Given the chance to keep control over its postseason fortunes, Aberdeen missed on Tuesday night and its season came to an end.

For 3 1/2 quarters, the Bobcats defensively shut off Evergreen 2A Conference champion Tumwater and had the opportunity to secure at least a postseason district play-in game. However, the T-Birds found their wings in the final 3 minutes and flew away for a 53-42 boys basketball win at Sam Benn Gym.

One hour drive to the east, Chehalis overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and eventually knock off Black Hills, 59-55, to secure the fourth and final league berth into this weekend’s District IV 2A tournament. The Bobcats and the Bearcats were tied for fourth entering Tuesday’s games.

The loss ends Aberdeen’s season with a 3-7 league record, 8-12 overall.

“I’m very proud of this varsity group that improved every day and helped the program be competitive in returning to the Evergreen 2A,” AHS head coach Mark Buckman said. “It was one of those things, we’ve put an emphasis on our defense. We know we can rely on that side of the ball. Offensively, we were able to play with them for 3 1/2 quarters. I’m very proud of these guys who were able to compete with this Tumwater team.”

Aberdeen made life very tough on Tumwater for this season finale, physically matching the T-Birds in the paint and hitting key shots all over the court.

Senior Victor Gomez (team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds) spent his night covering Tumwater’s Cade Otton (held to nine points) and did a solid job of making the University of Washington-bound quarterback work in the paint. Gomez got plenty of help in double- and triple-teaming Otton, leaving other T-Birds to pick up the offensive slack.

The only Tumwater player to step up was guard Brian Marty, whose scoring run late in the game proved to be the difference in the end. Marty led all scorers with 29 points.

Aberdeen’s job got tougher in the paint in the second half after senior Braden Castleberry-Taylor fell hard on his shoulder fighting for a rebound with just under 3 minutes to play in the first half. Castleberry-Taylor didn’t return, shifting a Bobcat low-post committee into the paint.

“Victor knew once Braden went out that a lot was going to be placed onto his shoulders,” Buckman said. “He did an excellent job, continuing his senior leadership and kept his energy all game long. There were a couple of his 3-point shots we thought were going to go down, but just missed.”

Down 10-7 after one quarter, Aberdeen grabbed the lead on back-to-back 3-point baskets from seniors Brayden Roiko and Gomez. The lead shifted to both teams before Tumwater took a 19-18 score into halftime.

The Bobcats muscled their way to their biggest lead of the game, 25-21, with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. A Roiko trey gave them the lead, with Ben Dublanko and Gomez each converting driving baskets in traffic. However, the T-Birds found some momentum in the paint for the remainder of the quarter.

Marty and forward Thomas Drayton combined for 11 of Tumwater’s 14 points in a 14-5 run to end the third quarter with a 35-30 lead. The five-point lead would be pivotal for the remainder of the contest.

Both teams continued to fight and claw their way through their offensive sets before Dublanko’s offensive-rebound putback trimmed the deficit to 39-36 with 3 1/2 minutes left. Tumwater called timeout, lost the ball on a turnover and Aberdeen had a chance to tie.

With an open look, Gomez’s 3-point shot rattled out. Tumwater got the rebound and Marty scored on a transition drive to the basket. The T-Bird senior scored 10 of his team’s final 14 points to key a 14-3 run to close the game.

Seniors Jake Metke and Harlan Troy finished out their Aberdeen careers with back-to-back 3-point baskets in the final minute of play.

Roiko, Ryan Solan, Dylan Hughes, Troy, Josh Collett, Gomez, Milan Jandu, Metke and Castleberry-Taylor were honored, as well as members of the band and cheerleading squad, in Senior Night pre-game and halftime ceremonies.

Tumwater 10 9 16 18 — 53 Aberdeen 7 11 12 12 — 42

Tumwater (53) — Marty 29, Geathers 4, Otton 9, Brown 2, Slater, Koukal 3, Drayton 6, Weller, Koelsch. FG — 20-54. FT — 12-15.

Aberdeen (42) — Roiko 10, Bojorge, Dublanko 4, Solan, Hughes, Troy 3, Collett 3, Gomez 17, Jandu, Metke 3, Castleberry-Taylor 2. FG — 16-50. FT — 4-8.

JV — Tumwater 59, Aberdeen 34.

C Squad — Tumwater 60, Aberdeen 59.