In the first quarter of Tuesday afternoon’s nonleaguer with Chiawana, West Valley boys basketball coach Tyson Whitfield told one of his substitutes who had just checked into the game, “your shorts are on backward.”

Indeed they were. And it was one of a few things a bit off for the third-ranked Rams in a 74-73 loss to the No. 9 Riverhawks.

Chiawana was able to knock down open looks from 3-pointer, battle for the occasional offensive rebound and withstand a fourth quarter flurry to improve to 7-0.

“Everything is about the timeliness especially when it comes to 3-pointers because they are such huge back-breakers and we were able to get rolling there in the third quarter,” longtime Riverhawks coach Chad Herron said. “I’d be a little happier if we played with the lead a more intelligently in the fourth but we had just enough of a lead to hold them off.”

Chiawana, which fell two district wins short of a state berth last winter, knocked down 7 of 16 3s in the first half to take a 36-27 lead into the break. The Riverhawks then canned 5 of 9 in the third and the edge ballooned to as many as 17 points.

West Valley (5-1), still finding its identity with two sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup, started to click in the third quarter. Between the slashing of sophomore guard Austin Birley and the shooting of freshman wind Jrayden Whitfield, the Rams chipped away.

With their length helping force a dozen Chiawana turnovers, West Valley kept closing. Whitfield made five of his seven 3-pointers in the second half en route to 25 points, and Birley had 10 after intermission to match Whitfield honors.

Four missed free throws, kept West Valley afloat and five 3s in fourth nearly helped the complete the comeback. Jett Bremerman his third longball of the game for the final bucket of the contest with .9 seconds left.

Chiawana, though. was able to inbound after a Rams timeout to seal the victory.

“As a team we’re still trying to recognize when to go certain places and what to look for, this is a relatively new group and we’re still growing,” Rams coach Tyson Whitfield said. “Outside of the Mead game, we haven’t had a close one like that, where Chiawana had two single-digit (victories) and they have that experience of knowing how to execute down the stretch.”

Gage Williams scored 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 18 points to lead four Riverhawks in double figures. Jermell Heavens hit four treys and totaled 14, and Santana Sifuentes and Messiah Guy had 12 and 11, respectively.

Bremerman finished with nine points, and Parker Hill and Parker Mills each had seven. Birley added eight rebounds.

Both coaches were happy to squeeze in a nonleague matchup that seemed better suited for the postseason than the eve of Christmas Eve.

“We were fortunate enough to play West Valley and Tyson and I wanted to make sure we got a game to challenge one another,” Herron said. “Hopefully we play them again in two months because that 

means we’re playing them in a different place.”

Added Coach Whitfield: “That’s a tough team and that’s why we schedule a game like that. Just like last year, we want to be battle tested, if we’re looking to make another run.”

Chiawana is off until the new year when Mid-Columbia Conference play resumes.

West Valley returns to action Monday at the SunDome Shootout against Glacier Peak. The Rams defeated the fourth-ranked Grizzlies on the road last season in the regional round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Glacier Peak avenged the loss in the game for third and fifth place at the Tacoma Dome.

“Obviously, we got a little revenge on our mind after they beat us for third last year, and they’re playing really well right now,” Whitfield said.

The Rams will meet Lake Stevens on the second day of the Shootout.