The Hoquiam Grizzlies made a statement in more ways than one with a 65-61 overtime victory on the road at Montesano on Tuesday.

Hoquiam (7-6 overall, 1-2 1A Evergreen) won by hitting the boards and making the clutch plays in overtime to secure the much-needed league victory over Monte (10-5, 1-3), which has now lost three in a row and four of its past five games.

Hoquiam led 21-18 at the end of the first quarter after freshman point guard Lincoln Niemi hit a three with three ticks left on the clock.

The Grizzlies took a slim 36-34 lead into halftime when Niemi hit a short baseline jumper with two seconds to go in the second quarter.

A Zander Jump layup put Hoquiam up 42-36 with 2:56 to go in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs rallied to tie the game at 42-all on an offensive rebound and putback from senior forward Gabe Bodwell at the 1:40 mark of the frame.

The period ended with Hoquiam up 45-44 after Grizzlies senior scored and was fouled followed by a baseline drive and layup from Monte senior Tyce Peterson.

The Bulldogs took a 59-45 lead on a Terek Gunter three early in the fourth quarter and led 56-51 on a Delon Chan three with 1:48 left in the game.

Hoquiam responded over its next two possessions when Bryson scored and followed by hitting 1-of-2 free throws pull the Grizzlies to within a bucket at 56-54 with just under a minute left.

After the Grizzlies defense forced a turnover and subsequent Montesano foul, Hoquiam had a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds remaining.

Bryson got the ball at the top of the key, drove and fed a perfect bounce pass to senior center Aiden Butcher to tie the game with 12.1 seconds to go.

Another Monte turnover game Hoquiam one last chance with 0:03 on the clock, but Jump’s desperation three-quarter court heave at the buzzer hit off the front of the rim, sending the game into overtime.

The Bulldogs took a 59-56 lead by hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the first 30 seconds of the extra period, but Hoquiam tied the game when Niemi buried a 3-pointer at the 3:17 mark.

Bodwell hit 1-of-2 free throws on the next trip to put Monte up 60-59, but it was the last lead the Bulldogs would sniff as Bryson scored in the paint off a bounce pass from Niemi to go up 61-60.

Niemi followed with a pull-up jumper at the 1:52 mark to put Hoquiam up 63-60 and hit two clutch free throws for a 65-60 lead with 17.6 seconds left in the game.

Monte’s Jaxson Wilson made 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled with 10.4 seconds left, but time ran out on the Bulldogs as Hoquiam earned its first league win of the season.

Both coaches said the game was won and lost on the glass.

The undersized Grizzlies outrebounded Monte 56-49, with 24 offensive rebounds for a team whose tallest player in Bryson is listed at 6-foot-4.

“On the board (in the locker room), I wrote, ‘Even-Steven Rebounding,’ and we found a way to win the rebounding battle,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “The rebounding was a real key for us.”

Monte head coach Leonard Barnes said his team needs to do better on the glass if it is going to turn around its season.

“We didn’t rebound very well and that was a problem the whole game,” he said. “We’ve been preaching rebounding for awhile and it’s a nemesis right now. We’ll get it figured out. … We just didn’t get it done tonight. We didn’t play our best game tonight.”

Niemi, who was hounded most of the game by chants of “Airball” from the Montesano student section, led all scorers with 24 points. The freshman guard and former Elks Hoop Shoot champion scored seven of his team’s nine points in the overtime period after scoring just two in the second half.

“It was a thrill, really. You feel the goosebumps a little bit after you make them,” Lincoln Niemi said of hitting big shots in overtime. “I was locked in. I couldn’t even hear the crowd in overtime. I was dialed in the whole time.”

Bryson and Jump each finished with a double-double, each with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Butcher led Hoquiam with 13 rebounds.

Hoquiam went 26 of 76 from the floor (34%) and hit 8-of-15 free throws (53%).

Chan and Bodwell led Monte with 20 and 14 points, respectively, but no other Bulldog scored more than six points as Montesano shot 25 of 68 from the field (37%).

The win was the first in league for Hoquiam and keeps the Grizzlies in the hunt for a district playoff spot.

“It was a huge win,” Lincoln Niemi said. “We got three league games this week and we knew we needed this one. We got to get Elma on Thursday, it’s a big game.”

Hoquiam travels to face second-place Elma at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Elma High School.

Monte will look to right the ship when it hosts league-leading Tenino at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Hoquiam 21 15 9 11 9 – 65

Montesano 18 16 10 12 5 – 61

Scoring: Hoquiam – Niemi 24, Bryson 14, Jump 14, Butcher 6, Bozich 5, LaBounty 2. Montesano – Chan 20, Bodwell 14, Wilson 6, Gunter 6, Anderson 4, Cobb 4, Peterson 3, Damasiewicz 3, Crites 2, Taylor 2.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam senior Chris Bryson (23) scores while Montesano’s Tyce Peterson defends during the Grizzlies’ 65-61 overtime win on Tuesday in Montesano.