Rams fall to Grizziles; open district tourney on Friday

January 30, 2012

Riverside's Logan Owens goes strong to the basket during first half action on Saturday.

When the going got tough, the Newport Grizzlies turned to “Wiley Time” to get thing moving in the right direction.
Jake Wiley, the Grizzlies’ 6-foot-7 senior, scored a game-high 22 points (12 in the second half) as Newport put away the Riverside Rams 50-41 on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
Newport, which led on 19-17 at halftime, opened up a 40-30 lead in the third quarter on the strength of 10 points from Wiley.
The Rams (0-10 in the Northeast A League) refused to go away easily.
Sparked by nine quick points from guard Jordan Wood, the Rams trimmed the Grizzly lead to 44-41 midway through the final quarter.
Newport (5-5) responded to the challenge down the stretch with steal and a bucket by Keith Coulson and seven free throws by Jeron Konkright.
Wood, playing his final home game, led the Rams 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Riverside opens District VII play with a loser-out game at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Colville. The Grizzlies first round game on Friday is against Lakeside.