Entering the postseason, every team wants to take its game to the next level.
The Hoquiam Grizzlies did that and more en route to an 86-57 victory over La Center in a 1A District 4 Tournament first-round game on Friday in Hoquiam.
The Grizzlies (17-4 overall) had four players score in double figures and hit a staggering 14 3-pointers as a team to turn a close game early into a rout.
In the first quarter, the two teams traded 3-pointers and leads multiple times, with Hoquiam taking a slim 19-17 lead after eight minutes of play.
In the second stanza, the Grizzlies did what they do best and cranked up the energy.
Hoquiam opened the frame with a 6-0 run capped by a Micheal Lorton Watkins block that turned into a Zander Jump bucket for a 25-17 lead at the 5:52 mark, forcing a Wildcats timeout.
The Grizzlies pushed the advantage to 30-19 on a Euro-step drive and bucket by senior forward Justice Stankavich with 3:40 to go.
In an attempt to keep the game from getting out of control, the Wildcats began to trap the Grizzlies in the half-court to some success. La Center went on a quick 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 30-25 with just over three minutes left in the half.
That was as close as the Wildcats would get as Hoquiam began to figure out La Center.
Leading 32-27 with less than a minute to go in the first half, Hoquiam closed the second quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Lorton Watkins to extend the lead to 38-27 at halftime.
“The game plan was to limit threes. We know they like to play up-tempo and shoot threes,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said of his team’s ability to slow down the Wildcats offense. “I thought we did a great job the whole game on offense, it was just figuring the defense out.”
In the third quarter, Hoquiam showed a next-level killer instinct, putting the game away with a dominant 24-7 period.
Lorton Watkins opened the second half with a pull-up jumper, a steal and layup and was followed by a three from senior guard Jake Templer to take a commanding 45-27 lead.
Then Stankavich took over. The 6-foot-2 senior got red-hot, scorching the Wildcats by scoring 10 points in a 13-0 run that ended with Hoquiam up 58-29 with 1:15 on the clock.
“Coach told us to put them under,” Stankavich said of his head coach’s words at the halftime break. “He said, ‘They shouldn’t have a chance in the second half,’ and that we needed to be hungry. We needed to come out wanting to get this W by more than what we had shown at the time.”
Hoquiam led 62-34 at the end of the third and outscored La Center 24-23 in the fourth quarter while playing its reserves for the final half of the period.
The Grizzlies were lights out from the floor on Friday, shooting 57.8% on 33-of-57 shooting, including an outstanding 14 for 22 from the 3-point line (63.6%).
“We’ve been really emphasizing sharing the ball and getting the open look at practice,” Niemi said. “We knew (La Center) liked to really help (on defense) a lot. So we felt like we could kick out for some wide-open threes. … We practice everyday on making the extra to the guy that’s open and we did a great job of that tonight.”
Hoquiam had nine different players score in the game, four in double figures.
Stankavich led the way with 24 points and six rebounds while Lorton Watkins had 22 points and a game-high 12 assists.
Jump added 17 points and seven rebounds with Templer adding 11 points and a pair of assists for a Grizzlies team that has 26 assists as a team.
“When we share the ball really well, it brings energy to the team and it actually helps us on defense too,” Stankavich said. “Energy is a big part of our game. When the bench is excited and the team is having fun with each other, we go to another level of basketball.”
The win puts Hoquiam into the district semifinals against Trico League champion King’s Way Christian (12-6) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Vancouver.
After such a sparkling run in over the last half of the league season and now into the playoffs, Hoquiam appears to be getting better each game.
“Coach has been telling us all season that this is when we need to peak,” Stankavich said. “I believe our team is doing that. I believe we are peaking at the right time of the season and the energy is what helps us do that.”
“I think we’ve seen it the last couple of weeks,” Niemi said regarding his team peaking at the right time. “But every time we go out, I’m pleasantly surprised. … It all comes down to practice. These guys have a good practice every single day. They are doing the right thing every single day to get better and it’s transitioning to the court.”
La Center 17 10 7 23 – 57
Hoquiam 14 19 24 24 – 86
Scoring: La Center – Walker 19, Hylton 12, Gardner 7, Nixon 7, Manu 4, McKinney 4, Grotte 4. Hoquiam – Stankavich 24, Lorton Watkins 22, Jump 17, Templer 11, McNeill 3, Hobucket 3, Butcher 2, Gordon 2, Wonderly-Leonard 2.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam senior Justice Stankavich shoots against La Center’s Clayton Muffett (5) and Austin Nixon (12) during the Grizzlies’ 86-57 victory in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Friday in Hoquiam.
