Montesano rode a first-quarter run to victory while Taholah outpaced North Beach as we review Saturday’s Twin Harbors boys prep basketball games.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Montesano 67, Aberdeen 59

After getting off to a great start, Montesano held off an Aberdeen rally for a 67-59 win on Saturday at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.

The Bulldogs (5-6 overall) played with energy and purpose in the first quarter, starting the game on an 8-0 run and finishing the first frame up 22-10.

Junior guard Terek Gunter sparked Monte with three 3-pointers while the exclamation point was provided by junior wing Mason Fry, who threw down an emphatic fast-break dunk to put Monte up 20-10.

Sophomore post Caden Grubb’s baseline jumper at the buzzer gave Monte a 12-point lead after one quarter.

PHOTO BY HAILEY BLANCAS Montesano’s Caden Grubb scores during a 67-59 win over Aberdeen on Saturday at Aberdeen High School.

“The kids have been coming out pretty well the past few games,” Monte head coach Doug Galloway said. “I think we’re starting to get our confidence and get better every day.”

“It’s all about getting off to a good start. That was my biggest worry about tonight was us being sluggish,” said Aberdeen head coach Brandyn Brooks, whose team had not played in a game in 21 days. “When we have games where we play better in the first quarter, the outcome is much better for us.”

The Bobcats (1-4) trailed by as much as 15 points after another Gunter three made it a 32-17 game in the second quarter until Aberdeen began to chip away at the lead.

A three by sophomore guard Jhacob Quezada just before halftime put the Cats down 36-25 and another Quezada shot from 3-point range trimmed Monte’s lead to 37-31 at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter.

But Monte stretched the lead back to 10 at 44-34 on a pair of free throws from Fry and led 49-36 late in the frame until a Bobcats 5-0 run – capped by an Isaac Garcia fastbreak layup – made it a 49-41 game after three quarters.

Aberdeen quickly erased the majority of that deficit in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

A drive and bucket high off the glass by Aberdeen guard Floyd Jones followed by a pair of free throws by Cats guard Tarren Lewis made it a 49-45 game with approximately one minute gone in the fourth period.

After a Montesano turnover, Aberdeen junior guard Ryker Scott rose up and hit a three to cut the Bulldogs lead to one at 49-48 with 6:49 left to play.

Enter Gunter, who immediately muffled the exuberant Aberdeen crowd by hitting his fourth 3-pointer of the game 11 seconds later.

PHOTO BY HAILEY BLANCAS Montesano’s Terek Gunter (10) jostles with Aberdeen’s Xanto Raya during the Bulldogs’ 67-59 win on Saturday in Aberdeen.

That kicked off a 9-0 Bulldogs run capped by a Drew Bruland drive and score as the Bulldogs stretched the lead to 60-51 with 3:13 to play.

The Bobcats wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way as Monte left town with the 67-59 victory.

“We just talked a little bit about how teams are going to make a run and Aberdeen is a good team,” Galloway said. “They made their run and it was time for us to figure some things out. … We started to be stronger with the ball and a little more aggressive. … We started moving a little better and the ball started flowing to some open people. (Aberdeen) puts you in some tough positions and is a very good basketball team. We fell fortunate to come out of here with a win.”

Fry led all scorers with 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and three steals.

Gunter went a perfect 5 for 5 in the game, scoring 14 points while blocking two shots in the contest.

Grubb also finished in double digits for Monte with 11 points.

Monte went 20 for 40 from the field (50%) and shot 19 of 31 from the free-throw line (61.3%) while committing 22 turnovers.

Aberdeen was led by Quezada (18 points) and Scott (14 pts., 4 rebounds) and shot 20 for 58 as a team (34.5%), including 9 for 28 from beyond the arc (32.1%).

The Bobcats also got to the line in a foul-plagued game, hitting 10 of 20 from the charity stripe (50%).

The Cats had 14 steals as a team, led by Garcia with five.

