Hoquiam’s season came to an end as we review Monday’s tournament pigtail and seeding games.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Columbia-White Salmon 69, Hoquiam 58
Hoquiam’s season came to an end with a 69-58 loss to Columbia-White Salmon in a 1A District 4 play-in game on Monday at Columbia High School.
The Grizzlies (7-15 overall) took an early 20-15 lead after one quarter thanks in large part to eight points from senior forward Tage Dayton and seven points from sophomore guard Ryker Maxfield.
But the game got away from Hoquiam in the second quarter as the Bruins (13-8) used a smothering press defense to outscore the Grizzlies 20-3 in the frame.
Hoquiam would cut the CWS lead to four late in the third quarter, but a three by Bruins senior guard Jaden Wang put the Grizzlies down seven entering the final quarter of play.
The Grizzlies rallied in the fourth quarter behind four 3-pointers by sophomore guard Lincoln Niemi, but were unable to overtake the Bruins to suffer the season-ending loss.
“Their press really bothered us. In the second quarter, we made rushed decisions that cost us,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “We did a good job of battling, but that second quarter was a really tough thing to overcome.”
Niemi led Hoquiam with 18 points and eight assists.
Maxfield had a double-double with 10 points, 10 steals and four assists while junior guard Joey Bozich had a team-high 11 rebounds for Hoquiam.
The Grizzlies shot 43% from the field on 21-of-49 shooting – including 7 of 25 from beyond the arc (28%) – and outrebounded the Bruins 36-32.
But 30 turnovers led to Hoquiam’s undoing, according to Coach Niemi.
“That is a lot of turnovers for us,” he said. “Credit to (CWS), they did a good job forcing those at times and their length and athleticism definitely bothered us. It wasn’t just us making mistakes. They forced some good plays too.”
Coach Niemi thanked his seniors, Dayton, Victor Azevedo and Edgar Tobar for their ability to “change for the better,” over their prep careers and addressed what his team needs to do to improve next season.
“The main message to the kids that are coming back is: If you hate (losing) as much as I do, which I hope is a lot, you’ve got to put in the time to not let it happen again,” he said. “We got some great experience this year and got some game action you can’t replicate anywhere else. That is really going to help us and we believe we have a bright future. But it’s going to take work. We don’t just want to get older. We want to get bigger, faster and stronger.”
Hoquiam 20 3 21 14 – 58
CWS 15 20 16 18 – 69
Scoring: Hoquiam – Niemi 18, Dayton 11, Maxfield 10, Azevedo 9, Bozich 5, Tobar 3, Byron 2. CWS – Hamilton 18, J. Wang 17, MacCormack 9, H. Wang 7, Huerta 7, B. Wang 5, Salcedo 4, Hainline 2.
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Ocosta 71, Naselle 46
Ocosta had a complete performance to lock up the 1B Coastal League’s No. 2 seed with a 71-46 victory over Naselle on Monday at Raymond High School.
The Wildcats (14-6) were hot from the start, holding Naselle (11-9) to just two points while getting six points apiece from Sonny Beard and Jesus Agramon to lead 16-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The Comets got back in the game with a 21-point second quarter to trail Ocosta 28-23 at the half, but behind 10 points from senior guard Kayden Turner, the Wildcats outscored Naselle 21-10 in the third frame, taking a comfortable 49-33 lead into the final period of play.
Ocosta kept its foot on the proverbial gas pedal over the final eight minutes of play with five different Wildcats scoring in a 22-point fourth quarter to secure the victory.
“Tonight was finally the performance that I’ve been waiting to see from our team,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “We moved the ball around very well as evidenced by the 19 assists, and did a great job of hunting the match-ups that we wanted to attack. Our shooting finally clicked as a result as we took rhythm shots tonight.”
Turner (18 points, 7 rebounds), Beard (18 pts., 10 reb., 3 steals) and Dalton Welch (14 pts., 5 reb., 5 ast., 3 stl.) each scored in double figures while guard Jesus Agramon had nine points and a team-high eight assists for Ocosta.
Jacob Lindstrom, who blistered Ocosta for 28 points in the Wildcats’ loss on Saturday, was held to what Quinby said was a “very hard-earned” 18 points to lead Naselle.
“My whole starting lineup played very well together and Luis Solis brought great energy off the bench,” Quinby said. “I told the boys that we finally played to our potential and am hoping that this is the first step towards a magical finish of the season.”
With the No. 2 seed now locked up, Ocosta hosts Pe Ell at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in a 1B District 4 first-round game.
Naselle 2 21 10 13 – 46
Ocosta 16 12 21 22 – 71
Scoring: Naselle – Lindstrom 18, Strange 16, Anderson 8, Burkhalter 2, Paneken 2. Ocosta – Beard 18, Turner 18, Welch 14, Agramon 9, Prigmore 4, White 3, Ceja 3, Wyland 2.
