Montesano faced one of its toughest tests of the season when it faced defending 2A Evergreen Conference champion Black Hills as we review Monday’s prep games on the Harbor.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL GAMES

Black Hills 81, Montesano 72

In what was likely Montesano’s toughest non-league test, the Bulldogs finished with mixed results in an 81-72 loss to Black Hills on Monday in Montesano.

The Bulldogs (5-1 overall) and Wolves (5-1) combined for 153 points in the high-scoring affair, one in which Monte nearly erased a halftime deficit before watching Black Hills pull away time and again.

In the first quarter, Monte looked overmatched as the Wolves’ high-energy tempo coupled with eight turnovers led to as much as a seven-point deficit for the Bulldogs.

A short run by Monte late in the first quarter, paced by five points from senior guard Terek Gunter, had the Bulldogs down 15-14 before a drive and finger-roll bucket by Black Hills guard James Morgan made it a 17-14 game after one period of play.

At the start of the second frame, Black Hills stretched its lead to 24-16 on a Morgan turnaround jumper and went up double-digits when guard Quinton Morrill scored on a breakaway for a 31-21 lead at the 3:51 mark.

Monte would get the deficit back to single digits multiple times down the stretch of the second quarter, cutting the Wolves’ lead to 41-32 on a three from junior guard Ryan Weidman with 18 second left in the first half.

But every time Monte got closer, Black Hills had a response.

Wolves junior guard Peyton Faught scored on a jumper with two seconds on the clock to put Monte in a 43-32 halftime hole.

“We had two options, we could either fell bad about ourselves and roll over and lose by 30 or come out with energy, effort, play some defense and attack the basket and get right back into it,” Monte head coach Shaydon Farmer said. “We knew there was no such things as an 11-point shot, so it was two points and a stop, two points and a stop.”

Monte got back in the game at the start of the second half, going on a 9-0 run capped by a drive and layup off the dribble from senior forward Mason Fry to cut the deficit to a bucket at 43-41.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Mason Fry scores two points during a 81-72 loss to Black Hills on Monday at Montesano High School.

Black Hills immediately responded with a three from guard Kona Bell with Weidman returning the favor with a triple of his own.

After a stop by the Montesano defense, the Bulldogs had a chance to tie or take the lead when Weidman was fouled while shooting from beyond the arc. But the Monte guard missed the first two free throws and followed by converting the third to make it a one-point game at 46-45 in favor of the Wolves with 3:27 to play in the third.

After a couple of Black Hills free throws, a Fry offensive rebound and putback cut the Wolves’ lead to 48-47 with 2:03 to play.

“(Black Hills) plays so fast and so active,” Farmer said. “They’re aggressive and their hands are always in passing lanes and they are taking chances. We really struggled with that.”

With Morgan on the bench with four fouls and Wolves shooters struggling to hit shots late in the frame, the Bulldogs let additional opportunities to tie or take the lead slip away due to carelessness with the ball, with four turnovers over the final two minutes of the frame.

Over its final five possessions of the quarter, Montesano committed four turnovers, with a pair of free throws from Monte junior post Caden Grubb represented the Bulldogs’ lone points during a 8-2 run to close out the period.

Trailing by seven entering the final eight minutes, Monte saw the game get away from them as Black Hills, specifically Faught, got red hot.

Faught hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth to put the Wolves back up by double digits at 67-55.

The Bulldogs cut the Black Hills lead to 69-61 after a 6-0 run that included two baskets in the paint from Caden Grubb and another on a loose ball scoop and layup from Fry with 3:32 left in the game.

Once again, Black Hills responded.

A Faught pull-up jumper ended Monte’s run followed by a breakaway layup from Morrill as the Wolves took a 73-61 lead at the 2:54 mark.

A block by Weidman turned into a basket from Gunter at the other end as Monte trimmed the deficit to 73-67 with 1:12 to play.

But time ran out on the Bulldogs as they were forced to foul, with the Wolves hitting 8-of-10 free throws over the final minute of the game to hand Monte its first loss of the season.

“Those guys are very good and we kind of expected a high-point game,” Farmer said of Black Hills. “Obviously, we hoped to play better defense. … But we scored 72 and we’re going to win some ballgames scoring 72 points.”

The Bulldogs were led by Caden Grubb with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting (62%) and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line (90%). Grubb finished the game with a double-double, collecting a team-high 11 rebounds in the loss.

Weidman finished with 15 points while Gunter and guard Colton Grubb had nine apiece for the Bulldogs.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Terek Gunter (10) scores on a shot inside the paint during an 81-72 loss to Black Hills on Monday at Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium in Montesano.

Fry finished with eight points and nine rebounds for a Monte squad that shot 27 of 52 from the field (52%) and 14 of 22 from the charity stripe (64%).

The 72 points scored was one less than Montesano’s season high, which came on Dec. 3 in a 73-42 win over Raymond-South Bend.

Turnovers were an issue for the Bulldogs with 17 for the game, many of which turned into points for the fast-breaking Wolves.

“We’ve got to take better care of the ball,” Farmer said. “We want to play these games now so we’re not surprised come (the playoffs) in February. I’m glad we competed well. If we got through non-league undefeated, we didn’t do a very good job scheduling. I’m glad we got this first loss early. We lost, but we competed well with a good, quality team.”

The Bulldogs host another 2A Evergreen Conference school when they face W.F. West at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Black Hills 17 26 13 25 – 81

Montesano 14 18 17 23 – 72

Scoring: BH – Faught 21, Morgan 18, Q. Morrill 15, T. Morrill 9, Bell 7, Robinson 7, Stallings 2, Burgess 1. Montesano – Ca. Grubb 25, Weidman 15, Gunter 9, Co. Grubb 9, Fry 8.

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Wahkiakum 51, Willapa Valley 50

Willapa Valley lost a close one 51-50 to Wahkiakum on Monday at Wahkiakum High School.

The Vikings (3-2) scored just five points to face a nine-point deficit after one quarter but rallied for a 14-7 second frame to trail 21-19 at the half.

But too many missed free throws led to the loss, according to Valley head coach Derek Rask.

“Another close game and tough loss for us. We struggled to match Wahkiakum’s energy in the first quarter. We fought back and got back into the game, but our biggest struggle all evening was at the free-throw line,” he said. “I feel like that was the difference in the game. We missed 11 free throws and it was just too difficult to overcome that, especially in a close game.”

Brody Aust and Lucas Lusk each scored in double figures for Valley with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The Vikings face Naselle in their 1B Coastal League opener at 7 p.m. on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.

Willapa Valley 5 14 15 16 – 50

Wahkiakum 14 7 17 13 – 51

Scoring: WV – Aust 15, Lusk 11, Russell 9, Jarvis 6, King 5, Mican 4.