The Montesano Bulldogs are officially in the playoff hunt.

Monte, which had just one victory as of a week ago, defeated Hoquiam 58-52 on Monday in Montesano and are now in the race for a spot in the district tournament.

The Bulldogs (3-13 overall, 2-5 1A Evergreen) have won two of its past three games to pull into a tie with Hoquiam (5-10, 2-5) for the 1A Evergreen League’s fourth and final district playoff spot.

It was Hoquiam that took the lead in a low-scoring first quarter, holding an 11-6 advantage paced by junior guard Michael Lorton Watkins’ seven points in the frame.

But Montesano responded in the second quarter behind eight points from sophomore forward Tyce Peterson to cut the Grizzlies lead to 21-20 at halftime.

In the second half, the Bulldogs took the lead by four at the end of the third quarter and — as both teams offenses heated up in the fourth period — outscored the Grizzlies 22-20 to earn the victory.

“Our kids continue to play hard and had a nice second half,” said Montesano head coach Doug Farmer, who took over midseason and has his team playing its best basketball of the 2021-22 campaign. “Great effort on defense and the boards.”

Montesano was led by senior standout Caydon Lovell, who scored 20 points — eight in the fourth quarter — to lead the Bulldogs.

Peterson scored 14 points with Camden Taylor adding eight points — six in the third quarter — to aid in Montesano’s effort.

PHOTO BY SHAWN DONNELLY Montesano sophomore forward Tyce Peterson, seen here in a file photo, scored 14 points to help the Bulldogs to a 58-52 win over Hoquiam on Monday in Montesano.

“We looked to Taylor in the third and Lovell continues to lead us in the right direction,” Farmer said. “The kids showed some resiliency. Proud of their performance.”

Lorton Watkins led Hoquiam with a game high 21 points, 13 of those coming in the first half.

Hoquiam’s Gio Foster and Justice Stankavich finished with nine points apiece.

With the win, Montesano and Hoquiam are currently tied four fourth place in the league, a half-game behind Tenino, which sits in third place.

Hoquiam plays at first-place Eatonville at 7 p.m. Tuesday while Montesano hosts Tenino at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Hoquiam 11 10 11 20 — 52

Montesano 6 14 16 22 — 58

Hoquiam (52) — Lorton Watkins 21, Stankavich 9, Foster 9, Jump 7, Templar 3, McNeill 2, Higgins 1

Montesano (58) — Lovell 20, Peterson 14, Taylor 8, Busz 6, Adams 6, Wills 4

Raymond 72, Northwest Christian 69

Raymond got a big game from senior star Tre’ Seydel to earn a 72-69 overtime victory over Northwest Christian on Monday in Raymond.

The Seagulls (11-5, 8-5 2B Pacific) started slow and faced a 13-8 deficit at the end of the first quarter before erupting for 29 points in the second period to take a 37-25 lead into halftime.

Leading 49-40 entering the fourth quarter, Raymond slipped, allowing NWC (4-14, 3-9) back into the game as the Seagulls were outscored 22-13 in the period, ending regulation tied at 62-62.

Raymond regained its form in the overtime period to pick up an important 72-69 victory.

“This was not the prettiest win for us tonight,” Raymond head coach Derek Rask said. “NWC really challenged us on both ends of the floor. Our kids really had to compete down the stretch and we were able to get it done in overtime.”

Three players led the way for Raymond, with Seydel scoring 44 points to go along with six assists and five steals.

Morgan Anderson (14 points, 5 assists) and Adrian Quintana (11 pts., 5 asst.) also scored in double figures and Rask commended the “hustle and activity” of Jaxson Freeman.

Raymond celebrated Senior Night on Monday with seniors Seydel, Quintana, Freeman, Deleak Hubbard, Riley Thaxton and team manager Daysa Sypaphay being honored.

With the victory, Raymond sits solidly in fourth place in league and plays at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in South Bend to close out the regular season.

The 2B District 4 Tournament is scheduled to begin on Saturday, Feb. 5.

Northwest Christian 13 12 15 22 7 — 69

Raymond 8 29 12 13 10 — 72

Forks 82, Ocosta 41

A young Ocosta team full of promise is having a hard time against the elite teams of a stacked 2B Pacific League.

The Wildcats struggled to keep pace in an 82-41 loss to Forks on Monday in Westport.

Ocosta (6-11, 3-9 2B Pacific), which does not have a senior on its roster, trailed 19-14 at the end of the first quarter and 38-25 at the half before Forks (11-8, 9-4) exploded for 26 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Forks outscored Ocosta 18-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

“Tonight, Forks played a pretty clean basketball game with few turnovers and pretty solid defense,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “We played with intensity and effort for just over two quarters before we lost focus and got blown out in the third quarter. Turnovers and lack of defensive intensity were our downfall tonight.”

Josh Figueroa led Ocosta with 13 points with Mark Lewis scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.

Ocosta sits in a tie for sixth place in league with Northwest Christian and the two teams will face off twice this week.

The Wildcats will face NWC at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday in Lacey followed by a 7 p.m. tip-off on Thursday in Westport.

Forks 19 19 26 18 — 82

Ocosta 14 11 9 7 — 41

Forks (82) — Pursley 22, Olson 20, Salazar 8, Northcut 7, Doyle 7, Davis 6, Lohrengel 4, Lausche 4, Rancourt 2, Galeana 2

Ocosta (41) — Figueroa 13, M. Lewis 10, K. Agramon 9, Turner 3, Barnum 2, X. Prigmore 2, A. Agramon 2

North Beach 57, South Bend 54

North Beach rallied then held on for a 57-54 victory over South Bend on Monday in Ocean Shores.

The Hyaks (9-9, 5-8 2B Pacific) trailed 22-17 at the half to South Bend (2-13, 0-12) before scoring 28 points in the third quarter to take a 45-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

South Bend outscored North Beach 18-12 in the fourth quarter, but came up short as the Hyaks held on for the victory.

“We played a hard fought game tonight,” said South Bend head coach Jon Schray, who added his team shot 3-for-14 (21%) from the free-throw line. “We had a good shot at winning with some decent shooting and better defense then we have played in awhile.”

Tyrell Hovland (23 points), Daniel Castaneda (14 pts.) and Sam Teague (12 pts.) scored in double digits for North Beach.

South Bend was led by Ty Reidinger (12 pts., 10 rebounds), Jacob Carlson (11 pts.) and Branson Williams (10 pts., 10 reb.).

North Beach sits in fifth place in league and takes on first-place Ilwaco at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Ilwaco.

South Bend hosts Raymond at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

South Bend 11 11 14 18 — 54

North Beach 9 8 28 12 — 57

Scoring

South Bend (54) — Tyler Reidinger 12, Jacob Carlson 11, Branson Williams 10, Josh Flynn 9, Justin Yi 5, Ryan Kirpes 4, Ferrill Johnson 3

North Beach (57) — Hovland 23, Castaneda 14, Teague 12, Curry 4, Armstrong 4