The race for the 1A Evergreen League crown turned on its ear thanks to Twin Harbors teams Hoquiam and Montesano as we review Tuesday’s prep hoops action.
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Montesano 58, Rochester 52
It was good news all around for Montesano on Tuesday as the Bulldogs now sit in sole possession of first place in the 1A Evergreen League.
The Bulldogs (11-8 overall, 6-1 1A Evergreen) did their part by holding on to beat Rochester (1-17, 0-6) 58-52 in a league matchup in Montesano.
Monte’s win, combined with Hoquiam’s upset over former first-place Tenino, means Montesano is a game up on the Beavers for the top spot in the league.
The Bulldogs overcame a low-scoring first quarter to stretch its lead to 27-15 at halftime as Monte went a perfect 7 of 7 from the free-throw line in a 21-point second quarter.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Caden Grubb (foreground) scores two points during the Bulldogs’ 58-52 victory over Rochester on Tuesday at Montesano High School.
Leading 45-30 entering the final period of play, Monte held off a Warriors fourth-quarter comeback to preserve the victory and claim sole possession of first place.
The Bulldogs were led by their top two scorers in forwards Mason Fry and Caden Grubb, with 19 and 13 points, respectively.
Fry added nine rebounds, two steals, two assists and two blocks to his stat line while Grubb finished a team-high 16 rebounds to record a double-double.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano forward Mason Fry scored a team-high 19 points in the Bulldogs’ 58-52 win over Rochester on Tuesday at Montesano High School.
The Bulldogs shot 16 for 53 from the field (30%) – including 5 of 19 from the 3-point line (26%) – and converted 19-of-27 free throws (70%).
Monte had 42 rebounds, five blocks and 22 turnovers as a team.
The Bulldogs have a non-league game against Aberdeen at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Rochester 4 11 15 22 – 52
Montesano 6 21 18 13 – 58
Scoring: Rochester – Smith 19, O’Connor 15, Weiss 11, Mancuso 7. Montesano – Fry 19, Ca. Grubb 13, Co. Grubb 7, Dowler 5, Gunter 5, Painter 3.
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Hoquiam 64, Tenino 58
Hoquiam sent shock waves across the 1A Evergreen League with a stunning 64-58 upset over Tenino on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School.
The Grizzlies (6-12, 2-4 1A Evergreen) had the Hoquiam Square Garden crowd rocking against the Beavers (7-12, 5-2), which dropped out of a first-place tie with Montesano with the loss.
Hoquiam held a 10-point lead after the first quarter thanks in large part to junior guard Joey Bozich, who hit two 3-pointers and scored seven points in the opening frame.
The two teams played even in the second quarter before Tenino made its move. The Beavers scored 28 points in the third quarter on six 3-pointers as a team and 14 points from Will Feltus to take a 52-49 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.
But a Hoquiam team that has seen its fair share of close games slip away in the fourth quarter this season was not to be denied.
The Grizzlies held the Beavers to just six points in the final period and got a big quarter from guard Ryker Maxfield, who scored seven points in the quarter – including two go-ahead free throws – to help secure Hoquiam’s biggest league victory of the season.
“We really preached before the game and the last couple of nights at practice to get back to really sharing the ball, and man, we did that right off the bat. … That kind of kick-started our night,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “To me, its a huge, encouraging thing that we’re this late in the season and we just had our best team game of the season, by far.”
Hoquiam had three players score in double figures, led by sophomore point guard Lincoln Niemi (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists).
Bozich (16 pts., 7 reb., 2 ast.) and Maxfield (13 pts., 2 reb., 4 ast., 2 steals) also scored in double figures for the Grizzlies.
Grizzlies post Tage Dayton added eight points, nine rebounds and four assists for the balanced Hoquiam effort.
The shooting numbers were nearly identical for the two teams on Tuesday. Hoquiam went 23 of 55 from the field (42%), including 9 of 25 from the 3-point line (36%).
Tenino hit 22-of-55 shots (40%) and was also 9 of 25 from beyond the arc.
But Hoquiam outrebounded Tenino 39-30, had 16 assists, five blocks and just nine turnovers as a team.
“I just can’t say enough about the effort the kids had,” Coach Niemi said. “It was just a really all-around team effort. … You can’t really point to one guy and that’s why we had so much success tonight.”
With the win, Hoquiam sits a half game behind Elma for third place in the 1A Evergreen League.
The Grizzlies take on the Eagles at 7 p.m. Thursday at Elma High School.
Tenino 7 17 28 6 – 58
Hoquiam 17 17 15 15 – 64
Scoring: Tenino – Feltus 14, Gonia 13, Snider 13, Burkhardt 12, Gore 6. Hoquiam – Niemi 19, Bozich 16, Maxfield 13, Dayton 8, Byron 6, Azevedo 2.
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Ocosta 67, Taholah 64
A big shot by Ocosta’s Sonny Beard turned out to be the difference in the Wildcats’ 67-64 win over Taholah on Tuesday at Taholah High School.
The Wildcats (12-4, 5-1 1B Coastal) struggled early as the Chitwhins (9-9, 2-5) pushed the tempo early with their full-court press and five-man rotations.
But Ocosta began to figure it out and held a 23-18 lead after one quarter and a 39-32 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Taholah would ride the relentless performance of Peyton Vitalis – who had a game-high 32 points – to take a one-point lead in the final minute of the game.
