Aberdeen and Hoquiam squared off in a Myrtle Street barn-burner while Montesano’s grasp on the league lead slipped as we review Monday’s boys prep hoops games.

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Aberdeen 66, Hoquiam 61

Aberdeen made plays down the stretch to beat Hoquiam 66-61 in a Myrtle Street Rivalry matchup on Monday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.

The Bobcats (4-7 overall) trailed 34-29 at the half after Grizzlies point guard Lincoln Niemi hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, capping a 16-point quarter for the skilled sophomore.

Hoquiam (5-11) would go up by as much as seven points twice in the third quarter and led 47-42 after a Niemi fadeaway baseline jumper with 50 seconds left in the frame.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam guard Lincoln Niemi (24) scored a game-high 38 points in a 66-61 loss to Aberdeen on Monday at Aberdeen High School.

But Aberdeen closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run capped by standout junior guard Isaac Garcia’s steal, layup and-1 to trim the Grizzlies’ lead to 47-46 heading to the final period of play.

The Bobcats continued to apply the pressure in the early stages of the fourth quarter, taking a 53-49 lead on a pair of buckets by Garcia and followed by a three from sophomore sharpshooter Jhacob Quezada with 6:40 left to play.

A Niemi drive and layup with 5:56 to go trimmed Aberdeen’s lead to 53-51, but Cats senior forward Tarren Lewis followed with a three to kick off a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of Lewis free throws for Aberdeen’s largest lead of the game at 60-51 with 4:24 on the clock.

But Hoquiam wouldn’t go away as Niemi continued his high-scoring performance with a three to cut it to a 60-54 game at the four-minute mark.

The Grizzlies got to within four at 60-56 on a bucket by junior guard Joey Bozich off a drive and assist by Niemi with 3:15 left in the game.

With the outcome still in doubt, Lewis drove and kicked to Quezada, who splashed in a clutch corner three to extend the lead to 63-56 with 1:46 left.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen guard Jhacob Quezada puts up a 3-pointer during a 66-61 victory over Hoquiam on Monday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.

“I knew (Lewis) saw me in the corner and was going to hit me. I just shot it and it went in,” said Quezada of his three that brought the crowd to its feet and sent the Aberdeen student section into an uproar. “(The students) all went crazy. They always go crazy when I hit a three, so that’s always a good thing about it. Then you’ve got to get back on defense and get a stop.”

A Ryker Maxfield free throw followed by an acrobatic, twirling 3-pointer by a triple-teamed Niemi got Hoquiam back to within a bucket at 63-60 with 39 seconds on the clock.

But that’s as close as the Grizzlies would get as Quezada converted 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to secure the Bobcats’ 66-61 victory.

“I always work on my free throws before every game just for situations like this,” Quezada said. “I’m pretty much ready for it.”

“Jhacob is definitely one of our finishers,” Aberdeen head coach Brandyn Brooks said. “He’s a guy you’ve got to pay attention to because he is going to knock it down.”

Aberdeen had three players score in double figures with Lewis (18 points, 5 rebounds), Quezada (15 pts., 10 reb.) and Garcia (15 pts., 5 reb., 4 steals) leading the way.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen guard Isaac Garcia (middle) scores on a layup against Hoquiam’s Talan Abbott (21) during a 66-61 win on Monday in Aberdeen.

All three drew praise from Brooks after the game.

“Isaac Garcia and Tarren Lewis attacking the basket and forcing their defense to have to shrink in a little more to keep them from getting to the lane (was key),” he said. “The shot that Jhacob hit in that corner was a result of Tarren’s drive and him kicking it out and he’s just wide open.”

The Bobcats went 25 for 56 from the floor (45%) and had 28 rebounds and 12 turnovers in the game.

“I think we were way more locked in together defensively in the fourth quarter,” Brooks said. “Our thing is that we are going to play frantic defense. It’s like chopping a tree down, you’ve got to keep chopping and eventually, the tree is going to teeter and fall. … We played through the fouls and the calls and just stayed together as a team. We did a good job of that in the fourth quarter.”

“I’d like to give credit to Aberdeen. They played hard and well,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “Lewis was a game-changer for them.”

Hoquiam was led by Lincoln Niemi, who had a monster game with 38 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, making several highlight-reel plays along the way.

Bozich added 13 points and seven rebounds for a Grizzlies team that shot 43% on 22-of-51 shooting.

Hoquiam outrebounded Aberdeen 38-28, but the Grizzlies had 17 turnovers in the game – several of those in the backcourt against Niemi in the fourth quarter – leading to 12 Aberdeen points in the final frame and drawing the ire of Coach Niemi.

“If you would have told me we would have lost six balls in the backcourt – and all six of them were clean – I would have said, ‘You are crazy.’ But somehow, six of them were clean and every one of them was scored and I’m not sure how not one of those was a foul,” Coach Niemi said before adding he felt his son Lincoln was not getting the benefit of the calls from the referees. “He’s the best ball-handler in the county. I’m not sure why he is officiated differently, but it happened tonight. One-hundred percent, he was officiated differently than everybody else tonight and I don’t have an answer for why.”

The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Feb. 3 at Hoquiam Square Garden.

“It’s more bragging rights, I guess. That’s about it,” Quezada said of the victory. “We’ve got to go to their house and beat them there, but they are going to be more hungry. So we’ve got to be focused.”

Aberdeen resumes 2A Evergreen Conference play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Black Hills.

Hoquiam hosts Montesano in a 1A Evergreen League game at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Hoquiam 13 21 13 14 – 61

Aberdeen 12 17 17 20 – 66

Scoring: Hoquiam – Niemi 38, Bozich 13, Maxfield 3, Dayton 3, Byron 2, Azevedo 2. Aberdeen – Lewis 18, Garcia 15, Quezada 15, Raya 7, Scott 5, Jones 4, Birch 2.

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PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Mason Fry (22) guards Tenino’s Austin Gonia during the Bulldogs’ 43-28 loss on Monday in Tenino.

Tenino 43, Montesano 28

Montesano missed a chance to have a stranglehold on the race for a 1A Evergreen League title with a 43-28 loss to Tenino on Monday at Tenino High School.

The Bulldogs (9-8, 4-1 1A Evergreen) dropped their first league game of the season by scoring less than 30 points for the third time in 2024-25.

Monte led 19-13 at the half as it looked as though the Beavers (6-11, 4-1) were the ones with an anemic offense.

But Tenino flipped the script in the second half, holding the Bulldogs to four field goals and nine points over the final 16 minutes of the game.

Just three players scored for Montesano in the game, with standout junior forward Mason Fry dropping 16 points and grabbing six rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Monte shot 9 of 32 from the field (28%), including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc (13%).

The Bulldogs had 21 rebounds and 13 turnovers in the game.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Terek Gunter (10) shoots a 3-pointer during the Bulldogs’ 43-28 loss to Tenino on Monday at Tenino High School.

With the loss, Montesano and Tenino are now tied atop the league as the two teams split their two-game league set this season. Monte beat the Beavers 56-35 back on Jan. 8.

The Bulldogs take on Hoquiam at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday in Hoquiam.

Montesano 10 9 5 4 — 28

Tenino 8 5 19 11 — 43

Scoring: Montesano – Fry 16, Ca. Grubb 7, Co. Grubb 5. Tenino – Gonia 21, Feltus 8, Burkhardt 4, Snider 3, Gore 3, Moore 2.