There’s nothing like a bit of home-court familiarity and Grays Harbor College’s two basketball teams soaked it in on Saturday afternoon.

The GHC men have played a few non-division games at GHC Gym, but Saturday’s contest against Green River College for the GHC women was their first-ever game at the new on-campus facility.

In reality, both teams needed Saturday’s wins — the men pulled away in the final 13 minutes to claim a 87-72 win, while the women held on for a 74-66 victory.

Men Chokers 87, Gators 72

Grays Harbor never trailed in this NWAC Western Division matchup, but there were two ties that tested the team’s resolve.

The first tie came with 42 seconds left at 30-30, with GHC head coach Alonzo Cole angerly calling timeout to make his point about defense and game intensity stick before halftime. It worked — John Robinson drained a 3-pointer out of the timeout and Jacob Rainey had a steal, which led to a Malik Redmond transition layup just before the halftime buzzer sounded at 35-30.

With 15 minutes to go in the game, GHC’s Brandon Hayes was hit with a technical foul for taunting, giving Green River two free throws and the ball back after a Hayes driving layup. The free throws triggered a 10-2 run to tie the game with 12 1/2 minutes left at 48-48.

Green River called timeout after getting the tie and Grays Harbor benefited. Starting with a Keeandre Rowland 3-point basket, the Chokers knuckled down on defense and kicked off their transition offense for an 18-8 run and a 66-56 lead with just under 6 minutes to go.

This was the closest the Gators would get to the Chokers. The final six-plus minutes of the contest was free-wheeling and end-to-end offense that was entertaining for the crowd and both benches.

“We needed this one for our confidence,” Cole said. “The team played hard and played with confidence. I think we are on our way. We could have beaten Tacoma (on Wednesday) and could have been 2-0, but we are 1-1 and we’ll take it.”

Jared Jackson led the Chokers in scoring with 21 points (including two 3-pointers) and 13 rebounds in the paint, with Rainey 18 points off the bench and Redmond and Robinson 14 points each.

Women Chokers 74, Gators 66

Some nerves and some additional adrenaline worked against Grays Harbor to start this contest against Green River.

The Chokers dominated the first quarter, parlaying several Gator turnovers and second- and third-chance shots into opportunities. However, the points didn’t fall as GHC went 6-for-19 from the field in the stanza.

But, despite the shooting woes, GHC led 15-9 and survived the peaks and valleys of field-goal shooting for a 36-26 halftime lead. In the second half, Green River made attempts to close the gap, but were held off by mini-GHC runs most of the time.

As the game progressed, GHC got better on offense and it needed it in the fourth quarter. Green River’s best run of the night came in the fourth, a 14-3 surge to erase a 55-47 deficit into a 61-58 lead with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

Grays Harbor called timeout to settle the team down, then relied upon its key players to pull away.

Jaylin Brasher-Norwood, Monet Salazar, Angels Sikora and Alexia Thrower all worked in the paint and in the key for jumpers, offensive-rebound putbacks and low-post shots to drive the GHC offense. The four finished the game with a 16-5 run to clinch the game.

“It has been a roller coaster since before the holiday break,” GHC head coach Chad Allan said. “We just can’t seem to make a layup or a shot or a putback. It has been a huge frustration. Once we get that pressure off of us, we can score. We can score a lot of points. We’re playing enough defense to get there. Today, individuals had to step up and do some things. We’re still learning how to be aggressive and compensate for shots not falling.”

Salazar led the Chokers with 13 points and seven rebounds, with Sikora scoring 12 and thrower and Brasher-Norwood 11 points each.

On Wednesday, Grays Harbor will hit the road to take on Highline in Des Moines.

Men

Green River College (72) — Crane 18, Omer 9, Brar 10, Luckett 24, Stenseth, Hill, Williams, Washington 6, Geater 3, Lee. FG — 28-67. FT — 13-24.

Grays Harbor College (87) — Hayes 2, Hickle 2, Rowland 8, Redmond 14, Robinson 14, Rainey 18, Phillips, Bean, Jackson 21, Leslie 8. FG — 35-62. FT — 10-15.

Halftime: Grays Harbor College 35, Green River 30.

Women

GR 9 17 21 19 — 66 GHC 15 21 19 19 — 74

Green River (66) — Gleason 26, Claubaquib 8, Brown 9, Ferretto 2, Dougall 9, Youngblood 6, Fischer 5, Dungan 1, Dahl. FG — 18-55. FT — 21-30.

Grays Harbor (74) — Brisbios 9, Begay 6, Wilson 6, Falealii 3, Thrower 11, Efferson 3, Sikora 12, Brasher-Norwood 11, Salazar 13. FG — 30-81. FT — 6-9.