A quickly played Evergreen 2A Conference game between Aberdeen and Black Hills tilted toward the Wolves when they were able to find their shooting range on Friday night.
At Sam Benn Gym, the Bobcats were relatively even with their visitors before a scoring run in the second quarter pushed the Wolves ahead for good in a 59-32 decision.
Joe Crumley led all scorers with 15 points and Noah Brewer added 14 points for Black Hills. Braden Castleberry-Taylor led Aberdeen with eight points and seven rebounds and Victor Gomez added eight points and five rebounds.
“We just have to remind our guys that good shooters are going to drain their shots, even if you play good defense on them,” AHS head coach Mark Buckman. “Unfortunately, we didn’t respond. We felt we had a chance for a similar run, but I didn’t put the guys in the right positions to get more open looks on offense. That is on me. We weren’t organized tonight.”
The pace of this contest was lightning fast — both teams accounted for only 15 turnovers and 18 fouls combined and neither team shot a bonus free throw, despite a pair of aggressive defenses. The pace of the game also sped up when Black Hills began draining its shots in the second quarter.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, but the shots didn’t fall. Ethan Loveless’ 3-point basket with 2 minutes left in the first ended the scoring at 10-8 Black Hills.
The second quarter was much different. The Wolves drained their first five shots, plus two free throws, for a 13-3 run and a 23-11 score when the Bobcats called timeout with 4:53 left in the first half. Black Hills’ ball movement found slightly open spots in the Aberdeen defense. Even when Bobcat defenders jumped out and contested shots, the Wolves drained them.
With every shot Black Hills made, Aberdeen worked against the Wolves defense and pressed for an answer with a blowout looming. It was a tough frame and a rough shooting quarter as the visitors ran off the court with a 24-10 frame and a 34-18 halftime lead.
Black Hills extended its lead in the fourth quarter, forcing a few more Aberdeen turnovers and missed shots for a 21-6 quarter and a 55-24 score. The fourth quarter saw both teams slow down and work reserve players into the action.
On Tuesday, Aberdeen (0-1, 3-5) travels to Chehalis.
Black Hills 10 24 21 4 — 59 Aberdeen 8 10 6 8 — 34
Black Hills (59) — Loveless 5, Crumley 15, Kindell 3, Cunningham 4, Glenn 11, Brewer 14, Walker 7, Olson. FG — 22-39. FT — 5-9.
Aberdeen (34) — Roiko 7, Coburn 3, Dublanko, Solan, Hughes, Troy, Collett 6, Gomez 8 Jandu, Metke, Castleberry-Taylor 8. FG — 12-45. FT — 6-8.
JV — Black Hills 39, Aberdeen 38.
C Squad — Black Hills 54, Aberdeen 50.
