Aberdeen impressed in a win over Forks as we review Wednesday’s boys prep basketball games on the Harbor.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Aberdeen 62, Forks 34
A high-energy Aberdeen squad overwhelmed the Forks Spartans en route to a 62-34 victory on Wednesday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
From the opening tip-off, Aberdeen (2-1 overall) used its pressing and trapping defense to bewilder a stunned Spartans squad throughout the first quarter.
The Bobcats opened the game on an 18-4 run off the strength of its stress-inducing pressure defense that caught the taller yet slower Spartans off guard.
Aberdeen senior Isaac Garcia set the tone early. The Bobcats standout guard/forward was all over the court making plays, including and and-1 drive and layup followed immediate by a steal and layup to put the Cats up 7-2.
A three from senior guard Xanto Raya followed by two triples from junior guard Jhacob Quezada put Aberdeen ahead 16-4 with just over half the first quarter elapsed.
Aberdeen’s pressure continued to produce results in the form of turnovers and fast-break opportunities.
Two consecutive steals turned into easy layups from senior guard/forward Ethan Knabe and Garcia for 22-4 lead – Aberdeen’s largest of the period – with just under two minutes to play.
A Quezada drive and layup followed by a lay up from Forks guard Malachi Rowley made it a 24-8 score in favor of the Bobcats after one period of play.
“I told my whole team that we had to be more fierce and attack them,” Garcia said. “We’re a small team, so we’ve got to get steals. … It definitely gave them problems and it forced turnovers because they don’t really have guards like us. We just forced turnovers and made them rush.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Isaac Garcia (1) scores on a jump shot during a 62-34 win over Forks on Wednesday at Aberdeen High School.
The second quarter was a different story.
Forks (2-1) settled in to do a better job of handling the press while crashing the offensive glass.
The Spartans got to within seven points at 28-21 on an offensive rebound and putback from forward Ty Rowley – his eight point of the quarter – with just over a minute to play in the first half.
Aberdeen opened the second quarter with Quezada’s third 3-pointer of the game followed by a free throw from senior forward Jaydon Gladson to go up 20 at 5:42.
But the Bobcats offense went cold after that, failing to score a point for the next 5-plus minutes of the game.
“If we would’ve stayed disciplined in our defense and kept those guys off the boards, that’s what really killed us is because when (Forks) gets going on the glass, they are hard to stop,” Aberdeen head coach Brandyn Brooks said. “But once we nullified that and started working harder together defensively and so we could keep them off the backboard, it gave us a real opportunity to get out and run, and when we run, it’s scary.”
Up 28-21 with under a minute to play in the first half, Quezada hit a clutch three to give the Cats a double-digit lead with 30 seconds left.
Shortly thereafter, a scramble for a loose ball near the Spartans baseline was scooped up by a Forks player in the corner. Garcia once again showed off his hoops-IQ, reading the play to intercept the pass in the paint and score on a layup at the buzzer for a 33-21 halftime lead.
“We were taking too many shots early in the shot clock. We got into a timeout and talked and used the shot clock more wisely,” Garcia said of the late second-quarter run. “I feel like the momentum pushed us into the third quarter so we could just dominate.”
Aberdeen put to rest any Spartans hopes of victory in the third quarter.
Quezada opened the second half with a three followed by a Raya layup off a rifled outlet pass from Garcia to go up 38-21 with less than a minute gone in the third period.
A corner three from senior guard Ryker Scott off another adept assist from Garcia was followed by Scott hitting 1-of-2 free throws to cap a 10-0 Bobcats run and a commanding 41-21 lead at 5:43 of the third quarter.
“We needed to box everyone out first off,” Garcia said. “Then put more pressure on defense and watch the cherry-picking.”
Aberdeen got an offensive rebound and putback from senior forward Luke Martin, a running jumper and a three from Garcia – the latter resulting in a bloody nose that temporarily knocked Garcia out of the game – a Gabe Matthews bucket in the paint and a hustle steal and layup from reserve senior guard Justin Howard to cap a 21-9 period and a 54-30 Bobcats lead.
The Bobcats were never threatened in the fourth quarter as Forks failed to trim the lead to less than 22 points over the final eight minutes of play.
