Elma’s boys basketball team won its season-opening game as we review Tuesday’s Twin Harbors prep hoops games.
~~~
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Elma 66, Centralia 56
Down double digits in the first half, Elma rallied to defeat Centralia 66-56 in the Eagles’ season-opener on Tuesday at Elma High School.
The Eagles (1-0 overall) fell behind by as much as 10 points in the first half due in large part to the Tigers (0-3) hitting nine 3-pointers over the first two quarters of play.
Back-to-back threes from Centralia’s Kadin Yeung and Johnny Ruiz put the Eagles in a 22-12 whole early in the second quarter, forcing an Elma timeout.
“We had a couple of breakdowns, defensively, that helped them get second opportunities for a 3-point shot, which they made,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “And obviously, we weren’t rebounding the basketball at all. … But we didn’t hit the panic button. We calmed down, got some good leadership out of my guys and got some good bench play.”
With key Elma starters in senior forward Isaac McGaffey and guard Tanner Moe on the bench in foul trouble, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run, pulling to within a bucket at 22-20 on a layup from junior forward Tyrone Aguilar with 5:16 to play in the first half.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Tyrone Aguilar (24) drives to the rim against Centralia’s Trevor Griffis during the Eagles’ 66-56 victory on Tuesday at Elma High School.
A three from Centralia guard Trevor Griffis followed by a steal and layup from Ruiz put the Tigers back up by seven, a lead Centralia would maintain until Elma pulled to within a point with just over a minute to play in the first half.
A free-throw line jump shot from Eagles sophomore guard JanCarlos Moreno followed by a bucket in the paint from junior Colt Landstrom and a pair of free throws from Aguilar trimmed the Eagles deficit to 32-31 with 1:31 remaining.
An Aguilar steal and layup gave Elma a short-lived 33-32 lead before Yeung buried Centralia’s ninth 3-pointer of the first half.
Elma senior Dylan Myer drove and scored on a layup with just two seconds left to tie the game at 35-all entering halftime.
NICOLE SHANNON | MAIN FOCUS MEDIA Elma’s Dylan Myer (13) grabs a rebound against Centralia’s Braden Baine during the Eagles’ 66-56 victory on Tuesday at Elma High School.
The Eagles carried the momentum into the second quarter, riding the play of McGaffey, who shined in the third quarter after sitting out much of the first half with three fouls.
McGaffey sliced and diced the Tigers defense early in the second half, sparking a 12-0 Elma run in which he scored 10 points.
McGaffey splashed a three off an inbound play to cap the run, staking the Eagles to a 47-35 lead with 3:44 to play in the frame, the largest lead for either team to that point.
The Elma standout scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Eagles took a 54-40 lead into the final period of play.
Centralia made a run in the fourth quarter by creating turnovers off its trap defense that turned into easy layups.
The Tigers got to within double digits at 60-52 on a pair of free throws from Yeung with 3:04 to play and got to as close as six points at 62-56 on a bucket from center Braden Baine in the paint with just over two minutes left in the game.
But McGaffey made the plays down the stretch, securing the victory with a pair of free throws allowed by a nifty drive and layup off an inbound pass to put the Eagles back up by 10 at 66-56 with 1:11 on the clock.
The Eagles defense held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way – including a key block from Moe on a breakaway layup attempt from Griffis – to secure the season-opening win.
“We did a good job getting our hands up and staying lateral with them to make the shots a little more difficult for them,” Ferrier said of his team’s improved defense, which held Centralia to just one made 3-pointer in the second half. “The senior starters stepped up and I didn’t have to go into halftime and say anything. They came out and executed what we were expecting to do the entire game.”
NICOLE SHANNON | MAIN FOCUS MEDIA Elma’s Colt Landstrom (10) puts up a shot while defended by Centralia’s Julian Dado Navarette (30) during the Eagles’ 66-56 victory on Tuesday at Elma High School.
McGaffey led all scorers with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
Aguilar (11 points, 6 rebounds) and Landstrom (10 pts., 2 reb.) also scored in double digits while Myer and Moreno added eight points and five rebounds apiece for Elma.
Offensively, the Eagles attacked the basket the entire game, going 28 of 46 from the field (61%) while attempting just eight 3-pointers, making two of them (25%).
