Led by the clutch play of senior Trace Ridgway, the Montesano Bulldogs pulled away from the Hoquiam Grizzlies for a 55-45 victory at Hoquiam Square Garden on Tuesday in Hoquiam.
Ridgway led all scorers with 24 points and made two key shots late in the game with Hoquiam threatening as Monte pulled away over the final three minutes of the game.
With the Bulldogs nursing a 47-45 lead after Hoquiam’s Jake Templar drilled a 3-pointer with 4:35 to go in the game, Ridgway drove coast-to-coast and scored on a pull-up jumper to give Montesano some breathing room.
On the Bulldogs’ next possession, Ridgway took the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor, hitting a running, one-handed teardrop shot to put Monte up 51-45 with 1:44 remaining.
Monte outscored Hoquiam 8-0 over the final four minutes of the game as Tyce Peterson hit two free throws and a layup in the final minute to secure the 55-45 victory.
“I was just trying to lead by example and hustle,” Ridgway said. “At the end of the game, it’s who wants it more. Who has the most heart and who works the hardest.”
Monte (2-1 overall, 2-0 1A Evergreen) had led by as much as nine points in the first half, found itself in a close ballgame as Hoquiam (1-2 overall, 1A Evergreen) rallied to to within two baskets after Abe Morales hit a runner at the buzzer to trim Monte’s lead to 27-23 at the half.
The Grizzlies continued to claw back into the game, trimming Monte’s lead to 32-31 on Dane McMillan’s athletic double-clutch drive and foul shot halfway through the third quarter.
Michael Lorton-Watkins gave Hoquiam a brief lead on a baseline jump shot that gave the Grizzlies a 33-32 advantage. with 2:47 left in the third.
But Montesano seemingly had an answer whenever Hoquiam had gained some momentum, and Ridgway was right in the middle of it.
The 6-foot-3 guard/forward hit a three on Monte’s next possession to regain the lead and later followed with a layup to put Monte up 37-33 with 1:45 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs went up 41-35 on a Trent Adams layup with just half a minute left, but Hoquiam’s Justice Stankavich hit one of his four 3-pointers in the game to make it a 41-38 game heading to the fourth quarter.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam’s Justice Stankavich, left, makes a pass against Montesano’s Cayden Lovell during Tuesday’s game at Hoquiam High School. Stankavich led the Grizzlies with 14 points.
The final frame started off auspiciously for Montesano as both 6-foot-8 center Mason Dineen and Colby Adams fouled out in the first minute of the quarter.
But just as fortunes again seemed to be against Monte, Ridgway answered, this time sending a perfectly-timed pass to a cutting Cayden Lovell for an easy layup and a 43-38 lead.
“The coaches told us to pass and cut, pass and screen. Just to get the ball moving and take our time because if we’re not rushing anything and making mistakes we’ll have a lot of opportunities in the middle,” Ridgway said.
“(Hoquiam) is a good basketball team and they pose a lot of problems for us,” Montesano head coach Doug Galloway said. “They’re a little smaller than we are, but they are quick, fast and strong and hopefully we kind of figured out how to slow our bodies down a little bit when people are pressing us.”
Aside from Ridgway, Lovell scored in double digits for Monte with 10 points with Adams scoring seven points, six of those in the third quarter alone.
Hoquiam was led by Stankavich, who scored 14 points.
Lorton-Watkins had 11 and McMillan finished with nine for the Grizzlies.
Montesano 16 11 14 14 — 55
Hoquiam 11 12 15 7— 45
Willapa Valley 73, Three Rivers Christian 19
Willapa Valley remained undefeated on the season with a convincing 73-19 victory over Three Rivers Christian on Tuesday in Menlo.
Derek Fluke led the Vikings (4-0 overall, 1B Columbia Valley) with 15 points and 11 rebounds as Willapa Valley had four players score at least eight points in the game.
Riley Pearson and Tyler Adkins each scored nine for the Vikings while Landin Isaksen and Beau Buchanan added eight points apiece for Willapa Valley.
