Several Twin Harbors boys hoops teams opened their district-playoff runs across Southwest Washington on Wednesday.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

King’s Way Christian 65, Montesano 50

Montesano’s district-tournament opener didn’t go as planned as the Bulldogs were beat by King’s Way Christian 65-50 on Wednesday at Montesano High School.

The Bulldogs (11-11 overall) trailed by just a bucket after one quarter of play before scoring eight points on 3-of-10 shooting (33%) in the second quarter to trail 29-22 at halftime.

Thanks in large part to eight points by guard Colton Grubb, Monte shave two points off the Knights lead in the third frame to trail 45-40 entering the fourth quarter.

But KWC made seven field goals – including three 3-pointers – over the final eight minutes of the game while Monte went 4 for 19 from the floor in the fourth quarter (21%) to suffer the loss.

Grubb, guard Terek Gunter and forward Mason Fry each scored 11 points to lead the Bulldogs, which shot 19 of 61 from the field (31%) – including 6 of 22 from the 3-point line (27%) – and went 6 of 16 from the free-throw line (37.5%).

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Terek Gunter (10) shoots against King’s Way Christian’s Reece Johnson during the Bulldogs’ 65-50 loss in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Wednesday in Montesano.

Knights junior guard Jackson Lovato led all scorers with 22 points.

With the loss, Montesano faces Elma in a 1A District 4 elimination game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Montesano High School.

KWC 16 13 16 20 – 65

Montesano 14 8 18 10 – 50

Scoring: KWC – Lovato 22, Larney 17, Matson-Blighton 16, Johnson 6, Hartsell 4. Montesano – Co. Grubb 11, Gunter 11, Fry 11, Ca. Grubb 8, Messick 8, Williamsen 1.

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Fort Vancouver 68, Elma 55

Elma struggled to slow down Fort Vancouver in a 68-55 1A District 4 first-round loss on Wednesday at Fort Vancouver High School.

Try as they might, the Eagles (14-7) had troubles keeping up with the 12th-ranked Trappers (16-5), who made Elma pay for nearly every mistake.

“They are incredibly athletic,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “That was the fastest and most athletic team we’ve seen all year.”

Despite scoring 20 points in the first quarter, Elma trailed by six after the first eight minutes of play and managed just six points in the second quarter to find itself in a 37-26 deficit at halftime.

The Eagles played well in the second half but not well enough, being outscored by Fort Vancouver 31-29 to suffer the playoff loss.

“We played very well against a very gifted basketball team,” said Ferrier, who estimated the Trappers scored points off approximately 75-80% of his team’s miscues. “Good basketball teams will make you pay and every single time we turned the basketball over or made a mistake, they made us pay.”

The Eagles were led by its top three stars in junior forward Isaac McGaffey (20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 blocks), senior guard Traden Carter (19 pts., 7 reb., 2 stl.) and senior guard Theo Flores (6 pts., 5 assists, 2 stl.).

“All three of them played great basketball games,” Ferrier said. “They just did what they were supposed to do as our leaders.”

Of the 10 Eagles that got into the game, seven had not played in a district playoff until Wednesday.

“We played seven kids that got the opportunity to go on the road in a tough, hostile environment with a huge crowd, and got a taste of district basketball,” Ferrier said

Elma shot 38% from the field on 21-of-55 shooting – including 5 of 18 from beyond the arc (28%) – and went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.

The Eagles had 24 rebounds – nine offensive –11 assists and 11 turnovers as a team.

With the loss, Elma takes on Montesano in a district-elimination game scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Montesano.

Elma 20 6 18 11 – 55

Fort Vancouver 26 11 18 13 – 68

Scoring: Elma – McGaffey 20, Carter 19, Flores 6, Myer 4, Moe 4, Phan 2.

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Washougal 79, Aberdeen 44

Aberdeen trailed early and never recovered in suffering a season-ending 79-44 loss to Washougal in a 2A District 4 pigtail game on Wednesday at Washougal High School.

The Bobcats (7-14) trailed 23-13 after one period of play and faced a 18-point deficit by halftime.

The Panthers (7-13) outscored Aberdeen 39-22 in the second half to seal the Bobcats’ fate.

