>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

La Grande senior Anthony Nice drives to the hoop against Marist during a 61-45 quarterfinal loss at the Class 4A state championships Wednesday. Nice finished with 10 points in the game. - Observer/PAUL HARDER

Marist, 23-4, opened strong and pulled away for a 61-45 win against the Tigers, 24-2, in the quarterfinals at the Class 4A state basketball tournament Wednesday.

It all started with the Spartan guards.

David Berney and Steve Bustrin drove to the hoop, more often than not dishing to an open post.

With the La Grande defense making up for lost ground, Marist did its damage in the paint in the first half.

“We knew we were going to have our hands full,” Marist’s Gianni Carter said. “(La Grande) is number one for a reason. They’re quick and we needed to be a little quicker. We showed what we can do tonight.”

The Spartans’ Dustin Waldren worked inside, taking assists from his teammates and converting them into nine first-half points.

When the Marist guards missed their own shots, Waldren was there to gobble up the rebounds off the glass. He finished with six rebounds — two offensive — in the opening 16 minutes of play.

Teammate Michael Murray picked up three offensive rebounds, one of which was the beginning of the end for La Grande.

A seemingly stylish start, a Kevin Attila 3-pointer, gave the Tigers the first points of the game.

But the awestruck team unraveled as the Spartans’ defense clamped down.

“We were nervous,” La Grande head coach Aaron Mills said. “But we couldn’t get over it. We could never settle down.”

Anthony Nice’s first foul of the game came with 5:10 left in the first quarter. It was on a Murray shot following an offensive rebound. It gave Marist the lead for good and started a long night for the Tiger guard.

Nice picked up his second foul 20 seconds later. He would still play 13 minutes in the opening half, but had to dial back his game-changing defense.

Carter capped the first quarter with a 3-point shot, opening a 14-7 lead.

The basket came during a 13-2 run that opened the largest lead in the first half for the Spartans, 22-9.

Eleven offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points made the difference.

“It’s tough to dig out of a hole like that,” La Grande’s Luke Kevan said. “At this stage, all the teams are quality opponents. You can’t spot them points.”

La Grande went into the locker room at the half with its second largest deficit of the year, 28-19.

The Spartan guards kept the Tigers from doing what they do best — generating offense from their defense.

“We were trapping them like we’ve been doing to teams all season,” Mills said. “But the problem we were having is a lack of communication. They would take a shot and we weren’t fully matched up, and the Marist guards were able to come in and get to the rim. That’s what has broken games open for us all year. Not being able to execute that hurt us.”

The Tigers got better in the second half, shooting 41 percent from the floor after a 7-of-22 first-half performance.

But Marist upped its game in the second half too, shooting 57 percent.

“We took some bad shots and forced things in the first half,” Nice said. “Once we got things back under control we played with them. But it was a little too late.”

Carter paced the Spartans with nine second-half points and finished with a game-high 17.

Meanwhile, Nice fouled out with 6:26 left in the game.

“I want to help my team win,” Nice said. “It’s hard to sit on the bench and just watch. But I know there are a lot of guys on this team that can play.”

When the rest of the team walked off the court crushed, there was still fight left in those bewildered and disappointed eyes.

“We are going to win tomorrow,” senior Luke Kevan said. “There’s no way we’re going to lose. We’re not done yet.”

Kevan paced the Tigers with 12 points.

Nice reached double figures with 10.

La Grande was scheduled to play Phoenix this morning in the consolation bracket.

A win could set up a rematch from two years ago when the Tigers played Hidden Valley for the state championship.

“We’re going to come out strong tomorrow,” Nice said. “There’s no way we are going two and out.”

LA GRANDE (45)

Luke Kevan 5-11 2-3 12, Anthony Nice 3-7 2-2 10, Kevin Attila 2-8 4-6 9, Cody McKague 3-9 0-0 8, Gage Winde 1-5 0-0 2, Kevin Boyd 1-1 0-0 2, Zach Nice 1-3 0-0 2, Ryan Tooke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 8-11 45.

MARIST (61)

Gianni Carter 6-11 2-2 17, David Berney 4-11 7-8 15, Dustin Waldron 5-8 5-10 15, Michael Murray 3-7 2-2 8, Trevor Clemens 2-3 0-0 4, Mitchel Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Jamie Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Max Englemann 0-0 0-0 0, Calvin Phillpott 0-0 0-0 0, Pat Millegn 0-0 0-0 0, Steve Bustrin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 16-22 61.