North Beach won for the first time this season while honoring a Harbor coaching legend as we weekend full of boys prep basketball games.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
North Beach 45, Northwest Christian 40
North Beach honored one of its legends in a 45-40 home-opening victory over Northwest Christian on Saturday in Ocean Shores.
The Hyaks (1-3 overall) picked up their first win of the season in their home-opener on “Larry Moore Appreciation Night,” where the longtime Hyaks head coach received a standing ovation while being honored as part of the festivities.
North Beach led 17-11 at the half until the Wolverines (2-4) exploded for 19 points in the third quarter – 12 by senior guard Dan Babber – as the Hyaks trailed 30-21 heading into the final period of play.
That’s when North Beach’s Jeremiah ‘JJ’ Eastman took over the game.
The sophomore guard was smoking hot in the final period of play, hitting 5 of 6 threes and scored 18 of his game-high 25 points to lead North Beach to a 24-10 fourth quarter and the victory.
In addition to the 25 points, Eastman had 11 rebounds and seven steals in a breakout performance.
“It felt really good to get our first win of the season in front of a packed crowed at Larry Moore’s ‘House of Pain’ with Larry Moore himself in attendance,” North Beach head coach Jordan Fry said. “JJ did an amazing job to knock down shot after shot in the fourth quarter, but it was really our defense that stole the show and allowed us to get all the good looks.”
NWC hit 4-of-12 shots (33%) in the fourth quarter.
Parker Johnson had six points while Sawyer Reither had five points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Hyaks.
“It was awesome to get the very first win in my coaching career with my mentor and former coach in the audience,” Fry said. “We still have a lot to improve on, but our tenacity and grit really showed up today. Being down by nine points on the fourth quarter and coming back like we did is hard to do. We believe it’s the first step to something special out here on the beach.”
North Beach hosts Elma at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
NWC 5 6 19 10 – 40
North Beach 5 12 4 24 – 45
Scoring: NWC – Babber 22, Vahey 13, Payment 5. NB – Eastman 25, Johnson 6, Reither 5, Terrell 4, Russell 3, Rockey 2.
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Aberdeen 78, Rochester 34
Aberdeen ended the 2024 portion of its season with a 78-34 win over Rochester on Saturday in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (1-3) dominated in picking up their first win of the season.
Leading by four after one quarter of play, Aberdeen took a comfortable 36-17 halftime lead after a 24-point second quarter and put the game away with a 10-point differential in the third quarter.
Bobcats junior guard Isaac Garcia had 21 points on 8 of 16 shooting (50%) to go along with five steals and four rebounds to lead Aberdeen.
Jhacob Quezada (17 pts.) and Xanto Raya (10 pts., 2 stl.) also scored in double figures for the Cats, which shot 32 of 69 from the field (46.4%).
Aberdeen was 21 of 41 from inside the 3-point line (51.2%) and 11 of 28 from beyond it (39.3%) in its highest-scoring game of the young season.
The Bobcats had 34 rebounds and 22 steals to just nine turnovers as a team.
Aberdeen takes the winter break off and will be back in action against Montesano at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4 in Aberdeen.
Rochester 8 9 8 9 – 34
Aberdeen 12 24 18 24 – 78
Scoring: Aberdeen – Garcia 21, Quezada 17, Raya 10, Matthews 9, Martin 4, Howard 4, Jones 4, O’Brien 2, Kelly 2, Gladson 1.
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Montesano 46, Shelton 30
Montesano didn’t break 50 points for the third time to start the season, but it was more than enough as the Bulldogs cracked the win column with a 46-30 victory over Shelton on Saturday at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The Bulldogs (1-2) held an 11-point lead after one quarter but saw the Highclimbers (1-4) cut the Monte lead to 33-27 entering the fourth quarter.
But the Bulldogs defense held Shelton to just three points in the final frame to secure the victory.
Bulldogs junior wing Mason Fry scored 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting (40%) and had five rebounds, three steals and an assist in victory.
Junior Guard Terek Gunter went 6 of 11 from the floor (54.5%) to score 15 points for the Bulldogs.
Monte went 16 of 48 as a team from the field (33%), and had 24 rebounds and six steals to 14 turnovers as a team.
Montesano plays at Centralia at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Shelton 2 10 15 3 – 30
Montesano 13 9 11 11 – 46
Scoring: Shelton – Sylvester 7, Phipps 6, Parsons 5, Holzgrove 4, Gott 4, Kulback 3, Leth 1. Montesano – Fry 20, Gunter 15, Painter 5, Co. Grubb 4, Bruland 2.
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Willapa Valley 56, Pe Ell 30
After starting off the season 0-2, Willapa Valley has now won three-straight games with a 56-30 drubbing over Pe Ell on Saturday at Pe Ell High School.
The Vikings (3-2) had three players score in double figures and had the game well in hand by halftime, leading 33-5 at the break.
“Our goal was to set the tone defensively, and we did a great job of doing that in the first half,” Valley head coach Derek Rask said. “I thought our effort was fantastic, and it led to quality offense. It’s always tough to win at Pe Ell, so our preparation and approach to the game were excellent tonight. “
Senior point guard Nathan Fluke had a team-best 20 points while junior center J.B. Russell had 11 points and six rebounds for Valley.
Blane King (10 pts., 4 stl.) also scored in double figures while Brody Ritzman led the Vikings with seven rebounds.
Valley looks to extend the winning streak when it faces Raymond-South Bend at 7 p.m. on Monday at Willapa Valley High School.
Willapa Valley 15 18 13 10 – 56
Pe Ell 4 1 15 10 – 30
Scoring: WV – Fluke 20, Russell 11, King 10, Swartz 7, Ritzman 2, Sliva 2, Lusk 2, Keeton 2.
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Crescent 68, Ocosta 56
Ocosta lost for the first time this season with a 68-56 defeat to Crescent on Saturday in Westport.
Despite outshooting Crescent 81-44, the Wildcats (3-1) hit just 22% of their attempts while the Loggers (4-2) shot at a 50% clip.
“Well, it is said that the NBA is a make or miss league and that definitely holds true in high school basketball as well,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “Tonight’s game came down to Crescent making us pay for every little error on defense … The percentage difference was just too much to overcome. We had plenty of chances to make a run tonight, we just couldn’t string enough makes together to make it happen. Defensively, we did not play up to our standard and they made us pay.”
Senior guard Kayden Turner scored 20 points to go along with four steals while 6-foot-5 freshman post Sonny Beard added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Ocosta plays at North Mason High School at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Crescent 13 17 22 16 – 68
Ocosta 16 9 15 22 – 56
Scoring: Crescent – Love 27, H. Bourm 16, L. Sprague 14, L. Bourm 5, Thompson 4, J. Sprague 2. Ocosta – Turner 20, Beard 14, Welch 7, Agramon 5, Salis 4, Prigmore 4, Priest 2.
