Willapa Valley won a battle of two teams with sparkling records as we review Thursday’s prep basketball action.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Willapa Valley 56, Columbia Adventist 52
Willapa Valley went to the wire to earn a 56-52 victory over Columbia Adventist Academy on Thursday in Menlo.
The Vikings (11-2 overall) secured the win over the Kodiaks (9-1) late in the fourth quarter on buckets by sophomore power forward Brody Aust and junior center J.B. Russell.
In the final seconds of the game, Valley junior guard Brody Ritzman secured the final possessions via a steal and a rebound to seal the victory.
”I’m really proud of our team,” Valley head coach Derek Rask said. “We had to battle and play disciplined basketball to pull off this win. CAA is an excellent, well coached team. It was a close game the entire way, and it came down to a couple of possessions with seconds left in the fourth quarter.”
Junior guard Blane King led the Vikings with 21 points with Russell scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists for Valley.
Aust scored 12 points while Ritzman had four points and eight rebounds for the Vikings.
Valley faces Morton-White Pass at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Willapa Valley High School.
Willapa Valley 8 15 19 14 – 56
Columbia Adventist 9 18 14 11 – 52
Scoring: Willapa Valley – King 21, Aust 12, Russell 10, Fluke 8, Ritzman 4, Swartz 1.
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Tumwater 62, Aberdeen 50
Down big at halftime, Aberdeen’s rally fell short in a 62-50 loss to Tumwater on Thursday in Tumwater.
The Bobcats (3-7 overall, 2-2 2A Evergreen) trailed 38-15 at halftime and tried to get itself back in the game with a better defensive effort, holding the Thunderbirds (9-3, 3-1) to 10 points in the third quarter.
Aberdeen had its best period of the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points but falling short to suffer the 2A Evergreen Conference loss.
The Bobcats were led by junior forward Isaac Garcia with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting (60%) to go along with two rebounds and three steals.
Junior sharpshooting guard Jhacob Quezada scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting (40%), including 4 of 10 from 3-point range.
Aberdeen went 17 of 46 from the field (37%) – 8 of 25 from beyond the arc (32%) – and converted 8-of-14 free throws (57%).
The Bobcats had 17 rebounds, 10 steals and 16 turnovers as a team.
Aberdeen hosts Hoquiam in a Myrtle Street Rivalry game set for 7 p.m. on Monday in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen 8 7 14 21 – 50
Tumwater 18 20 10 14 – 62
Scoring: Aberdeen – Garcia 17, Quezada 16, Scott 6, Raya 4, Matthews 3, Jones 2, Howard 2. Tumwater – Dillon 20, Overbay 10, Anthony 6, B. Wall 6, Balsley 6, Anchors 5, Konrad 2, G. Wall 2, Schlecht 2, Bello 2, Bunn 1.
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Raymond-South Bend 63, Ilwaco 33
Raymond-South Bend had three players score in double figures to defeat Ilwaco 63-33 on Thursday at Raymond-High School.
The Ravens (5-8, 3-1 2B Pacific) led 30-14 by halftime over the Fishermen (4-8, 2-2) thanks in large part to senior guard Chris Quintana, who scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the second quarter.
“We came out ready to play tonight and pulled off a big league win,” RSB head coach Jon Schray said. “I was pleased with the defense we played and our shot selection was exactly what we want to get.”
RSB’s Isaac Schlueter came off the bench to score 13 points – including 3 for 5 from 3-point range – with Ravens teammate Carson Ridderbush scored 12 points.
“Captains Chris Quintana and Chris Banker (4 points) anchored our team tonight and everyone followed suit,” Schray said.
RSB hosts Naselle at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday at South Bend High School.
Ilwaco 5 9 10 9 – 33
RSB 11 19 16 17 – 63
Scoring: Ilwaco – Cunningham 8, Hazen 7, Needham 7, Pelas 6, Linquist 3, Johnson 2. RSB – Quintana 23, Schlueter 13, Ridderbush 12, Banker 4, Camera 4, Orozco 2, Miller 2, Somero 2, Morris 1.
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Ocosta 79, North Beach 49
Ocosta shot the ball well in a 79-49 victory over North Beach on Thursday at Ocosta High School.
The Wildcats (10-4) led 33-20 at halftime over the Hyaks (3-11) before taking control of the game with a 24-14 third quarter, led by nine points in the frame from freshman post Sonny Beard.
Beard led three Wildcats that scored in double digits with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Ocosta’s Jesus Agramon (15 points, 7 assists) and Dalton Welch (13 pts., 5 rebounds, 4 ast.) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats.
Ocosta went 32 of 79 from the field (40.5%) and had 21 assists and 11 turnovers as a team.
”Well, tonight we shot the ball much better than our last game against Valley,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “Our scoring was spread out very well as we had 21 assists on the night and everyone on the roster who played, scored. … Our ball movement was much improved which was our emphasis in practice yesterday.”
North Beach was led by sophomore standout J.J. Eastman with 25 points.
“(Eastman) was a handful to try and stop as he scores at each level on the court,” Quinby said of the talented Hyaks star.
The Hyaks shot 35% on 18-of-51 shooting and struggled against the bigger Wildcats.
“Being an undersized team, we had a tough challenge dealing with their size, but I thought we actually did a decent job dealing with Sonny (Beard),” North Beach head coach Jordan Fry said of Ocosta’s 6-foot-5 freshman. “They are a tough team to guard. If you concentrate on their bigs, they have some good shooters on the outside. It’s a pick your poison situation. Our boys played hard but we were outmatched.”
North Beach takes on Chief Leschi at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ocosta hosts Tyee at 5:15 p.m. on Monday.
North Beach 7 13 14 15 – 49
Ocosta 19 14 24 22 – 79
Scoring: North Beach – Eastman 25, Russell 9, Johnson 8, Terrell 5, Herrera 2. Ocosta – Beard 17, Agramon 15, Welch 13, Ka. Turner 7, Solis 6, Priest 6, Wyland 6, White 3, Prigmore 2, Ceja 2, Ko. Turner 2.
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Other games
Taholah 61, Oakville 47