Elma converted 8-of-17 free throws, grabbed 35 rebounds, turned the ball over 12 times and committed 13 personal fouls as a team.
The Eagles face Raymond-South Bend at 7:15 p.m. on Friday in South Bend.
Centralia 16 19 5 16 – 56
Elma 10 25 19 12 – 66
Scoring: Centralia – Ruiz 22, Yeung 17, Griffis 11, Dado Navarette 4, Baine 2. Elma – McGaffey 23, Aguilar 11, Landstrom 10, Myer 8, Moreno 8, Webb 4, Muir 2.
~~~
R.A. Long 60, Aberdeen 26
Aberdeen opened its season with a 60-26 loss to R.A. Long on Tuesday at R.A. Long High School.
The Bobcats (0-1) managed just five points in each of the first three quarters of the game and trailed 44-15 by halftime.
Senior shooting guard Jhacob Quezada led the Bobcats with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting (43%).
Aberdeen hit 9-of-38 shots (24%) – including 2-of-14 from 3-point range (14%) – had 20 rebounds, eight steals and 21 turnovers as a team.
Aberdeen hosts Mark Morris in the Bobcats’ home opener at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Aberdeen 5 5 5 11 – 26
R.A. Long 15 29 10 6 – 60
Scoring: Aberdeen – Quezada 9, Scott 7, Garcia 5, Howard 4, Creamer 1.
~~~
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Mossyrock 55, Montesano 28
Montesano opened its season with a 55-28 loss to Mossyrock on Tuesday at Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (0-1) struggled to get comfortable in their first outing of the 2025-26 season, falling behind 7-0 to start the game before hitting free throws to take a lead at 12-11.
But Mossyrock (1-0) would go on a run throughout the second quarter to put Monte behind 30-15 at halftime, with the Bulldogs managing just three points on 1-of-6 shooting in the frame.
“As a group, we just seemed very nervous at the beginning,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We dug ourselves that hole and, offensively, we just really struggled. We were rushing shots. Mossyrock is very good. They’re quick and pesky. They kind of sped us up. They played under control and we were a little helter skelter.”
The Bulldogs were led by senior forward Jillie Dalan, who scored 10 points and was one of three Monte players with seven rebounds in the game along with freshman Ashlyn Lytle and junior Makena Blancas.
Monte shot 8 of 54 from the field (15%) and hit 10-of-20 free throws (50%) in the loss.
Mossyrock outrebounded Montesano 38-24 and the Vikings hit seven 3-pointers in the game.
Montesano’s offense turned the ball over 21 times in the contest, leading to a handful of fast-break opportunities for Mossyrock.
“We lost our focus when they went on the run and got ahead of us. It was kind of a panic type thing and we started to rush,” Mansfield said. “If we take it as a learning experience and get better, then that’s what we’re hoping for, to get better from this.”
Montesano faces Tumwater at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tumwater High School.
Mossyrock 21 9 14 11 – 55
Montesano 12 3 5 8 – 28
Leading scorers: Montesano – Dalan 10, Blancas 8, Busz 3, Vandevender 2, Forster 2, Lytle 2, Perry 1.
~~~
Napavine 55, Raymond-South Bend 27
Raymond-South Bend opened its season on the wrong side of a 55-27 outcome to Napavine on Tuesday at Napavine High School.
RSB (0-1) trailed 20-4 after managing just one field goal in the first quarter and failed to crack double digits in any period of the game.
The Ravens defense struggled to slow Napavine’s Hayden Kaut, who had a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds.
RSB was led by Ava Baugher with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Kassie Koski had six rebounds and a team-best five steals for the Ravens.
RSB committed 18 turnovers in the game.
“Good for our kids to play against great competition,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said. “Hopefully, the lessons learned – too many turnovers, missed free throws, missed open shots – will help us going forward into our tough non-league season.”
The Ravens play at Elma at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
RSB 4 8 6 9 – 27
Napavine 20 9 9 17 – 55
Scoring: RSB – Baugher 7, Kongbouakhay 6, Lewis 5, Pine 4, Glazier 4, San 1. Napavine – Kaut 24, Evander 14, Valentine 5, Ondong 4, Fay 4, Bittner 2, Schutz 2.
