Elma pulls away from Aberdeen down the stretch

Bobcats go scoreless for seven minutes of fourth quarter in Eagles’ 65-38 victory

By Ryan Sparks • December 21, 2022 5:00 am
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Baylor Ainsworth (23) goes up for a shot while defended by Elma’s Grant Vessey (4) and Gibson Cain during the Eagles’ 65-38 victory on Tuesday in Elma.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Baylor Ainsworth (23) goes up for a shot while defended by Elma’s Grant Vessey (4) and Gibson Cain during the Eagles’ 65-38 victory on Tuesday in Elma.

For the better part of the second meeting this season between Aberdeen and Elma, the Eagles couldn’t quite put the Bobcats away.

That all changed in the fourth quarter as Elma held the Bobcats scoreless for seven straight minutes en route to a 65-38 victory on Tuesday at Elma High School.

Fresh off a weekend trip to compete at the Seaside Tournament in Oregon, the Eagles (6-3 overall) saw Aberdeen (1-6) take an early 5-4 lead on a steal and layup by junior guard Baylor Ainsworth followed by a fast-break layup from fellow junior Manny Garcia.

A timeout by Elma head coach Mark Ferrier quickly turned things around as Elma scored eight straight points — including back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Traden Carter — to take a 12-5 lead it would never relinquish.

Leading 12-8 at the end of the first quarter, Elma embarked on a 7-0 run to start the second, taking a double-digit lead at 19-8 when Carter scored on a fast-break lay-in with 6:50 left in the first half.

But Elma’s lead stayed around 13-15 points through the second and third quarters as Aberdeen was able to keep the deficit manageable thanks in large part to Garcia, who scored 17 of his team high 21 points in the middle periods.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen junior guard Manny Garcia scored a team high 21 points in a 65-38 loss to Elma on Tuesday at Elma High School.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen junior guard Manny Garcia scored a team high 21 points in a 65-38 loss to Elma on Tuesday at Elma High School.

In the final stanza, Elma ramped up its defense on Garcia and his teammates and were able to consistently beat a Bobcats press for transition buckets.

Aberdeen went ice-cold from the floor as Elma went on a 16-0 run over the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, capped by a fast-break give-and-go between junior forward AJ Holmes and senior forward Gibson Cain, with Holmes scoring to put the Eagles up 65-36 with 1:20 left in the game.

“When (Elma head coach Matt Ferrier) pulled us into a timeout and yelled at us about not running the press-break right and not doing the quick-pitch how we should, after that we started running it good and scoring,” said Elma starting guard Cason Seaberg who, along with Carter, were the catalysts for Elma’s press-break offense that led to five breakaway layups in the fourth quarter. “Scoring brings up the intensity of the game and helps you on your defense and gives you confidence. I think after that, (Aberdeen) just died down and we took advantage of that.”

Ferrier said the past weekend’s trip south made his team tougher and it showed in a game where a collision between Aberdeen’s Kyle Miller, Trey Anderson and Elma’s Grant Vessey on a loose ball in the second half ended with Vessey on the floor after taking a blow to the face. No foul was called on the play.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Grant Vessey, right, collides with Aberdeen’s Kyle Miller (4) and Trey Anderson while going for a loose ball during the second half of the Eagles’ 65-38 victory on Tuesday in Elma.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Grant Vessey, right, collides with Aberdeen’s Kyle Miller (4) and Trey Anderson while going for a loose ball during the second half of the Eagles’ 65-38 victory on Tuesday in Elma.

“Playing down in Oregon last week, we found out basketball down there is a lot more physical than we are used to,” Ferrier said. “So the last three games, we were able to see that and get comfortable with it, and tonight we battled like crazy. We made it physical, we made it scrappy and down the stretch, all we did was knuckle-down defensively in man (defense).”

Carter led Elma with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting (50%), including 5 of 8 from 3-point range (63%) to go along with five rebounds.

Holmes (12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) and Cain (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) also scored in double figures for an Eagles team that shot 38% on 24 of 63 from the field.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma guard Traden Carter led the Eagles with 21 points during the Eagles’ 65-38 victory over Aberdeen on Tuesday in Elma.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma guard Traden Carter led the Eagles with 21 points during the Eagles’ 65-38 victory over Aberdeen on Tuesday in Elma.

Elma had 11 steals in the game, committed just 12 turnovers and shared the ball with 14 assists total from seven different players.

“I think in transition we were really good at passing the ball and seeing each other in open lanes,” Seaberg said. “That is what we practice … getting it to the open man, sharing the ball and not being selfish and I think that is what we implemented in the game today.”

Elma hosts Shelton at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29.

Aberdeen hosts Gig Harbor at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Aberdeen 8 15 13 2 — 38

Elma 12 23 14 16 — 65

Scoring: A — M. Garcia 21, Ainsworth 9, I. Garcia 4, Walsh 2, Ambrojiani 2. E — Carter 21, Holmes 12, Cain 10, Vessey 8, Seaberg 7, Studer 4, Hackney 3.