Ocosta would regain the lead when Beard hit a clutch shot with 13 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 67-64 lead.
A contested 3-point attempt by Taholah was off the mark in the game’s final seconds, securing Ocosta’s nail-biting victory.
Jesus Agramon scored 27 points and had six assists to lead Ocosta.
Beard had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats.
With the victory, Ocosta sits a half game behind Willapa Valley for first place in the 1B Coastal League.
Taholah hosts Willapa Valley in a key league game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Ocosta plays a non-league game at North Beach at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Ocosta 23 16 11 17 – 67
Taholah 18 14 12 20 – 64
Scoring: Ocosta – Agramon 27, Beard 17, Welch 9, Turner 6, Prigmore 4, Solis 2, Ceja 2. Taholah – Vitalis 32, Charley 10, Lewis 4, Underwood-Newton 3, Rhodes 2, Williams 2, Kahn 2.
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Willapa Valley 72, Naselle 51
Willapa Valley withstood Naselle’s early onslaught en route to a 72-51 win on Tuesday at Willapa Valley High School.
The Vikings (14-2, 5-0 1B Coastal) trailed 20-16 after the Comets (9-8, 3-3) opened the game “red hot,” according to Valley head coach Derek Rask.
Willapa Valley stayed the course to take a 35-33 halftime lead and took control of the game in the second half.
“I’m proud of our team. We had to show some resilience and withstand Naselle’s initial punch in the first quarter,” Rask said. “We adjusted defensively, which allowed us to get stops and execute offensively. Our effort in the second half was fantastic and we played excellent team basketball on both ends of the floor.”
Blane King led Valley with 25 points while post Brody Aust had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.
Nathan Fluke also scored in double digits with 12 points for Valley.
Willapa Valley sits a half game ahead of Ocosta for first place in the 1B Coastal League.
The Vikings play at fourth-place Taholah at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Naselle 20 13 13 5 – 51
Willapa Valley 16 19 21 16 – 72
Scoring: WV – King 25, Aust 16, Fluke 12, Ritzman 9, Russell 5, Sliva 2, Swartz 2.
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Shelton 53, Aberdeen 43
Aberdeen lost to Shelton 53-43 in a 2A Evergreen Conference game on Monday in Shelton.
The Bobcats (6-9, 3-4) held a 36-32 lead over the Highclimbers (4-14, 2-5) heading into the final quarter of the game, but Shelton’s offense – which hadn’t scored more than 11 points in any quarter of the game to that point – had 21 points in the final frame to hand Aberdeen the loss.
The Bobcats were led by junior guard Isaac Garcia with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Aberdeen hit 16-of-48 shots from the field (33%) and 8-of-15 free throws (53%).
With the loss, Aberdeen sits one game ahead of Shelton for fourth place in the 2A EvCo.
Aberdeen hosts W.F. West at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Aberdeen’s junior varsity team lost 47-45 on Monday. Floyd Jones had eight points to lead Bobcats JV.
Aberdeen 12 11 13 7 – 43
Shelton 10 11 11 21 – 53
Scoring: Aberdeen – Garcia 11, Quezada 9, Lewis 8, Raya 6, Martin 4, Lewis 3, Scott 2, O’Brien 2, Matthews 1.
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Other games
Lake Quinault 53, Mary M. Knight 43
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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Raymond-South Bend 78, North Beach 17
Raymond-South Bend put this one away early with a 78-17 drubbing over North Beach on Tuesday at South Bend High School.
Playing in its South Bend Senior Night game, the Ravens (12-5, 4-1 2B Pacific) wasted little time getting to work, jumping out to a 29-4 first-quarter lead led by junior forward Kassie Koski’s 16 points in the period.
The Hyaks (3-12, 1-6) wouldn’t score a point in the second quarter as RSB had the game well in hand by halftime, leading 51-4.
”Great first half by our kids. Really nice to see our shooters hitting their shots,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said. “Offensively, we were very efficient with good ball movement, having 26 assists on 30 field goals is really encouraging as we move towards postseason play.”
Koski (19 pts., 9 steals, 4 assists), Avalyn Stigall (17 pts., 3 ast., block), Ava Baugher (12 pts., 7 reb., 2 ast.) and Maddi San (10 pts., 3 reb., stl.) each scored in double figures while point guard Megan Kongbouakhay led the Ravens with nine assists.
RSB honored its lone senior Berklee Morley, who had eight points, two rebounds, four assists and four steals on Senior Night.
”Great night to honor our lone senior Berklee Morley, who has been such a great teammate for our (RSB ) program the last two years,” Coach Koski said. “(Morley) had been a good student-athlete for South Bend schools her entire school and athletic career.”
RSB sits a half game behind Forks for the top spot in the 2B Pacific League.
The Ravens play at Chief Leschi in a league game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
North Beach hosts first-place Forks at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
RSB 29 22 17 10 – 78
North Beach 4 0 6 7 – 17
Scoring: RSB – Koski 19, Stigall 17, Baugher 12, San 10, Pine-Isaksen 9, Morley 8, Kongbouakhay 3. NB – Beck 5, Cox 3, Eastman 3, Capoeman 2, McCrory 2, Reither 2.