Aberdeen senior forward Tarren Lewis closed out his prep career with 15 points and six rebounds to lead the Bobcats.

Junior guard/forward Isaac Garcia scored six points and had a team-high nine rebounds and four steals for Aberdeen.

The Bobcats went 17 of 57 from the field (30%) – 4 of 24 from the 3-point line (17%) – converted 6 of 13 free throws (46%) and had 28 rebounds to 14 turnovers in the game.

Aberdeen 13 9 10 12 – 44

Washougal 23 17 19 20 – 79

Scoring: Aberdeen – Lewis 15, Raya 7, Garcia 6, Quezada 6, Scott 5, Kelly 4, Gladson 1.

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Willapa Valley 68, Oakville 31

The Willapa Valley Vikings are one game away from a state-tournament berth after a 68-31 thrashing over Oakville in a 1B District 4 first-round game on Wednesday at Willapa Valley High School.

The fifth-ranked Vikings (19-2) had three players score in double figures and six players with eight or more points en route to jumping out to a 27-point halftime lead.

Sophomore power forward Brody Aust and senior guard Aiden Sliva scored 11 points apiece to lead Valley while senior guard Nathan Fluke added 10 points for the Vikings.

Blane King, Brody Ritzman and J.B. Russell scored eight points each for a Valley squad that had 10 players score in the rout.

“We got off to a good start in the first quarter. I thought we rebounded well on both ends of the floor and our offensive transition game was solid,” Valley head coach Derek Rask said. “Everyone was able to play and contribute tonight, gaining valuable district experience.”

Russell and Ritzman grabbed six rebounds each to lead Valley.

The Vikings will face Wahkiakum in a 1A District 4 semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at Adna High School. The winner advances to the district-title game and earns a spot in the state tournament.

Oakville 9 8 4 10 – 31

Willapa Valley 20 22 16 10 – 68

Scoring: Willapa Valley – Aust 11, Sliva 11, Fluke 10, King 8, Ritzman 8, Russell 8, Jarvis 4, Lusk 4, Andrews 2, Mican 2.

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Ocosta 50, Pe Ell 42

Ocosta advanced to the 1B District 4 semifinals with a 50-42 victory over Pe Ell in a first-round playoff game on Wednesday in Westport.

The Wildcats (15-6) and Trojans (8-12) were tied at 23-all at halftime and Ocosta needed some clutch threes by guard Kayden Turner and Noah Prigmore and the free-throw shooting of Sonny Beard and Dalton Welch – who went a combined 6 for 9 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter – to advance in the tournament.

Turner led all scorers with 17 points to go along with six rebounds.

Jesus Agramon and Beard scored nine points apiece, with Beard drawing praise from Wildcats head coach Jason Quinby for playing “a great game, defensively” with 11 rebounds, four steals and six blocks.

“We definitely didn’t execute offensively like a couple of nights ago, but still found a way to win,” Quinby said. “Pe Ell came out hungry tonight and made life tough for our guys by applying good pressure in the half court. We struggled to find some consistency on offense, which led to 24 turnovers on the night, many due to us forcing things instead of using ball movement and player movement to get good looks. … We were fortunate to come out with a win, but at this time of year, that’s all you need to do.”

Ocosta is one win away from the state tournament and will face Columbia Adventist in a district semifinal at 6 p.m. on Monday at Adna High School.

Pe Ell 7 16 6 13 – 42

Ocosta 12 11 10 17 – 50

Scoring: Pe Ell – Harris 12, McCarty 9, McGrath 6, Mason 6, Nelson 6, Edgar 3. Ocosta – Turner 17, Agramon 9, Beard 9, Welch 6, Prigmore 5, Solis 4.

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PHOTO BY TIA CHENEY Taholah defenders (from left) Domonique Rodriguez, Jayden Lewis and Jade Charley surround Columbia Adventist’s Luke Pierce during the Chitwhins’ 68-51 loss in the 1B District 4 Tournament on Wednesday in Battle Ground.

Other games

Columbia Adventist 68, Taholah 51

(Taholah faces Pe Ell in a district-elimination game at 6 p.m. Monday at Raymond High School)