenly the score was 38-18 and Walla Walla would go into halftime up 48-28.

In the 3rd quarter, Michael Cornia scored eleven of his team-high 23 points including an open three-pointer to close out the quarter 69-40. The 4th quarter began with only one starter for Walla Walla in the game. #30 Brandon Smith made a nice pass to Jacob Coram cutting to the basket for a layup. Later Smith would grab an offensive rebound and while still in the air put it back in to make the lead 75-44. All nine players that suited up for Walla Walla would score in this game. Hermiston fired off and hit a three-pointer with time running out to close out the scoring as Walla Walla won 86-49.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total

Hermiston 16 12 12 9 49

Walla Walla 22 26 21 17 86

Scoring

WW: Dylan Ashbeck 18, Josiah Wik 3, Michael Cornia 23, Dillon Wasser 6, Diego Jaques 8, Robert Watson 4, Jacob Coram 10, Brandon Smith 12, Daniel Nielsen 2