A little bit of history was made at the Hoquiam Square Garden, right in the middle of Hoquiam’s resurgence in the Evergreen 1A League and Montesano’s rough night on the court.
With 1:01 remaining in the first quarter, senior Jack Adams III drained a 3-point basket from the left corner to become Hoquiam’s all-time career scoring leader with 1,426 points. After that, the Grizzlies settled down and ran past the Bulldogs, 81-44, on Wednesday night.
Adams, who was two points away from the record prior to the game, led all scorers with 23 points and 12 rebounds to finish with 1,443 career points. Victor James added 20 points for Hoquiam, while freshman Sam Winter led Montesano with 10 points.
For Adams, the record was a benchmark in a long journey of basketball — the work on and off the court, the games played and the teammates who helped him along the way. Adams’ older brother, Drew, played with Joey Wayman, who held the career scoring mark at 1,423 points, in 2008-09.
“I played so many years with my friends, just having fun, and to be able to do it with this team means a lot to me,” Adams said. “I’ve been working for this for a long time and it feels good. I was pretty excited before the game, a bit anxious.
“(Joey’s) a great player,” Adams added. “Next to my brother, I told myself I wanted to play just like him. It is an honor to break his record, because he was a heck of a player. It means a lot.”
There was some anxiousness in the crowd when Adams got the ball in the first quarter. He tied the record early on with a transition drive and layup two minutes into the contest. From there, he sent off a few assists, pulled down a few rebounds and missed a few shots until he got the ball in the corner. Adams drained the trey, received a thunderous applause break from the crowd and got back on defense.
At the end of the quarter, with Hoquiam leading 19-9, Hoquiam P.A. announcer Paul McMillian announced Adams’ accomplishment. This triggered a standing ovation from the crowd. Adams acknowledged the crowd during the timeout and both teams returned to action with three quarters left to play.
“I’m proud of Jack,” HHS head coach Curtis Eccles said. “I knew going in this was something he’s really strived to achieve and he’s a great player. He’s been like this all season. And really, he’s extended his game — he did a great job of distributing the ball, getting rebounds and working away the ball. We’re all proud of him. He had a great night and we congratulate him for passing Joey, who was a great player for Hoquiam. Tonight, he showed he can do other things than just score.”
Hoquiam’s defense kicked in in the second quarter, holding the Bulldogs to just one basket in the final 4:15 of the first half en route to a 37-20 halftime lead. At times, Montesano (3-1, 9-6) had a bushel of offensive rebound chances to put back for points, but couldn’t convert them.
After the break, the Grizzlies (4-0, 10-5) put together their best offensive quarter of the season — a combination of transition and half-court offense that wore down the Bulldogs as the quarter progressed. Adams scored 11 of his 23 points in the quarter as Hoquiam put the game away with a 29-13 frame and a 66-33 lead.
“It looked like (Hoquiam) had fresher legs, were faster, than we were,” Montesano head coach Doug Galloway said. “I thought their defense got their offense going. They played a good basketball game. They shot the ball well. We didn’t shoot the ball well. We didn’t convert the chances we had. They did a great job and I was impressed with the way Hoquiam played tonight.”
“(The kids) did a great job of playing defense, running on the break, distributing the basketball like we like them to,” Eccles said. “More importantly, our defensive side of the game has been our weakness at times. Tonight, the kids really stepped up on defense against a quality Montesano team. I thought the kids played great team basketball. I’m proud of them.”
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter as Hoquiam led by as many as 38 late in the contest.
Jerod Steen pulled in seven rebounds for the Grizzlies, with Jace Verner adding five assists and four steals and Ryan Espedal dished out five assists.
On Friday, Hoquiam hosts Tenino. On Saturday, Montesano hosts Seton Catholic.
Montesano 9 11 13 11 — 44 Hoquiam 19 18 29 15 — 81
Montesano (44) — Ridgway 6, Bates 3, Winter 10, Chapman 4, Quinn, Valley 9, Farmer 2, Dierkop 8, Nicklas 2. FG — 18-65. FT — 4-8.
Hoquiam (81) — Spradlin 10, Espedal, Rivera, Eccles 4, Nash 6, Folkers 2, Steen 3, Adams III 23, James 20, Varner 12. FG — 32-59. FT — 8-11.
JV — Hoquiam won. Jonny Smith (H) cited for all-around play.
