Five days before he could be signing a Letter of Intent to play college football, West Valley senior Parker Mills enjoyed another contact sport Friday night.

Battling through a physical Moses Lake defense, while ironically battling through his own foul woes, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound Mills kept the Rams on course for its first 12-0 romp through the CBBN in six years.

The three-time first-team all-leaguer scored a game-high 23 points and plucked 12 rebounds to help the Rams pull away from the Mavericks, 78-58, for their ninth straight win.

BOYS STANDINGS/GIRLS STANDINGS

“Two guys, three guys hanging on his arm, and I told him, ‘If they’re not going to call it, put a hole in the guy’s chest,’” West Valley coach Tyson Whitfield said. “That’s where he decided to come out in the second half and play like a man, reestablish the physicality, and Moses Lake wanted no part of that.”

Relegated to observer much of the first half because of three first-quarter fouls, Mills made up for lost time after the intermission.

He scored 16 points after the break, keying an 18-0 run to end the third quarter after Moses Lake had sliced an 11-point halftime deficit to two by scoring the first nine points of the third quarter.

“I didn’t realize I had three fouls. I went to the bench and they’re like, ‘You have three, you’re done for the half,’” he said. “It was a little frustrating, but it’s about making adjustments, realizing they’re going to let us play and playing through the contact.”

Sophomore star Austin Birley scored 15 points, which included a first-half dunk over a defender and a two-hande flush after the break, and shined brightest on the defensive end, keying the effort to slow Mavs guard Brady Jay.

With the lanky Birley hounding him, the Montana-bound quarterback finished with 11 points, less than half of his season average. Jay scored 17 in the first meeting between the teams.

“We put him on him the first time and he was a little disappointed with the point total Brady got,” Whitfield said. “He was definitely more determined this time around.”

With Mills sidelined, the Rams relied on their sharp-shooting wings to build a 42-31 lead.

Freshman Jrayden Whitfield drilled five 3-pointers before the intermission and finished with 18 points, and lefty sophomore Jett Bremerman netted 10 first-half points and canned four treys in the game en route to 16 points.

West Valley (8-0 CBBN, 14-2 overall) begins the final third of its conference schedule Saturday with the short trip to rival Davis.

The Pirates (5-3, 5-11) have won three straight conference games.

Tyce Miller topped Moses Lake with 19 points, and Grady Walker added 15. Caden Barney had nine in the first quarter and finished with 11 points.

The Mavericks (5-3, 11-5), who fell to Davis last February for the conference’s second berth to state, are tied with the Pirates and are half game behind Sunnyside, a 75-61 winner Friday at Eisenhower.

Moses Lake hosts the Cadets on Saturday, and visits Davis on Thursday. The Mavs host the Grizzlies to cap the regular season Feb. 13.