Stories from The Spokesman-Review

Free daily coverage from the newspaper.

Get stories via RSS     Return to headline list

Gianukakis wills team into B final

J.D. Larson  •  Staff writer
Published March 4, 2006

Republic's Derek Gianukakis fights through. (Christopher Anderson The Spokesman-Review ) B boys Semifinal results Republic 72, Morton 58 Northwest Christian 35, Moses Lake Christian 31 Championship Tonight: Republic vs. Northwest Christian, 7 p.m. TV: KHQ

As they went into the fourth quarter, Morton appeared just a couple of baskets away from being in position to pull a huge semifinal upset.

Republic's Zach Gianukakis just flat-out wasn't going to let it happen.

Three Gianukakis 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions early in the fourth turned a five-point game into a double-digit Tigers lead and gave Republic enough cushion to pull away and win 72-58 at the Arena.

It's Republic's second state championship appearance in three years, with the Tigers (26-3) winning a championship in 2004.

Gianukakis had struggled through the first half, hitting 4 of 16 shots and picking up an uncharacteristic technical foul, but had 20 of his game-high 32 in the second half.

"I think we've played six games in 10 days," Gianukakis said. "It's wearing our legs out and we came in at halftime and didn't shoot the ball very well. I told myself I wasn't going to lose this game, that we were going to the title game."

Morton's Eric Cox hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-40 with 6:33 left, and that's when Gianukakis finally got hot.

He sank a 3-pointer from the right wing, then on the next possession, hit one with a hand in his face from the left baseline.

Just to cap it off, the next time down he rose up from near NBA range on the right wing, draining another for a 54-43 lead, and from there Republic hit 14 of 20 free throws to maintain its lead.

"He really stroked it," Republic head coach John Gianukakis said. "I challenged him to make up for that mistake in the first half and he did."

Derek Gianukakis had 19 points and 20 boards, his second consecutive 20-plus rebound game. Eight of those were offensive rebounds, as the Tigers pulled down 18 offensive boards.

Kavan Lehn added four offensive rebounds and drew the defensive assignment of the night against Nik Nilson, Morton's 6-foot-4 leading scorer.

Nilson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

"Kavan played a great game defensively, that's what he gives us," John Gianukakis said. "We make him sell out on the defensive end and we don't ask a lot of him offensively."

Morton (20-8) was left to kick itself, as the Huskies trailed by five in the fourth quarter despite 15 turnovers and shooting 37 percent from the field.

"We definitely had some missed opportunities," Morton head coach Randy Brossard said. "There were a few mental breakdowns, but the kids played their hearts out. Zach had some big, big shots that definitely gave them some momentum while we were trying to make a run at them."

The win gives Zach and Derek a chance to contribute to a second championship team, while players like Todd Orestad and Kavan Lehn watched their older brothers win the title two years ago.

We're back to Saturday night," John Gianukakis said. "That's what we came here for."