After a close first quarter, Elma ramped up the energy to defeat Montesano 63-31 in an East County Civil War matchup on Wednesday in Elma.

Elma (8-2 overall, 2-0 1A Evergreen) held a slim 11-9 lead after one quarter as Montesano (3-9, 0-3) was able to keep pace with the Eagles early on.

But Elma began to pull away in the second quarter and increased its energy in the second half to earn the rivalry-game victory.

In the first quarter, Monte took an early lead before the two teams tied three times until Elma pulled ahead 11-9 on a long jump shot by junior guard Grant Vessey.

After a free throw from Monte junior wing Jaxson Wilson trimmed an Elma lead to 17-14 midway through the second quarter, the Eagles began to assert their will. Elma embarked on an 6-0 run capped by a basket in the paint by sophomore guard Traden Carter to take a 23-14 lead with one minute left in the first half.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Traden Carter (10) makes a pass while defended by Montesano’s Cam Taylor (50) during the Eagles’ 63-31 win on Wednesday in Elma. Carter scored a game high 20 points in the contest.

Another Wilson free throw with 35 seconds remaining trimmed Elma’s lead to 23-15 at the half.

“Montesano was really delivering on offense in the first quarter, which I wasn’t expecting,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “The had a lot of possessions and were taking the shot clock down to three or four seconds, it actually slowed us down, which was a great game plan. … It didn’t help that we missed a lot of easy shots.”

While Elma found some success in extending its lead to eight by halftime, the high-energy Eagles really took flight in the third quarter.

Leading 25-17 early in the third quarter, the Eagles went on an 11-1 run, capped by junior guard Cason Seaberg’s drive-and-dish to junior post AJ Holmes for a 36-18 lead at 4:34.

Elma continued its frenetic pace throughout the remainder of the period, finishing the quarter with a dagger three from sophomore guard Theo Flores to stake Elma to a commanding 45-22 lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game.

Elma would lead by as much as 32 points in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws by Studer for a 61-29 lead with 2:02 left.

Playing its bench late in the game, Elma senior reserve guard Logan Skeem brought the crowd out of its seat with a bucket at the buzzer to seal the 63-31 win and set off an Eagles celebration at midcourt.

“I was excited,” Elma senior Gibson Cain said of seeing his seldom-used teammate score for the first time this season. “You are supposed to be classy when you’re up 30 and not make that last bucket, but when he made that last buzzer-beater I was so pumped.”

Cain also discussed what the Eagles coaching staff told the team at the break to induce the second-half onslaught.

“Coach (Ferrier) woke us up at halftime,” he said. “First half, we were there in the head, but our energy was not there. … (At halftime) we all sat there and were all depressed because we weren’t playing up to our capability, and you never want that against a rival. … Coach said we have to start finishing our shots and we can’t have this on our home court. It’s just not an option. You go out there and win against your rivals on your home court and that’s how it’s got to be. You can’t lose.”

“Calmed us down at halftime and challenged us to have some extra energy in a rivalry game,” Ferrier said. “It needed to be high-paced. We did a good job of jumping out at halftime, changing the pace and the atmosphere of the gym. The gym really got into it for us. It really energized the boys and we knocked (Monte) down defensively.”

Three Eagles scored in double figures led by Carter, who had 20 points — 10 in the fourth quarter alone — to go along with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Cain added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks with Seaberg scoring 11 points, dishing out six assists with four rebounds for Elma, which shot 28 of 50 as a team (56%).

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Cason Seaberg (22) scores two points on a fast break while Montesano’s Peyton Damasiewicz looks on during the second half of Elma’s 63-31 win over Montesano on Wednesday at Elma High School.

The Bulldogs were led by junior wing Tyce Peterson’s 11 points — seven in the fourth quarter — and hit just six field goals in each half as a team.

“I think our shots in the second half weren’t falling and our energy was demoralized when they sprinted in transition,” Monte head coach Mack Bertram said. “We forgot to run back in the second half, it’s as simple as that.”

The victory was the fourth in the last five meetings for Elma after Monte ran off 11 straight from December 2015 through May 2021.

Montesano faces Centralia in a non-league game at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Elma has a key 1A Evergreen League matchup with Tenino — which lost to Eatonville 70-63 on Wednesday — at 7 p.m. Friday at Tenino High School.

Montesano 9 6 7 9 — 31

Elma 11 12 22 18 — 63

Scoring: Montesano — Peterson 11, Olsen 6, Wilson 5, Damasiewicz 5, Cobb 2, Taylor 2. Elma — Carter 21, Cain 12, Seaberg 11, Holmes 6, Studer 4, Flores 4, Skeem 2, Vessey 2.