RAYMOND — Finishing off 2017 with a modest road trip turned out to be a favorable result for the Montesano boys and Hoquiam girls basketball teams on Friday evening.

At the Raymond New Year’s Classic, the Grizzlies and the Bulldogs returned home with victories to cap the old year and build a bit of momentum entering the new one.

For the Montesano boys, a quick start was more than enough to establish a big halftime lead and a comfortable 66-30 win over host Raymond.

For the Hoquiam girls, once they started a full-court pressure defense, the game turned in their favor for a 37-24 win against the hosts.

Boys

Bulldogs 66, Gulls 30

Stocked full of experience, Montesano hit the court running against a game, but shellshocked, Raymond squad.

In the first quarter alone, the Bulldogs nailed 6-for-9 3-point baskets and dominated the paint for a 29-7 lead over the Gulls.

“We’ve been starting very fast all year, especially with our intensity,” Montesano head coach Doug Galloway said. “Tonight, we wanted to come out, play fast, play intense and play and react. Overall, I’m pleased with how we played.”

From there, the pace of the contest was Montesano’s to control. With transition baskets and free throws off Raymond misses powering the offense, the Bulldogs never looked back for a 51-11 halftime margin.

With a 40-point lead at halftime, the entire second half was played on a mercy-rule running clock. As such, the intensity of the contest established in the first half was missing in the second half.

“They were more aggressive than we were (in the first half),” Raymond assistant coach Darol Ratsavongsy said. “We just didn’t take the pressure well and panicked. Second half, we came out better, shot better and played better.”

Seth Dierkop led all scorers with 14 points and eight rebounds for Montesano. Shaydon Farmer added 10 points and six rebounds. Cole Enslow led Raymond with nine points.

On January 4, Montesano (8-2 overall) enters Evergreen 1A League play at Tenino. At the same time, Raymond (5-6) visits Chief Leschi in Pacific 2B League play.

Girls

Grizzlies 37, Gulls 24

In hindsight, HHS head coach Mark Maxfield would have put his team into a full-court pressure defense earlier. But even with the late application of the defense, the Grizzlies responded when they needed to most.

Within a game that was physical, rough and lacking any bit of an offensive rhythm, Hoquiam tied the game on Karlie Krohn’s transition basket. Fifteen seconds later, Maddie German’s free throw off a transition foul with 3:30 left in the third gave Hoquiam its first lead of the game, 18-17.

Raymond held a wafer-thin 6-4 lead and 15-14 halftime margin in the first half leading up to this point of the contest. Both teams were mired in shooting woes due to the physical style of the contest, which favored Raymond.

After German’s free throw conversion, the Grizzlies never looked back. Keeping the press on, Hoquiam outscored Raymond, 19-7 in the game’s final 11 1/2 minutes for the win. Also, the Grizzlies held the Gulls without a field goal during that span.

“My plan was to go earlier in the press, but looking back, it was a mistake (to wait); it changed the tempo of the game,” Maxfield said. “It was very physical. We’re not used to that style and it took us out of our offense.”

“The style and the physical play of the game wore down on our kids,” Raymond head coach Jason Koski said. “With a lot of freshman and sophomore kids playing, you can maintain it, but it is hard to sustain it. When you shoot 20 percent from the field, that is our M.O. We have to play ugly, but we’re learning.”

Krohn led all scorers with 12 points for Hoquiam (5-5), while Makenna Williams knocked in 11 points for Raymond (3-8).

Hoquiam starts Evergreen 1A League play on January 2 at home against Tenino. Raymond hosts Chief Leschi on January 3.

Hoquiam 4 10 6 17 — 37

Raymond 6 9 5 4 — 24

Hoquiam (37) — Ja. Cox 2, Jump 4, Bagwell 5, Bogdanovich, Jo. Cox 2, Krohn 12, Strom, Vonhof 8, German 3. FG — 11-54 (.204). FT — 15-27.

Raymond (24) — Williams 11, Mora 4, Quintana, Souvannavanh 5, Warnstadt, Silva 4, Miller, Stepp. FG — 6-38 (.158). FT — 12-19.

Montesano 29 22 13 2 — 66

Raymond 7 4 15 4 — 30

Montesano (66) — Johansson, Bates 5, Ridgway 6, Nicklas 2, Winter 11, Albert 7, Parker 1, Wyatt 3, Valley 7, Farmer 10, Dierkop 14, Iverson. FG — 25-56 (.446). FT — 9-17.

Raymond (30) — Phansisay 3, Thepsoumphou, Maden, Anderson 5, Enslow 9, Hubbard 6, Sida, Souvannavanh 3, Collins, Koski, Rockwell. FG — 11-46 (.239). FT — 6-12.