31-4; Coach Red Reese
Eastern set the current school record for victories as the team finished 31-4. In the NAIA Tournament, Eastern took an early 22-1 lead in its first game and defeated Louisiana Tech (66-44). The Savages defeated Southeastern Oklahoma (45-37) to advance to the NAIA's version of the "Elite Eight" before falling to Pepperdine 46-42 in the quarterfinals.
The Savages were led by head coach Red Reese and player Irv Leifer -- both inaugural members of Eastern's Hall-of-Fame. Leifer was chosen to the All-Tournament team, and the following season, earned the Chuck Taylor MVP Award at the tourney. The product of the tiny farm town of St. John, Wash., led the Eagles with an average of 14.0 points per game in the 1945-46 season, and eventually became an inaugural member of the NAIA Hall of Fame.
Reese went on to win 473 games in 31 seasons as basketball coach, with 12 conference titles and berths in three NAIA Tournaments. He also served as athletic director, head football coach and track coach while he was at Eastern, and coached in almost 1,000 athletic events from the 1930's to 1960's.
Eastern lost its first game of the 1945-46 season to Fort Wright College 42-36, but then the Savages redeemed themselves a week later with a 40-23 win over the same team. That started a 27-game winning streak against collegiate competition, including the Eastern's first 15 league games en route to winning the Washington Intercollegiate Conference title.
Although Eastern lost to Central Washington 69-58 to end the regular season, the Savages received one of 32 invitations to the NAIA Tournament (then called the NAIB -- National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball).
The 1945-46 season was just the second year the tournament took place following the conclusion of World War II. In 1945, just 16 teams were invited as the United States began to return to normalcy.
While some schools lagged behind, Reese's squad in 1945-46 made both a triumphant and resounding return. The squad had an average margin of victory of 22.4 points per game, which still stands as a school record today. Included was a 98-32 victory over Gonzaga to set another record with a winning margin of 66 points, and that was followed by an 84-42 pasting of the Bulldogs. Eastern had a pair of 40-point victories against three other opponents, including Whitworth (76-32 and 81-23), Seattle (74-33 and 92-47) and Pacific Lutheran (62-22 and 85-37).
For Eastern's players in 1945-46, basketball was a welcome relief after 10 of the team's 11 players -- plus Reese -- served in the military during World War II.
One of the team's players was Clyde "Chic" Sale, who was a 17-year-old freshman out of Spokane's Central Valley High School. Twice during his first year in Cheney he received his draft notice, and both times then-Eastern President Walter W. Isle was able to defer Sale's appointment until after the season was over.
Sale remembers that two other players -- Leifer and Gablehouse -- were "in the thick of things" during the war with Germany and Japan.
Sale, who still evaluates basketball officials for the West Coast Conference, remembers rooming with Gablehouse and receiving a warning -- "Don't ever touch me while I'm asleep." Sale said Gablehouse once had a Japanese solider jump in his foxhole while he was sleeping, and as a result, Gablehouse feared he would attack anybody who ever touched him while he was asleep. Upon his return from the war, Gablehouse joined Leifer on the All-Winco squad while ranking third in the league with an average of 12.3 points per game.
The only player to not serve during the war was Jack "Rabbit" Roffler, a senior point guard and team captain in the 1945-46 season. Despite being deemed "unfit" for military service because of poor hearing, he was one of the fastest and most athletic players the region had ever seen, and averaged more than 10 points per game in 1946 as an All-WINCO selection. In fact, the Bellingham Herald reported that "Roffler is the swiftest thing we have seen on the court in years," and the NAIA Tournament program called him a "dribbling and driving lay-in artist."
Roffler went on to play professional basketball for the Springfield Squires and Tacoma Mountaineers before settling in Port Townsend, Wash., where he taught from 1948 until retirement. He spent 25 years as a basketball official, earning the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Meritorious Service Award in 1976 and worked eight state tournaments.
Interestingly, Sale had a similar career as an official. He spent 52 years as a football official and more than 30 as a basketball official, and also received the WIAA Meritorious Service Award. Recently, he received notification that he was selected to be a charter member of the Washington Officials Association Hall of Fame.
Several Eastern players started their education and playing careers at Eastern, had them postponed by the war while they served the country and then finally returned. As a result, several didn't get the opportunity to play on the 1945-46 squad because of service to their nation.
One of those was John Lothspeich, who played in the 1941-42 and 1942-43 seasons, and then again in 1946-47 and 1947-48. He played in two NAIA Tournaments (1943 and 1947) as both teams advanced to the quarterfinals. Lothspeich, whose brother Bill played for the 1942-43 squad, went on to retire in 1978 as Eastern's University Relations Director.
Others who played before and after the 1945-46 squad's impressive run were George Hering (1941-42, 1946-47 and 1947-48), Joe Gruber (1944-45 and 1947-48) andDick McLaren (1943-44, 1946-47, 1947-48).
During the '45-46 team's long winning streak, Eastern also served as host for the second-straight year for the second annual State B High School Tournament. Reese was in charge of the tourney, but Eastern's players also assisted with such assignments as locker rooms, floor supervisor, trainer, laundry, property room, program sales and as team sponsors.
Hank Coplen, who would become the long-time director of the State B Tournament in Spokane, helped with housing and as a scorer. Serving as a timer was former Eastern football player and coach Bill Diedrick Sr., whose son Bill Diedrick Jr., would become an All-America quarterback at Eastern and is now offensive coordinator at Notre Dame.
1945-46 Roster
Head Coach: Red Reese
Manager: Ernest Schmidt
Players:
Elmer Burnham - Pine City, Wash.
James "Lefty" Clark - Twisp, Wash.
Quentin Clark - Spokane, Wash./Central Valley
Stan Evers - Cusick, Wash.
Art Fiker - Omak, Wash.
George Gablehouse - Selah, Wash.
Pat Glendenning - Wenatchee, Wash.
Irv Leifer - St. John, Wash.
Les Perfect - Twisp, Wash.
Jack Roffler - Pine City, Wash.
Clyde "Chic" Sale - Spokane, Wash./Central Valley
