Selah Passes Another Regular Season Test, Wins 75-58 over Ellensburg

Selah (17-1) almost gets excited when they find themselves in a close game.

Up 64-56 over Ellensburg in the fourth quarter in a game heard live right here on 1460 ESPN Yakima, Selah coach Tim Garza saw it as a teaching opportunity.

"I called a timeout, and I loved that my players eyes were wide open," said Coach Garza, "We knew with senior night, this was going to be a challenge. I told them I expect you to grow up, and they did."

The last time Selah and Ellensburg met was at the Sundome Shootout back on December 28th. A game where Selah ripped apart Ellensburg 77-44.

In front of a near sell-out crowd on senior night, the Bulldogs were determined to defend their home court with vengeance.

Mid-way through the first quarter, everything was going Selah's way. Elijah Pepper and Calving Herting hit a couple three's to give Selah a 17-4 advantage.

At the same time, Ellensburg's captain Steele Venters had to leave the game due to foul trouble.

That's when Ellensburg guard Anders Ott said enough is enough.

Ott single-handedly got his team back in the game. He hit Stephen Curry-esque shots en route to a 20 point first half; and gave his team a 28-27 lead.

"My team was helping me get open. I had some open looks, and they went in," said a humble Anders Ott.

Selah made the half-time adjustment of putting a box and one defense on Anders Ott.

As a result of the change, Ott was limited to only a single point for the rest of the game.

As Ott fell off the map, so did the rest of his team. Not one Ellensburg player scored for the first five minutes of the second half.

Following a fourth quarter timeout by Coach Garza, Selah finished with a devastating 12-2 run to beat Ellensburg 75-58.

Noticeable performance's by Selah include Elijah Pepper, who led his team with 28 points. His brother Noah Pepper had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

It's also worth mentioning that the CWAC's second leading scorer Steele Venters was limited by Selah's defense to just 12 points.

The Selah Vikings have two largely unimportant games left in the regular season against Othello (5-12) and East Valley (7-11). But Coach Garza is adamant nothing is going to change.

"These guys have earned their playing time. I always tell my guys, whoever competes the hardest in practice will get the most minutes. And that's what you're seeing."

Selah might be taking a backseat to some of the more competitive game's going on in the Yakima Valley. But they also know come playoff time, every team across the state is going to be gunning for them.