The Bobcats went 23 for 64 from the field (36%), including 8 of 27 from beyond the arc (30%), and made 8-of-19 free throws (42%).
The Bobcats were led by Quezada, who scored 20 points that included 5-of-13 shooting from 3-point range (38%), and Garcia, who had 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting (41%) to go along with seven rebounds and a team-high seven steals.
“I believe we have four of five the best guards around. So if you don’t have four or five guards, we’re coming after you,” Brooks said. “All of my guards can handle the ball and can play man-to-man defense on just about anybody. Any team we go up against, they are going to feel that pressure.”
Aberdeen had 22 steals to just 14 turnovers as a team and grabbed 33 rebounds, led by Howard who had four points, eight boards and two steals without a turnover off the bench.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen guard Justin Howard (11) dribbles behind the back against Forks’ Estevan Ramos during a 62-34 victory on Wednesday in Aberdeen.
“Mark Morris and this were some of the best defensive games we’ve had,” said Garcia, referencing Monday’s win over the Monarchs. “It feels great.”
Brooks said after a season-opening loss to R.A. Long, he had a talk with his team, which features 11 seniors.
“It was my fault against R.A. Long. I was a little hesitant,” he said. “But I had a talk with my senior leaders and they said, ‘You’ve got to let us go coach and we’re going to go get them.’ It’s the way they like to play and how I like to play too. I like seeing them being out there and being aggressive like that.”
Aberdeen hosts Hoquiam in a Myrtle Street Rivalry matchup at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Forks 8 13 9 4 – 34
Aberdeen 24 9 21 8 – 62
Scoring: Forks – T. Rowley 15, M. Rowley 8, Barajas 4, Bennett 4, Ramos 4. Aberdeen – Quezada 20, Garcia 18, Raya 4, Scott 4, Knabe 4, Howard 4, Gladson 3, Martin 2, Matthews 2.
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Kalama 55, Hoquiam 48
A depleted Hoquiam team lost for the fourth time this season, falling 55-48 to Kalama on Wednesday at Kalama High School.
The Grizzlies (1-4) were without starting junior point guard Ryker Maxfield and freshman guard K.J. McCoy due to illness for the second-straight game and got some more bad news as sophomore forward Nite Turpin was scratched from the lineup due to an injury in pre-game warm-ups, leaving Hoquiam without three players that have played significant minutes this season.
Similar to Monday’s loss to Forks, the fourth quarter was what did the Grizzlies in.
Hoquiam trailed 29-27 at halftime and were tied at 42-all heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Grizzlies offense hit just one shot from the floor over the final eight minutes of play – a three from star guard Lincoln Niemi – to suffer the 55-48 loss.
“The kids tried hard and did their best,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “We were definitely missing those three guys tonight, but no excuses. That was the message to the kids. We could still definitely have won the game, we just didn’t make enough plays to do it. … It was a tough night, but we’ll get back to work.”
Niemi had another stellar performance, scoring 31 points – including four 3-pointers – to go along with six rebounds, six steals and two assists with just three turnovers.
Hoquiam sophomore Jaxson Howard hit a three in the second half for his first varsity basket in a moment Coach Niemi said was “pretty cool.”
Senior Joey Bozich continues to produce as a second-scorer for Hoquiam with 12 points, eight rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Forward Talan Abbott led Hoquiam on the boards with 10 for a Grizzlies team that was outrebounded 42-35, including 22-11 on the offensive glass.
Hoquiam also turned the ball over 17 times to just nine for the Chinooks (3-1).
“Those are two stats that we preach the opposite of that,” Coach Niemi said. “So that, to me, is the difference in the game.”
Hoquiam hopes to be healthy when it faces Aberdeen in a Myrtle Street Rivalry contest at 7 p.m. on Monday in Aberdeen.
Hoquiam 19 8 15 6 – 48
Kalama 15 14 13 13 – 55
Scoring: Hoquiam – Niemi 31, Bozich 12, Howard 3, Abbott 2. Kalama – Ketzbeau 22, Koski 9, Sigfridson 9, Crawford 5, Scott 4, Brightbill 2, Fobbs 2, Uhriu 2.
