In a clash of styles, Aberdeen’s boys turned the tables on Hoquiam.
Ben Dublanko hit five 3-pointers and dropped 32 points to lead Aberdeen past Hoquiam, 81-59, in the season’s second meeting of boys basketball rivals Monday night at Hoquiam Square Garden.
The Bobcats (5-13) avenged a 68-62 loss to the Grizzlies last month in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen as a team hit nine 3-pointers in the first half and went into the halftime break up 41-30.
The final score does not reflect how close the game was halfway through the third quarter when Hoquiam went on a run and cut the deficit to two.
The Grizzles had their success by getting to the paint and feeding Matt Brown inside. Victor James also had success driving to the paint and either finishing at the rim or finding an open teammate.
When Aberdeen head coach Mark Buckman called a timeout to get his team back in rhythm he reminded them who the defensive priority should be.
“We wanted to sag and help down low for Matt Brown. He’s a great player down low and really uses his body well,” he said. “We were kind of sagging off Rayyon Dayton in the high post and we allowed him to shoot that shot and help out more down low where Brown is at.”
When Hoquiam’s offense stalled late in the third and early in the fourth, Aberdeen really pulled away. The Bobcats outscored the Grizzlies 27-11 in the fourth quarter and found the hot hand from three that had temporarily gone cold in the third.
With all the attention Hoquiam payed to Dublanko, he also had success driving and kicking out to players like Javier Bojorge who scored 19 points of his own on a solid night of shooting.
Buckman said it was good to see his team catch fire from deep considering their lack of size.
“The way we’ve been playing all season is we kind of live and die by the three. We know we’re a small team,” he said. “We have to use our speed and quickness to draw in (the defense) and kick out (passes).”
The Grizzlies (7-12) had four players score in double figures. Dayton led the way with 15 points and Brown added 14.
Hoquiam head coach Curtis Eccles said he tried to make some adjustments to shore up his team’s perimeter’s defense.
“One of our adjustments was to try to limit their 3-point attempts in the second half, and I thought we did that,” he said “They hit nine in the first half and that was the difference. In the third quarter we came back and cut it to two, but unfortunately we had some questionable calls lean toward them and it was a tailspin after that.”
In addition to being impressed by his team’s shooting, Buckman also highlighted senior Jeshua Maxwell, who had 11 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
The Bobcats visit Centralia in a critical contest Wednesday. The Grizzlies will also return to league play on Thursday, when they face Montesano.
Aberdeen 16 25 13 27 — 81
Hoquiam 14 16 17 11 — 59
Aberdeen (81) — Manwell 11, Bojorge 19, Dublanko 32, Coburn 3, Pisani 7, Timmons 3, Elrod 3, Farrer 2, Timmons 1. FG — 28-62 (.452). FT — 13-19 .
Hoquiam (59) — Dayton 15, Eccles 7, Quintanella 12, Morales, James 11, Brown 14, Folkers, Larsen, Bumstead. FG — 15-64 (.234). FT —11-16.
JV — Aberdeen 52, Hoquiam 34. Nick Farrer 15 points for Aberdeen.
C Squad — Aberdeen 39, Hoquiam 32. Dylan Ritchie 18 points for Aberdeen.
Aberdeen’s Javier Bojorge goes around Hoquiam’s Bryson Eccles for a layup on Monday. Bojorge finished with 19 points in the Bobcats 81-59 victory. (Brendan Carl Photography)