Aberdeen had 17 turnovers and was outrebounded by Monte 32-21.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Mason Fry (22) is defended by Aberdeen’s Tarren Lewis during the Bulldogs’ 67-59 win on Saturday in Aberdeen.

At the end of the evening, both coaches saw positives with how their respective teams played.

“We dug ourselves a hole that we worked hard to dig ourselvesout of,” said Aberdeen head coach Brandyn Brooks, whose team had not played in a game in 21 days. “We’re moving in the right direction. I’m not mad about how my boys played tonight. I think they played inspired and the last three quarters is more indicative of who we are than the first quarter.”

“We’ve got a lot to learn with this game, with some of the positions Aberdeen put us in,” said Galloway, whose team has now won three in a row and four of its past five with the victory. “But I feel like we’re getting better. I feel like the kids’ confidence is improving and I’m just excited about the trend we’re on.”

Aberdeen faces Elma at 7 p.m. on Monday in Elma.

Monte hosts Raymond-South Bend at 6:45 p.m. on Monday.

Montesano 22 14 13 18 – 67

Aberdeen 10 15 16 18 – 59

Scoring: Montesano – Fry 21, Gunter 14, Ca. Grubb 11, Bruland 5, Ames 3, Dowler 3, Barnes 2. Aberdeen – Quezada 18, Scott 14, Lewis 9, Raya 7, Garcia 7, Matthews 2, Jones 2.

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Onalaska 67, Raymond-South Bend 58

Despite another top-scoring performance by Chris Quintana, Raymond-South Bend fell to Onalaska 67-58 on Saturday in Onalaska.

The Ravens’ senior guard scored a game-high 30 points – 20 in the second and third quarters combined – but it wasn’t enough as RSB spent much of the game catching up from an 18-8 first-quarter deficit.

“We tried to dig in and get the win, but we made a couple mistakes defensively that gave them a win,” RSB head coach Jon Schray said. “We are looking forward to playing them again next Saturday in our first game at Raymond High School.”

Sophomore forward Tanner Morris added 10 points for the Ravens.

RSB will play at Montesano at 6:45 p.m. on Monday.

RSB 8 23 16 11 – 58

Onalaska 18 18 16 15 – 67

Scoring: RSB – Quintana 30, Morris 10, Banker 6, Martinez 6, Ridderbush 4, Somero. Onalaska – Underhill 24, Lawrence 12, Rushton 10, McGraw 10, Jacoby 6, Thoyer 4.

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Taholah 77, North Beach 47

A big second half propelled Taholah to a 77-47 win over North Beach on Saturday at Taholah High School.

The Chitwhins (5-4) got off to a great start thanks to nine points by standout senior forward Jade Charley to lead by nine after one quarter.

Leading 35-23 at the half, Taholah put the game away with 22 points in the third – 11 by junior guard Eric Adams – and added 20 more points in the fourth quarter, seven by senior guard Jayden Lewis.

”We were competitive in the first half, but we were outmatched in the second half,” Hyaks head coach Jordan Fry said. “We thought we might be able to wear them down with our conditioning, but they ran step for step with us. I liked my boys’ fight, but it just wasn’t enough to beat a tough Taholah team.”

Charley led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting (40.9%) with Adams (14 points), Lewis (13 points) and senior guard Isaac Valenzuela (12 pts.) also scoring in double figures for the Chitwhins.

Taholah hit 31 of a whopping 87 shots form the field (35.6%).

Sophomore J.J. Eastman led North Beach (3-7) with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting (67%) while teammate Roston Herrera also finished in double figures with 14 points.

Taholah takes on Willapa Valley at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Menlo.

North Beach hosts Ilwaco at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

North Beach 10 13 14 10 – 47

Taholah 19 16 22 20 – 77

Scoring: North Beach – Eastman 18, Herrera 14, Russell 5, Johnson 4, Terrell 3, Frank 2, Apadaca 1. Taholah – Charley 25, Adams 14, Lewis 13, Valenzuela 12, Vitalis 6, Rodriguez 5, Underwood-Newton 2.

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Other games

Concrete 52, Lake Quinault 31