With its offense struggling, Elma had to rely on its defense to keep its season alive, defeating Stevenson 43-41 in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game on Wednesday at Rochester High School.
The Eagles (15-8 overall) missed over 30 shots in the low-scoring affair against the Bulldogs (12-8), hitting 17-of-48 shots (35%) – including 2-of-12 3-pointers (17%) – and 7-of-12 free throws in the game (58%).
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma sophomore Isaac McGaffey (1) scores over Stevenson’s Kacen Bach during a 43-41 victory in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Wednesday at Rochester High School.
Elma trailed by five after scoring just seven points in the first quarter but rallied to take a 19-14 lead into halftime when sophomore forward Isaac McGaffey scored in the paint off an assist from senior guard Grant Vessey with 11 seconds left in the first half.
The Eagles lost the lead late in the third quarter when Stevenson senior guard Chris Blackledge hit a jump shot to give the Bulldogs a 29-28 lead with 33 seconds left in the period.
Elma quickly regained the lead when senior guard Cason Seaberg drove the lane, scored and was fouled to put the Eagles up 31-29.
Elma junior guard Traden Carter followed with a three off a Seaberg assist as the Eagles went up 34-29 with two minutes gone in the final period.
But try as they might, the Eagles were unable to extend the lead any further throughout the period.
After a pair of free throws by Stevenson senior guard Kacen Bach cut Elma’s lead to one possession at 36-33 with three minutes left, Seaberg drove the lane and scored on a layup for a 38-33 lead with 2:19 to play.
Elma would go back up by six at 40-34 on a bucket inside the paint by senior post Carter Studer off an assist from Seaberg with just under two minutes to go.
With less than a minute to play, Bach scored on a layup to make it a 40-36 ballgame, but Carter dribbled through the Stevenson press and hit an open Vessey for a layup to put Elma up 42-36 with 30 seconds left.
Stevenson came right back down the court, where senior forward Jordan Waymire found Bach open in transition. The Bulldogs leading scorer rose up and buried a three to pull Stevenson to within one possession at 42-39 with 23.3 on the clock.
Stevenson then fouled McGaffey, who hit 1-of-2 free throws to put Elma up by four with 22.5 seconds remaining.
On the final possession of the game, the Bulldogs missed a 3-pointer and got two offensive rebounds before senior forward Garrett Funk scored from under the basket.
But time had run out as all Elma had to do was inbound the ball to run off the final second of the game and escape with the 43-41 win.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma senior guard Cason Seaberg (22) shoots a free throw as Stevenson’s Chris Blackledge looks on during the Eagles’ 43-41 victory in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Wednesday at Rochester High School.
For Elma head coach Matt Ferrier, the victory provided little in the way of comfort heading into a state-tournament-or-bust game against rival Montesano.
“How often do you play game No. 23 and it’s that incredibly ugly,” he said. “We escaped on the road, which is awesome in the playoffs, but very concerning going into a winner-to-state game.”
Seaberg (13 points, 5 assists) and McGaffey (12 pts., 11 rebounds) were the only two Eagles to reach double figures in the game.
As a team, the Eagles had 35 rebounds – 13 on the offensive glass – and committed 15 turnovers in the game, a handful of those coming in the fourth quarter.
“We need to quit going for home runs,” Ferrier said. “We had a lot of turnovers tonight, which were all home runs going for what we thought was instant gratification instead of taking care of the basketball. Turnovers definitely kept (Stevenson) in the basketball game.”
Elma’s defense held Stevenson to 16 field goals as a team, eight of those from Bach who scored a game-high 20 points. No other Bulldog scored more than eight points on the evening.
“I thought we executed, but we missed 30 shots from the field,” Ferrier said. “It’s a concern that this deep in the season. We’re not knocking down shots and we missed a lot of easy ones and missed some more free throws, but man we sure played well defensively.”
With the win, the Eagles will face Montesano in the 1A District 4 Tournament’s third/fourth-place game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Hoquaim High School.
Ferrier said his team will need to put the poor-shooting performance in the rearview mirror to be successful with a trip to state and the season on the line.
“We’ve got to get rid of it and have got to understand we have to play better,” he said. “Excited to still be alive, but at the same time we’re still concerned about it. Gotta get something fixed. … Obviously, we put everyone on the edge of their seats tonight, but getting the W is big.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma junior guard Traden Carter stares down an opponent during a 43-41 win over Stevenson in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game on Wednesday at Rochester High School.
Stevenson 12 2 15 12 – 41
Elma 7 12 9 15 – 43
Scoring: Stevenson – Bach 20, Wyninger 8, Funk 6, Blackledge 5, Waymire 2. Elma – Seaberg 13, McGaffey 12, Holmes 8, Vessey 5, Carter 3, Studer 2.
