Boys Prep Basketball Roundup: Aberdeen beats Hoquiam to snap four-game Myrtle Street Rivalry skid

Aberdeen snapped a Myrtle Street Rivalry losing streak as we review Monday’s prep basketball action on the Harbor.

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Aberdeen 55, Hoquiam 49

There were plenty of rumblings heading into Monday’s Myrtle Street Rivalry matchup that the Aberdeen Bobcats didn’t have what it takes to defeat the Hoquiam Grizzlies.

How’d that conventional wisdom hold up?

An energetic Aberdeen squad took control in overtime to snap a four-game losing streak against Hoquiam with a 55-49 win at Sam Benn Gymnasium.

“After we lost to Raymond (on Saturday), we knew we had to come back to our house and win this game,” said Aberdeen sophomore guard Jhacob Quezada, who iced the contest with a clutch three in overtime. We were all talking about how that was a depressing loss in Raymond, so we needed to step up and that’s what we did. … We needed to come out and win this game.”

After a slow start that saw the game remain scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the first quarter, Aberdeen (2-4 overall) see leads as much as eight points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth evaporate.

After a missed Hoquiam three at the buzzer sent the game into overtime, the Bobcats outscored the Grizzlies 9-3 in the four-minute overtime period led by clutch performances from Quezada and senior Manny Garcia.

Up 23-18 at the half, the Bobcats opened the third quarter with a three from senior forward Viktor Zarate to push its lead to eight, their highest of the game to that point.

But Hoquiam (2-3) crept to within four at 28-24 and later 30-26 on a jump shot from freshman guard Lincoln Niemi at the 3:19 mark of the quarter.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen guard Grady Springer, right, defends against Hoquiam freshman Lincoln Niemi during the Bobcats’ 55-49 overtime win on Monday in Aberdeen.

The Grizzlies would complete the comeback in the waning moments of the period, taking a 33-32 lead on a Niemi drive and score with 40 seconds on the clock, capping a 7-0 run to end the third quarter.

The fourth quarter resembled the third in that it was Aberdeen that started off hot. The Bobcats quickly regained the lead on an alley-oop layup by senior forward Baylor Ainsworth on a Quezada pass to get Aberdeen’s offense rolling.

The Bobcats would take a 44-35 lead on a 12-2 run highlighted by five straight points from Quezada on a top-of-the-key three and a long-range baseline jumper.

But once again, Hoquiam would respond.

With just over four minutes left in the game, the Grizzlies would embark on another run to climb back in the game.

Hoquiam would tie the game at 46-all on a three from senior forward Chris Bryson with 34.9 seconds left in regulation, capping an 11-2 Grizzles run.

Both teams had a shot at winning the game, with Garcia missing a three in the final minute followed by a missed three at the buzzer by Bryson to send the game into overtime.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen senior guard Manny Garcia, right, knocks down a jump shot over Hoquiam guard Joey Bozich during the Bobcats’ 55-49 overtime win on Monday in Aberdeen.

“I think we kind of started playing the way we normally do,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said. “We talked about how in the first half we were really forcing shots and that’s not normal for us. … We really started to click there in the third quarter. After we tied it, I really felt pretty good, but we just couldn’t get over the hump”

In the extra period, Hoquiam took a 48-46 lead right from the tip-off, with Jump scoring a layup off an assist from Niemi.

Aberdeen tied the game on a jumper from Quezada at 2:54 followed by a one-handed baseline teardrop shot from Garcia to put the Cats up 50-48 with 1:44 left.

With less than a minute to play, a turnover on a Hoquiam inbound play led to an Aberdeen possession. The Bobcats worked the ball around the perimeter, eventually finding Quezada at the elbow. The sophomore guard rose up and knocked down a three to put Aberdeen up 53-48 with 39.4 seconds left.

“No hands were up, so that was the first thing I saw and I just shot it,” Quezada said of the play. “When I made it, I was just hyped about it. … I was just happy. The crowd got me into it. They were going crazy.”

“Jhacob coming off the bench and making a big difference in the second half – making a couple of huge shots for us – he did a great job,” Coach Brooks said. “I think everybody that got on the court pitched in tonight.”