“Our kids did a very good job of staying focused and playing their game,” Vikings head coach Jay Pearson said. “Everyone contributed and it was a good overall team effort.”
Willapa Valley is scheduled to play Naselle at 7:15 p.m. on Friday in Naselle.
Three Rivers Christian 4 4 5 6 — 19
Willapa Valley 19 14 23 17 — 73
Other scores
Elma 2, Tenino 0 (Elma wins via forfeit)
Men’s College Basketball
Grays Harbor 81, Centralia 71
Montesano 58, Hoquiam 16
Paige Lisherness scored 20 points as Montesano picked up its first win of the season with a 58-16 victory over Hoquiam on Tuesday in Montesano.
In a game Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield described as a “good team effort,” Montesano put the defensive clamps on Hoquiam’s offense, allowing just three points in the first half.
Jaiden King had nine points and six rebounds and Mikayla Stanfield had eight points and eight rebounds for Montesano.
“The girls bounced back really nicely from our loss to Tenino (on Friday),” Mansfield said. “Our defense picked up its intensity and we moved and shared the ball well.”
Montesano is scheduled to play Shelton at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Shelton.
Hoquiam 2 1 6 8 — 16
Montesano 16 12 24 6 — 58
Tenino 37, Elma 19
Elma is still in search of its first win of the season after falling to Tenino 37-19 on Tuesday in Tenino.
A young Eagles team struggled to score from the field, hitting on just 12-of-47 shots in the game.
Elma was led by Jalyn Whipple, who scored six points in the game.
Elma’s defense held league-leading Tenino to just 12 points in the first half before the Beavers got hot over the final 16 minutes of the contest.
Tenino’s Ashley Schow led all scorers with 21 points.
“I am proud of our girls for fighting from start to finish,” Elma head coach Brandi Thomas said. “They are continuing to get better each day.”
Elma will host Montesano at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Elma 4 7 4 4 — 19
Tenino 7 5 12 13 — 37
Raymond 56, Forks 42
Raymond scored nearly half its total points in the fourth quarter as the Seagulls defeated Forks 56-42 on Tuesday in Forks.
Raymond (2-1 overall, 2B Pacific) scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, led by junior guard Kyra Gardner, who scored 16 of her game-high 34 points in the final frame.
The Seagulls admittedly started off slow, trailing 9-0 and scoring just six points in the first quarter before battling back to cut the Spartans’ lead to 25-21 at halftime.
“Very sluggish start,” Raymond head coach Jason Koski said. “In the second half we were able to cut down on our turnovers and capitalize on theirs.”
Gardner had 11 steals and 10 rebounds to complete her first triple-double of the season.
Kyndal Koski scored seven points on 7-of-12 free-throw shooting while Maddi Silvernail was cited for her defense and solid post play off the bench.
Raymond is set to face Northwest Christian at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Lacey.
Raymond 6 15 9 26 — 56
Forks 13 12 5 12 — 42
Willapa Valley 57, Three Rivers Christian 8
Lanissa Amacher scored 19 points and Cami Swarts had a double-double as Willapa Valley defeated Three Rivers Christian 57-8 on Tuesday at Willapa Valley High School.
Amacher added eight rebounds and three assists to her stat line while Swarts scored 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Vikings moved to 3-1 on the season (3-0 1B Columbia Valley League).
Lauryn McGough added nine points and nine rebounds while Hannah Hamilton, in her first significant varsity playing experience, added seven points off the bench.
Willapa Valley had just eight turnovers as a team.
”We got out and ran the break and worked at running really hard, getting in our lanes and pushing the ball and I was really pleased with that,” Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said. “We are starting to get some balance and we moved the ball real well.”
Willapa Valley is scheduled to play Naselle at 5:45 p.m. on Friday in Naselle.
Three Rivers Christian 2 4 0 2 — 8
Willapa Valley 21 18 9 9 — 57
Ocosta teams under COVID quarantine
Due to COVID-related quarantines, Ocosta High School boys/girls basketball and wrestling teams have postponed their seasons until further notice.
