ELMA — Montesano’s offense came alive in the second quarter to propel the Bulldogs to victory over Elma 61-38 on Thursday night.
With the win, the Bulldogs (12-8, 6-2 Evergreen 1A) will still have a chance to capture the second seed in the district tournament depending on the outcome of a matchup between Forks and Hoquiam on Friday.
Montesano was locked in a close one early on as the Eagles (1-18, 0-7) hit a few jumpers to make it a one-possession game in the opening frame.
Elma hit two of its four 3-pointers in the first quarter and trailed 11-10 at the end of one period.
Monte turned it on offensively in the second frame and had success finding driving the lane. The Bulldogs aggressive style of play yielded free-throw attempts with Monte going 9-for-10 at the charity stripe in the second frame.
Bulldogs head coach Doug Galloway was impressed with Elma’s shooting in the early going and was encouraged with the way his team stuck with its game plan.
“Teams are going to hit threes. It is what it is,” he said. “You have to give Elma credit to hit those threes right off the bat, but we stuck with it and kept running our stuff.”
Elma’s Carter Jacobson takes a jump shot in the first quarter against Montesano on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Monte’s second-quarter push was enough to give the Bulldogs a 34-17 lead at halftime.
Though the Eagles couldn’t find a way to close the gap in the second half, Elma head coach Jeff Niemi said he felt like this is one of the best games his team had played all year.
“If you would have told me we only turned the ball over ten times against Monte I would have said, ‘I’ll take that,’” Niemi stated. “We have never shown, until this day, that we can handle pressure that well. That’s one thing I thought we started to execute much better toward the end of the season.”
Montesano maintained its advantage throughout the third quarter with Sam Winter scoring five of his team-leading 12 points in the frame.
The Bulldogs opted to give their bench players some extra playing time in the second half while Elma elected to keep its seniors on the floor until late in the fourth quarter on Senior Night.
Junior guard Cody Vollan led the Eagles with 10 points and seven rebounds in Elma’s last game of the season.
Niemi said he appreciated the effort of his seniors and thinks their leadership will have a positive influence on the direction of the program.
“I’m really proud of my seniors. They accepted their roles and worked their hardest to be great in their roles,” he said. “They showed the younger guys that being on a team means accepting your role and doing what the team needs.”
Elma is looking forward to next season while the Bulldogs will be looking forward to the 1A District IV tournament.
Montesao’s Trace Ridgway, right, sinks a fadeaway jump shot in the third quarter while defended by Elma’s Brady Johnston on Thursday night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Montesano will be paying close attention to the result of Friday’s game between Hoquiam and Forks as the outcome of that contest will determine whether the Bulldogs get the second or the third seed coming out of the 1A Evergreen League.
Galloway isn’t sure who his team will face in the first round of districts on Feb. 7 in Chehalis, but he is confident his starters and role players will be ready for the challenge.
“It’s always important to get as many kids playing time as you possibly can. Those (bench players) do a good job when they go in,” he said. “I know they’re going to have confidence going into the tournament and I’m excited about that.”
Elma 10 7 13 8 – 38
Montesano 11 23 15 12 – 61
Top Players: Montesano – Winter (12 pts.), Trace Ridgway (11 pts.); Elma – Vollan (10 pts. 7 reb.), Brady Johnston ( 8 pts., 6 reb.)
