Columbia Basin defeated Yakima Valley in the East Region opener at home 74-62. Garrett Streufert paced the CBC offense with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on 70% shooting. Tyler Kurtz added 17 points and 9 rebounds in the effort.

Right out the gate, CBC seem poised to slow down the Yakima fast break with backcourt pressure and different full court looks. Both teams exhibited post-new year sluggishness on offense as the half prodded along in the 20's. Nine different Basin players scored in the half but none with more than 6. Coach Anthony Owens' bunch were committed to defense tonight as they held Yakima to just 10 field goals and 25 points in the first period taking a 29-25 lead into half.

Right out of the locker room, CBC took control of the game on both ends of the floor. Despite a successful first half zone, Yakima chose to play man-to-man in the second half which allowed the Hawks to find their stride. Both Kurtz and Streufert continually found themselves in one-on-one situations in the middle of the floor and they made the Yaks pay. 

After creating some turnovers, Streufert and CBC were able to stretch the lead to 12 with 15 minutes to go before breaking it open. Lead by the hounding on-ball defense of Donovan Cooper, Basin was able to create easy looks in transition and early offense. Once Kurtz found his stride, the 6'8 forward scored 14 of his 17 in the second half. The Hawks were able to push their lead to as many as 20 points with 5 minutes to go before subbing in a new unit off the bench.

Yakima was able to net a couple of 3's late after the game was in hand to cut it to 12 points but ultimately, CBC was too much to handle. The win gets Hawks on track early in league before returning to the home court on Wednesday to take on Big Bend.