A 37-point first quarter paced Hoquiam’s district win over Seton Catholic

There was no shortage of motivation for Hoquiam before Thursday night’s District IV 1A boys basketball tournament opener at Hoquiam Square Garden against Seton Catholic.

First, this was the Hoquiam seniors’ final home game of their careers. Second, this was a chance for the Grizzlies to erase two late-season losses that cut into their confidence. And third, this was the postseason, where they thrived last season en route to a state trophy in Yakima last March.

All of this motivation was put to good use against the Cougars, who witnessed a 37-point first quarter by the Grizzlies in an 86-46 Hoquiam victory.

On Monday, Hoquiam (14-7) will take on La Center in the district semifinals in Elma.

“I’m proud of the guys for how they started the game,” HHS head coach Curtis Eccles said. “We talked about playing a team that was in their first postseason game and we knew we had the experience. It would come down to the first four minutes and, boy, that was a great start.”

Before Hoquiam stepped onto the floor, it had a rough rivalry loss to Aberdeen and a league loss to Forks to shake off. It was a fired-up senior crew — Jace Varner, Jack Adams III, Jerod Steen, Anthony Nash, Ryan Espedal and Zach Spradlin — that got the team going in the locker room.

The crowd in the stands saw the results in the opening quarter.

“Pre-game, we were inside the locker room, yelling and getting pumped up,” Varner said. “We knew this was our last home game. We just came out and really made a statement; we wanted to come back from the losses to Aberdeen and Forks. We wanted to make a statement tonight.”

There were two distinct runs in the first quarter — the first established the lead, while the second ended the quarter and put away any chance of a close contest — for Hoquiam.

After Seton Catholic’s Ben Owen drained a 3-point basket for a brief 7-4 Cougar lead, Adams returned fire with a trey to tie the game with just under 2 minutes gone in the contest.

Then, Hoquiam hit another gear. Running on missed baskets and turnovers, the Grizzlies flowed to the basket for layups. Adams, Varner and Nash were the beneficiaries, while Steen drained perimeter shots.

Also, Hoquiam piled up the assists. Overall, the Grizzlies dished out 25 assists on 36 field goals.

“You have to give compliments to the team; our passing was phenomenal,” Eccles said. “We wanted to share the ball and we did a great job of that. Jace, Jack and Jerod all had great games tonight.”

When Adams hit a free-throw jumper for a 20-8 lead, it ended a 16-1 run that he started with the trey. The Cougars converted a few chances to slow down the game, but the Grizzlies kicked it back up in the final 2 minutes of the quarter.

Transition baskets from Adams, Victor James and Varner, along with steals and baskets from Spradlin and Adams powered a quarter-ending 14-0 run for a 37-16 lead.

Adams hit 13 of his game-high 32 points in the first quarter. Varner was one assist away from a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.

“We have to compete; we can’t be too cocky (in the postseason),” Varner added. “We know we’re going to face some great teams.”

The second quarter was all Steen’s. The senior guard drained six 3-pointers overall, including three in the second, to finish with 20 points.

Hoquiam kept the pressure and the fast pace up, using its bench liberally, to push the lead into a 60-30 margin at halftime. A quick surge from the reserves allowed the Grizzlies to hit the 40-point mercy rule — a free throw from Bryson Eccles — with 2:37 left in the third quarter.

Isaiah Parker knocked down a team-high 10 points for Seton Catholic, which will take on Montesano at 5:30 p.m. Monday in a district loser-out game at King’s Way Christian.

Seton Catholic 16 14 11 5 — 46

Hoquiam 37 23 19 5 — 86

Seton Catholic (46) — Demsky 5, Parker 10, Kent 5, Owen 5, Ephraim, Davis 1, Morgan 6, Wellman 5, Moreland 6, Olson 3. FG — 17-52. FT — 8-14.

Hoquiam (86) — Spradlin 6, Espedal 2, Rivera, Eccles 4, Nash 6, Steen 20, Adams 32, James 6, Varner 10, Mazariegos, Brown. FG — 36-68. FT — 5-9.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Hoquiam’s Jerod Steen saves the ball from going out of bounds and passes it to an open Zach Spradlin for a layup against Seton Catholic on Thursday.