Alex Quinn admits he was nervous Saturday night.

Luckily for the Kamiakin boys basketball team, he didn't play like it.

The backup post player put together a solid first half to help lead the Braves to a 63-49 CBBN 3A victory against visiting Kennewick in front of a packed house.

"I just had to come off the bench with as much energy and passion as I could," Quinn said. "I was a little nervous, but that is what we practice for. Situations like this."

Quinn was called on when star Zach En'Wezoh was whistled for two first-quarter fouls.

The situation was even more dire considering the Lions had jumped out to a 12-4 lead with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left in the first.

"I thought he played a tremendous second quarter," Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said. "He rebounded, defended well, and I thought it was important that we didn't lose momentum. Our bench played quality minutes."

More than just the bench helped right the ship Saturday, as starting guards Cody Wilmoth and Javan Williams also were strong in the first half.

Williams scored four points early in the second quarter, and then backup guard Cooper Clyde hit a 3-pointer to give Kamiakin its first lead at 15-12.

"Javan just makes plays for us," Meneely said. "He did a great job of rebounding and being an anchor and settling us down at times."

After two Justin Pedley layups, Quinn closed the first half with back-to-back layins, capping a devastating 19-2 run to close the first half with Kamiakin on top 23-14.

"They came in ready to play," En'Wezoh said. "Without them, we would not have had that breakout."

The role players also played tremendous defense in the first half, limiting Kennewick to just two second-quarter points and holding Bryce Leavitt scoreless. Reggie Clinton scored 12 of the Lions' first 14 points.

"They did a nice job defensively," Kennewick coach Bradyn Leyde said. "We struggled executing against their zone. When you fall behind like that against a great team, it's tough to sustain (a rally)."

En'Wezoh made sure Kennewick would have a tough time coming back in the second half. The 6-foot-7 post player scored 11 third-quarter points after only scoring once in the first half.

After Kennewick had closed within 27-20 early in the third quarter, En'Wezoh put down a two-handed dunk and Pedley had two nice low-post moves to quickly put the Braves ahead by 13.

En'Wezoh then put an exclamation point on the night, throwing down a vicious tomahawk jam while getting fouled by Domach Domach.

En'Wezoh made the free throw to complete the three-point play. It was one of five dunks the big fella threw down on the undersized Lions.

"Anything to please the crowd," En'Wezoh said.

Clinton had a game-high 23 points for the Lions, while Leavitt added 14 second-half points.

En'Wezoh led the Braves with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Pedley finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Wilmoth added eight points, Williams had seven points and seven rebounds and Quinn had four points and five rebounds

"It's definitely good any time you get everyone involved," Quinn said. "It definitely feels good getting this win."

Kamiakin boys roll by Southridge 61-37

By the Tri-City Herald

KENNEWICK -- Justin Pedley scored 16 points to help carry Kamiakin past Southridge 61-37 in a CBBN 3A matchup Saturday.

Offensively, both sides started slowly, with Kamiakin leading 9-6 after one quarter.

"In the first quarter, both teams really didn't find any offense, and then it was a pretty good defensive battle," Southridge coach Jason DeVere said.

But the Braves won the free-throw battle, making it to the line 16 times in the first half while the Suns got there twice.

Kamiakin went 22-of-30 for the game, while Southridge was 14-of-18.

Brad Scott finished with 13 points to pace the Suns.

KAMIAKIN -- Clyde 12, Wilmoth 5, Williams 5, En'Wezoh 11, Quinn 4, Hunt 2, Justin Pedley 16, Crandall 6, Shoop. Totals 16-42 22-30 61.

SOUTHRIDGE -- Mazzei 2, Mendenhall 5, Vorheis 1, Molt 5, Brad Scott 13, Haberling 6, Wyborney 5, Mandell, Hayes, Willard. Totals 10-41 14-18 37.

Kamiakin 919 22 11 -- 61

Southridge 6 4 10 17 -- 37

KENNEWICK — When it comes to basketball, Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely is a big believer in the team concept, and the recent play of his 8-0 Braves speaks loud and clear to that fact.

One man certainly does not make a team. Here's one thing Meneely won't deny, however: Returning two elite post players to a team coming off a third-place finish at state certainly doesn't stink.

With the Braves' big-man senior duo of Justin Pedley and Zach En'Wezoh, the Braves have what might be the best post tandem in the state, which will make them tough to beat if they do return to the 3A state tournament.

"When you go against the elite teams at state, the majority of the time those teams are big and strong. You need guys who can rebound and defend. It's a big deal," Meneely said. "We've been pretty fortunate the last couple years to have a good run of bigs, and we're seeing a lot of the fruits of their labor.

"They spent so much time in the offseason weightlifting and doing plyometrics. That's when players are made. The difference between good and great is what you do when nobody's looking."

Nine months after the Braves' most successful state finish since 1992, the pair were more than ready to hit the floor in the winter and begin another journey to the state playoffs.

"Last year was great, but me and Zach decided we need to get back where we started," said Pedley, a 6-foot-6 senior averaging 18.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game. "We took that vision this summer and applied it to our team. We see it as our mission to get back to Tacoma."