It was supposed to be a celebration for the Elma Eagles, but Montesano spoiled the party.
The Bulldogs pulled away with a 31-point fourth quarter to beat the Eagles 69-59 in a 1A Evergreen League game on Friday at Elma High School.
Monte (12-4 overall, 4-3 1A Evergreen) and Elma (11-7, 4-2) played to a low-scoring first quarter in front of a standing-room only crowd in Elma.
The Bulldogs held as much as an eight point lead after a Jaxson Wilson three put Monte up 25-17 at 3:21 of the second quarter, but Elma rallied to trim the deficit to 27-24 on a basket in the post from senior forward AJ Holmes with just over a minute left in the first half.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Members of Elma’s 1964 state-championship team, known as the “Blue Buzzsaw,” are acknowledged by the crowd during a ceremony at halftime of Friday’s game against Montesano.
After a halftime ceremony where Elma honored its 1964 state-championship team affectionately dubbed the “Blue Buzzsaw,” the Eagles started the second half with a 10-3 run paced by three straight layups from senior forward Carter Studer to take a 34-32 lead.
Monte tied the game at 38-all on a free throw from senior Tyce Peterson at the 1:46 mark of the third quarter.
But two buckets from sophomore Isaac McGaffey gave the Eagles a 42-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Tied at 42-all after Peterson scored in the paint at the 5:35 mark, Elma regained the lead when Holmes scored on a tip-in rebound and was fouled. Holmes hit the subsequent free throw to stake the Eagles to a 47-44 lead with 5:27 to play, forcing a Montesano time out.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior guard Jaxson Wilson, foreground, pulls down a rebound against Elma’s Issac McGaffey during the Bulldogs’ 69-59 win on Friday in Elma.
“I told them, ‘You have to believe. You have to stay together and we’ve got to rebound,’” Montesano head coach Leonard Barnes said. “Elma is a rebounding machine. I just told them we have to find bodies and box out and find the ball, no second-chance points. ‘Go get the ball.’”
Out of the timeout, Wilson scored a bucket followed by a clutch 3-pointer to put Monte up 49-47 halfway through the quarter.
Monte junior guard Delon Chan scored and was fouled on the fast break, hitting the free throw to put Monte up 52-47 and force an Elma timeout.
The Bulldogs train kept rolling.
Peterson scored off an offensive rebound followed by a bank shot in the paint from senior forward Cam Taylor as Monte went up 56-47 with 2:39 left.
Elma answered with a pair of free throws from junior guard Theo Flores, trimming Monte’s lead to 56-49 with 2:57 left.
But Elma would get no closer as the Bulldogs’ relentless rebounding and ability to break the Eagles defensive pressure led to breakaway layups and shots from the foul line.
Monte high 10-of-16 shots from the field (63%) and 4-of-6 free throws (66%) in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
“Coach Barnes said we have to come out and play as a team and play very hard and controlled, and that’s what we did,” Wilson said. “It was just a great team win. We played with discipline and we were really consistent with breaking their press and that’s what got us started.”
Wilson finished with 14 points off the bench, including nine big points in the fourth quarter.
“I knew I had to do something,” Wilson said. “I just went all out. … It’s not all about me, it’s about the team. We came out hot.”
Taylor led the Bulldogs with 16 points while Peterson (13 points) and Chan (12 pts.) also finished in double digits.
Monte went 21 of 40 from the field (42%) and 11 of 18 from the free-throw line (61%).
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma senior Carter Studer (24) scores on a breakaway layup during the second half of a 59-59 loss to Montesano on Friday in Elma. Monte’s Terek Gunter (1) looks on.
Elma was led by senior guard Cason Seaberg (15 pts.), junior point guard Traden Carter (14 pts.) and Holmes (13 pts.).
The Eagles went 24 of 61 from the field (39%), including 3 of 19 from the 3-point line (16%).
Monte outrebounded Elma 30-23, eight of those coming in the pivotal fourth quarter.
“We didn’t play well, in my opinion. I thought we had a great game plan. I thought we prepped all week for it. … We didn’t do it until the second half,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “We take the lead in the fourth quarter, then we give up three straight offensive rebound baskets. We miss a couple layins and then it spiraled out of control. … They tanked us for 31 points in the fourth quarter. Ugly fourth quarter for Elma.”
Elma now sits in second place, a game behind Tenino, in the league standings and needs a win over the Beavers and Eatonville next week for a chance to earn a share of the league title.
“Have to beat Tenino, have to beat Eatonville,” Ferrier said. “If we win out, we tie for first place.”
By winning by more than four points, Monte has an outside shot to leapfrog Elma for second place in the league. If the Bulldogs beat Hoquiam in its league finale on Friday combined with an Elma loss in either of the Eagles’ two final league games, Monte will be the No. 2 seed and earn a first-round district home playoff game.
“Coach (Barnes) said that coming into districts, ‘You have to win no matter what,’” Wilson said. “That’s what our mentality was today. We lost to (Elma) at home by three and we knew that we couldn’t have that happen again. So we turned up and got lit.”
Monte hosts North Beach in a non-league game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Elma will play for first place in a league game at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Tenino.
Montesano 10 19 9 31 – 69
Elma 7 17 18 17 – 59
Scoring: Montesano – Taylor 16, Wilson 14, Peterson 13, Chan 12, Bodwell 6, Damasiewicz 4, Gunter 3, Lovell 1. Elma – Seaberg 15, Carter 14, Holmes 13, Studer 8, McGaffey 7, Flores 2.