Garcia made 1-of-2 free throws with 6.4 seconds left followed by Niemi making 1-of-2 from the charity stripe at the other end as Aberdeen beat Hoquiam for the first time since May of 2021.

“Ninety percent of defense is energy,” said Aberdeen head coach Brandin Brooks, who kept emphasizing to his team to play with energy throughout the game. “We knew we had to be special on defense tonight because they have a special player in Lincoln Niemi. We had to have each other’s backs, so that energy they brought tonight was much needed and defensively, I think we did an amazing job.”

“I thought they did a good job all night forcing us to speed up a little bit,” Coach Niemi said. “When we ran stuff, we really looked good, but when we forced stuff, we really didn’t.”

Aberdeen shot 22-of-62 from the field (35%) and was led by Quezada’s 17 points, most of those coming on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc (55%).

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen senior forward Baylor Ainsworth (5) drives to the rim during a 55-49 overtime win against Hoquiam on Monday in Aberdeen.

“We had a lot of doubters,” Quezada said. “We just knew we had to come to this game and win this because we had everyone saying, ‘Oh, you guys are going to lose. You lost to them two times last year.’ We just came into this game and took the hate to heart and did what we did.”

“It’s a rivalry game. (Hoquiam) wasn’t going to die and go away, they’re going to fight and not let us walk away with this game,” Coach Brooks said. “(Defeating Hoquiam) was one of our goals this season because they beat up on us so bad last year. We definitely wanted to show that we’re getting better. We’re building better habits and going forward, we’re going to be a team to be reckoned with.”

Aberdeen plays at Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Hoquiam will look to snap its three-game skid when it hosts Onalaska at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Hoquiam 7 11 15 13 3 – 49

Aberdeen 6 17 9 14 9 – 55

Scoring: Hoquiam – Niemi 22, Jump 15, Bryson 6, Bozich 3, LaBounty 2, Butcher 1. Aberdeen – Quezada 17, Ainsworth 14, M. Garcia 10, Brooks 6, I. Garcia 3, Zarante 3, Ancich 2.

Willapa Valley 50, Ocosta 33

Willapa Valley held Ocosta to 11 points in the second half en route to a 50-33 win over Ocosta on Monday in Westport.

“Our defensive effort was pretty good tonight. We executed our defensive game plan the way we hoped to,” Vikings head coach Derek Rask said. “We were able to hold them to 33 points in their gym. I was pleased with that effort from our kids.”

Willapa Valley (3-2) led 23-22 at halftime but held Ocosta (2-5) to nine points in the third quarter and two points in the fourth to outscore the Wildcats 27-11 over the final 16 minutes of the game.

Valley shot 29% from the field on 17-of-58 shooting as Ocosta “played better, defensively,” according to Wildcats head coach Jason Quinby.

“We had a few lapses on defense regarding some baseline drives and getting beat a few times on some backdoor cuts, but we handled the screening actions that Valley threw at us pretty well,” he said.

A key factor in the Wildcats’ loss was turnovers, of which Ocosta committed 21 on Monday.

“Our main problem, as it’s been all season, was once again turning the ball over. When we ran our offense all the way through without throwing it away, we were successful inside,” said Quinby, who added his team’s perimeter shooting didn’t help matters much. “Our other issue was not hitting anything from outside (2-for-20). Most of those were good looks that came in rhythm, but for whatever reason, didn’t fall, allowing Valley to slowly pull away throughout the second half as we struggled to put the ball in the hoop.”

Valley was led by Brody Ritzman (15 points, 9 rebounds) and Nathan Fluke (11 points, 3 steals).

Ocosta was led by Kayden Turner, who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Noah Prigmore (7 points, 5 rebounds), who Quinby said “played well on both sides of the court tonight.”

Ocosta takes on South Bend at 7 p.m. Friday in South Bend.

Valley takes hosts Three Rivers Christian at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Willapa Valley 12 11 12 15 – 50

Ocosta 12 10 9 2 – 33

Scoring: Willapa Valley – Ritzman 15, Fluke 11, King 9, Swartz 7, Keeton 5, Sliva 3. Ocosta – Kay. Turner 13, Prigmore 7, Lewis 7, Ceja 5, Wyland 1.

Other scores

Girls Prep Basketball

Quilcene 19, Wishkah Valley 12