WAPATO -- Does it matter that Wapato's boys didn't score a single basket in the fourth quarter of their showdown Saturday night with Toppenish?

Well, yes, Wolves' coach Adam Strom was a little perturbed about that. And he wasn't crazy about the turnovers down the stretch either.

But most of that late untidiness was forgiven because Wapato didn't need a basket in the final period.

Unleashing their high-paced offense with peak efficiency in the second and third periods, the Wolves blew out to a
29-point second-half lead and settled for a 77-67 victory in the clash for CWAC supremacy.

Willie Blodgett thrilled his home crowd by hitting six 3-pointers for the better part of his 32-point night, and Matt Guevara provided the inside game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Coming off Friday's loss at Quincy, when they managed just 58 points, the Wolves were plenty riled up to face their rival.

"That was a tough loss but we knew we had to be ready for tonight," said Blodgett, who hit three of his treys during Wapato's breakout 33-point second quarter. "We had to show our game and that means get the ball and go. We wanted it fast and we did that in the second quarter."

Wapato's offense in the middle quarters was about as good as any offense could be, connecting on 18 of 30 field goals, 14 free throws and eight 3-pointers.

"We had the wrong mindset last night and it made us want this that much more," Guevara said. "We didn't start that well, but once we got out and ran, things started clicking. They wanted to slow it down, but we got the pace we wanted."

As impressive as Wapato's offense was in the second quarter, the defense took the stage in the third period. The Wolves forced eight turnovers and Toppenish managed just seven points.

After that double-barreled shot, what was once a three-point game with three minutes left in the first half turned into a 72-44 runaway heading into the final quarter.

From Strom's view, Friday's loss was a big catalyst for Saturday's stellar play.

"We have six seniors who were very disappointed in that loss," he said. "They came out tonight with the right attitude and intensity. It was not only a rivalry game, it was for first place in the conference even though it's still early. With that at stake, we really matured as a group."

Toppenish's patient, spread offense was effective early as the Wildcats, who had won four straight conference games to take the CWAC lead, got layins and open shots in the opening period for a 16-14 lead.

But once the tempo increased Wapato's offense found its pace and got its crowd behind the effort. The Wolves also got a big lift by attacking the basket -- six times in the first half they were fouled while scoring.

"We talked about that before the game because we got to the line only 10 times against Quincy and they got to the line 26 times," Blodgett pointed out. "We stepped it up and got them frustrated."

Toppenish opened the final period with a 15-1 run before Strom put his starters back in. Roman Ramirez scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and led four Top-Hi players in double figures.

The first half of the CWAC campaign concludes next Friday with Wapato (6-2, 7-2) at Ephrata and Toppenish (6-2, 7-3) at home against Grandview. Prior to that, however, the Wolves have an intriguing non-leaguer on Tuesday at home against unbeaten White Swan.

TOPPENISH -- S. Sanchez 4, Patrick Peters 16, Gawhega 3, Nathan Mesplie 13, Ra. Ramirez 0, Josh Schutz 11, Stafford 0, Roman Ramirez 18, M. Sanchez 0, Aguilar 2. Totals 23-50 17-23 67.

WAPATO -- Willie Blodgett 32, Cody Nickoloff 10, Alvarado 4, Garza 8, Thomas 0, Truex 1, Ramos 3, Pitt 0, Lamebull 0, Howe 0, Matt Guevara 19. Totals 23-47 21-33 77.

Toppenish 14 21 7 23 -- 67

Wapato 14 33 25 5 -- 77

3-point goals: Topp 4-11 (Mesplie 1-1, Gawhega 1-1, Schutz 1-2, Ro. Ramirez 1-3), Wap 10-26 (Blodgett 6-10, Garza 2-2, Nickoloff 1-1, Ramos 1-3). Turnovers: Topp 20, Wap 17. Rebounds: Topp 37 (Mesplie 8, Schutz 7, Ro. Ramirez 7), Wap 28 (Guevara 10). Total fouls: Topp 27, Wap 22. Fouled out: Mesplie, Aguilar.