In his breakout junior season, Elma forward AJ Holmes has made some big shots, but none as big as his last shot on Friday evening.

Holmes scored off an inbound pass and was fouled with one second left on the clock to give the Eagles a rousing 47-45 victory over Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 first-round playoff game in Vancouver.

Holmes’ shot came after the Eagles – trailing by as much as seven earlier in the second half – played what head coach Matt Ferrier dubbed “a near-perfect last minute of the game.”

Trailing 42-40 with 1:20 on the clock, Elma (12-9) tied the game on two clutch free throws by junior guard Grant Vessey to tie the game.

Seton Catholic (14-7) regained the lead the next trip down the floor when sophomore Lance Lee hit a three to put the Cougars up 45-42 with 1:08 left.

Elma junior guard Cason Seaberg then drove to the hoop and scored on a floater to trim the deficit to 45-44 with 54 seconds left in the game.

Seton Catholic – trying to milk as much of the clock as it could – forced up a 30-foot 3-pointer that failed to draw iron was collected by Holmes.

The Eagles moved the ball up the floor and called a timeout with 5.8 seconds on the clock.

On the ensuing inbound play, a Vessey pass attempt along the baseline was knocked out of bounds, giving the Eagles one last shot with 2.1 seconds on the clock.

Standing at his own baseline, Vessey lobbed an inbound pass over the arms of Lee toward Holmes, who jumped up to meet the ball in the air and quickly shot it in one motion. The ball gently bounced on the rim and in to set off a boisterous eruption from the Elma fans and sideline.

Holmes, who was fouled on the play by Lee, made the free throw to put the Eagles up 47-45 with one second on the clock.

A desperation heave by the Cougars’ Brady Angelo hit the side of the backboard, giving Elma the thrilling victory.

Seaberg led Elma with 19 points to go along with six rebounds while Holmes added nine points and a team-best 10 rebounds.

Vessey (2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and sophomore guard Theo Flores (4 points, 3 rebounds) were credited by Ferrier for helping to keep Elma close after standout sophomore guard Traden Carter (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) fouled out with four minutes to go in the game.

“They stepped up and controlled our pace and our decision-making over the last three-and-a-half minutes,” he said. “Without those two guys making great decisions, we probably don’t come back.”

Elma trailed 24-17 at the half and 33-28 entering the final quarter.

The Eagles went 16 of 45 from the field (36%) and made 12 of 13 free throws (92%), including Vessey and Holmes combining for three straight in the game’s critical final moments.

“That’s obviously this group’s biggest win,” Ferrier said. “This is the first round against a higher seed on the road and to come from behind on their home court is incredible. … The excitement around our program just went up a notch.”

The victory puts Elma in the district semifinals against Eatonville, a team that beat the Eagles twice in two league games this season.

The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Eatonville High School.

Skip to 1:28:29 of the video for Holmes’ game-winning shot

Elma 9 8 11 19 — 47

Seton Catholic 10 14 9 12 — 45

Scoring: Elma — Seaberg 19, Holmes 9, Cain 7, Carter 6, Flores 4, Vessey 2. Seton Catholic – n/a.

Ilwaco 58, Ocosta 43

Ocosta’s season came to an end after a 58-43 loss in a 2B District 4 Tournament elimination game to Ilwaco on Friday at Rochester High School.

Defensively, Ocosta (11-11) achieved its goals of keeping Ilwaco (15-7) under 60 points, but the Wildcats struggled to score with starting senior point guard Josh Figueroa in foul trouble.

“Well, we played better defensively tonight for the most part against Ilwaco than we did last week against Rainier, but for whatever reason, we struggled to put the ball in the hoop,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “I thought we matched physicality very well with Ilwaco and played with a lot of heart, but offensively we couldn’t get going tonight.”

Ocosta trailed 11-7 after one quarter and by 11 at halftime.

The Wildcats were led by seniors Xander Prigmore and Mark Lewis with 14 and nine points, respectively.

Ocosta went 14 for 50 from the field (28%), including 3 of 21 from beyond the arc (14%).

“I would like to thank my six seniors who played in their last game: Xander Prigmore, Josh Figueroa, Garrison Barnum, Kevin Agramon, Mark Lewis and Juan Huerta for their effort and dedication these last bunch of years,” Quinby said. “These guys survived all of the COVID garbage and played some inspiring basketball at times this year. They were really fun to coach and I’m definitely gonna miss them.”

Ocosta 7 9 11 16 – 43

Ilwaco 11 18 16 13 — 58

Scoring: Ocosta – X. Prigmore 14, M. Lewis 9, K. Agramon 6, Figueroa 3, Turner 3, J. Agramon 2, Matthews 2, Huerta 2, T. Lewis 2. Ilwaco – Turner 21, Needham 14, Morris 9, West 5, Pelas 4, Rogers 3, Kuhn 2.

Raymond 73, Toutle Lake 69

Raymond kept its season alive with a 73-69 victory over Toutle Lake in a 2B District 4 playoff elimination game on Friday at Black Hills High School.

The Seagulls (11-11) were up 71-68 with time winding down and fouled Toutle Lake leading-scorer Zach Swanson in 3-point territory with 0.7 seconds left in the game.

Swanson missed the first free throw, made the second and intentionally missed the third but was called for a lane violation.

Raymond senior guard Morgan Anderson followed with two free-throw conversions on the other end to secure the victory and send Raymond into the next round of the elimination bracket.

“We played about as well as we could play,” Raymond head coach Mike Tully said. “We executed the game plan and played four good quarters of basketball. … I’m really proud of how far this team has come, and I hope we can keep it going.”

Raymond trailed 32-30 at the half before outscoring Toutle Lake (14-9) 43-37 in the second half.

Anderson led Raymond with 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Jarrod Gunderson (16 points), Skyler Hutson (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Christopher Quintana (13 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Gulls.

Raymond will face Rainier in an elimination game set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Castle Rock High School.

Raymond 15 15 21 22 – 73

Toutle Lake 18 14 18 19 – 69

Scoring: Raymond – Anderson 31, Gunderson 16, Hutson 13, Quintana 13, Snodgrass 2. Toutle Lake – Swanson 24, Cox 16, Yonker 10, Nicholson 7, Kimball 4, Grabenhorst 3.

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Mark Morris 42, Aberdeen 23

Aberdeen never settled into a rhythm in suffering a 42-23 first-round loss to Mark Morris in the 2A District 4 Tournament on Friday at Mark Morris High School.

Aberdeen (14-6) got 16 points, five rebounds and five steals from senior Maddie Gore but little else as no other Bobcat scored more than two points in the game.

“I was hoping we’d play a little more calm, but we were making some uncharacteristically bad passes and just weren’t gelling as a unit on the offensive end.” Aberdeen head coach Rachel Wenzel said. “We were rattled and never settled into things until the second half.”

Aberdeen will face Ridgefield in an elimination game scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Tumwater High School.

Aberdeen 4 6 6 6 – 23

Mark Morris 15 13 11 3 – 42

Scoring: Aberdeen – Gore 16, A. Troeh 2, Hood 2, Manio 2, Phimmasone 1. Mark Morris – Merzoian 12, Noel 8, Schlect 8, Mejia 6, Harris 4, Blain 4.