MONTESANO—One week ago, the Montesano Bulldogs were on the outside looking in at a 1A Evergreen League championship.

On Friday evening, the kicked down the door.

In front of a standing-room only crowd at Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium, Montesano rode a suffocating defense and a sustained, energetic effort to defeat Elma 54-32 in the final league game of the season, solidifying the outright league crown in the process.

“It was 32 minutes of energy,” Monte head coach Shaydon Farmer said. “That was our big emphasis was that we had to go out there and compete, and obviously, the atmosphere helps out. This is the peak of high school sports.”

The Bulldogs (15-5 overall, 7-1 1A Evergreen) rode a wave of high energy from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer to beat the Eagles (13-8, 5-3), who were in position to take the league’s No. 1 seed with a win over Monte.

The Bulldogs made certain that wasn’t going to happen, using a quick, reactive zone defense to bottle up the Eagles offense while pounding the offensive glass and playing physical on offense.

The two teams played close throughout a low-scoring first quarter until Monte closed the period on a 8-0 run, capped by a Ryan Weidman pull-up jumper to give the Bulldogs a 13-8 lead with under a minute to play in the frame.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Ryan Weidman (12) hits a jump shot while defended by Elma’s Dylan Myer during the Bulldogs’ 54-32 victory on Friday at Montesano High School.

Monte extended its lead to double digits at 18-8 on a breakaway layup from junior guard Peter Bruland early in the second quarter.

Bruland followed with a pull-up jumper to put Monte up 20-8 with just under six minutes to play in the first half, forcing an Elma timeout.

Later in the second period, Elma senior forward Isaac McGaffey scored on a pump-fake drive and layup to cut the deficit back down to 10 at 20-10 and, after a pair of free throws by Monte junior forward Caden Grubb, McGaffey hit a jumper from the high post to make the score 22-12.

With Monte up eight after Elma junior forward Tyson Aguilar hit a jump shot in the post, Monte would get a three from Weidman followed by a drive and layup from senior Mason Fry to take a 29-16 lead into halftime.

Playing a more inspired defensive effort in the third quarter, Elma held Montesano to just one field goal through the first 3:30 of the frame. Problem for the Eagles was their offense failed to take advantage, with a McGaffey low-post bucket accounting for all of Elma’s points through the first six-plus minutes of the third.

Monte pushed its lead to 37-18 after a pair of free throws from junior guard Colton Grubb at the 1:42 mark.

In danger of having the game, and the league title, get too far away from them, Elma had its best offensive showing of the game in the final 1:30 of the period.

Sophomore Gavin Muir scored inside off an interior assist from senior guard Tanner Moe followed by a steal and emphatic one-handed dunk from McGaffey, wowing the crowed with a minute left in the third.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Isaac McGaffey (3) rises up for a slam dunk against Montesano’s Mason Fry during the Eagles’ 54-32 defeat on Friday in Montesano.

McGaffey followed with a layup off a steal to cut the Monte lead to 37-24 and force a Bulldogs timeout with 46 seconds left on the clock.

But Elma failed to capitalize on its final possessions of the quarter, leading to a 13-point Monte lead entering the final frame.

Monte looked to finish off the Eagles early in the fourth.

Baskets by junior Brody Williamsen and Caden Grubb put Monte up 41-24 and forced an Eagles timeout with 6:47 to play.

After McGaffey made 1-of-2 free throws, Monte extended its lead on a basket by senior Jayvin Painter followed by a bucket and-1 free throw from Fry to take a 44-25 lead.

The Bulldogs would push the lead over 20 on a Peter Bruland layup to take a 46-25 lead, all but securing the final outcome with 5:20 to play.

Elma never got closer than 18 points down the stretch as both teams would empty their bench, with the Montesano crowd roaring when senior reserve Cooper Delia scored in the final minute – thanks in part to Elma players getting him the ball in a classy gesture – to close out the 54-32 victory.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma’s Dylan Myer (right) defends against Montesano’s Ryan Weidman during the Eagles’ 54-32 loss on Friday at Montesano High School.

“(Coach Farmer) just said to come out swinging,” Weidman said of the coaching staff’s pre-game message. “He’s a big inspiration for us and I don’t think I’d rather go to war with anybody else.”

“The energy was great and our boys fed off of that,” Coach Farmer said. “Our hands were active, our feet were active, our bench was active. We were active in every sense of the word.”

Monte was led by Caden Grubb with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting (58%) to go along with team-highs in rebounds (12) and assists (6).

“We just played 32 minutes of hard defense and never let up,” Caden Grubb said. “I felt like we did a great job of playing hard the entire game.”

Weidman added 13 points for a Bulldogs offense that had eight different players score in the game and shot 22 of 60 from the field (36%) and outrebounded Elma 37-21.

“We were laser-focused and knew we could beat them,” Weidman said. “We showed it tonight and I’m proud of my boys.”

Elma was led by McGaffey, who accounted for 66% of his team’s total points with 21 and grabbed five rebounds, had three steals, two assists and a blocked shot in the loss.

Moe also had five rebounds and a team-best five assists for an Eagles team that shot 33% from the field (14-42), including 2 of 14 from 3-point range (14%).

Elma had 15 turnovers in the game to nine for Monte.

“They showed their superiority in athleticism and strength. … They came out hot and strong and showed they weren’t going to lose,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “We had a hard time attacking any kind of lane or any type of gaps. I thought Isaac did a great job trying to carry the load, but at the same time the other four guys needed to step up and do stuff and, collectively, we didn’t do it.”

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Montesano’s Caden Grubb (23) snags a rebound against Elma’s Trey Yeager during the Bulldogs’ 54-32 victory on Friday in Montesano.

Friday’s loss is the second straight bitter pill for Elma to swallow. The Eagles entered the week in control of its own destiny as wins in its final two league games would have secured Elma the league’s No. 1 playoff spot.

But after an overtime loss to Hoquiam on a Lincoln Niemi buzzer-beating three on Wednesday followed by Friday’s loss to Monte, the Eagles now sit in third place entering the playoffs after Hoquiam beat Rochester 52-40 on Friday.

Monte and Elma will play in the 1A District 4 Tournament on Thursday.

The Bulldogs host La Center at 7 p.m. while the Eagles play at King’s Way Christian at 6 p.m. (subject to change).

Both teams got a glimpse of what the near future might be like as there wasn’t a spare seat to be found at the Bo Griffith Memorial Gym on Friday.

“Packed house, the student section was amazing and that definitely contributed to the energy,” Caden Grubb said. “Our mentality was that this is our house and no one comes here to beat us, especially Elma, and we were just focused. … It was amazing. It’s like being on Cloud 9. There is nothing better.”

“(The environment) was great,” Weidman said. “We love it. It was fun.”

Elma 8 8 8 8 – 32

Montesano 13 16 8 17 – 54

Scoring: Elma – McGaffey 21, Webb 3, Muir 2, Aguilar 2, Myer 2, Moe 2.

Montesano – Ca. Grubb 18, Weidman 13, Fry 7, Messick 6, Co. Grubb 4, A. Bruland 2, Williamsen 2, Delia 2.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM The Montesano Bulldogs pose for a photo after winning the 1A Evergreen League championship with a 54-32 victory over Elma on Friday at Montesano High School.