BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Aberdeen 57, Centralia 54

Things were tense in the final seconds, but Aberdeen came up with some key defensive stops down the stretch in a 57-54 home win over Centralia on Friday night.

Javier Bojorge led the Bobcats (9-3, 1-2 Evergreen 2A) with 20 points and came up with big defensive play with 10 seconds remaining. Bojorge jumped in a passing lane and came up with a steal with Aberdeen nursing a 55-51 lead with 15 seconds to go.

The Tigers (1-12, 0-3) didn’t go down quietly and hit a 3-pointer on their next possession to pull within one.

Ben Dublanko then sunk two free throws when Centralia was forced to foul, giving the Tigers one last chance to tie the game with just under six seconds to go.

Centralia’s Malakai Emmons put up a last-second three from the corner with Wyatt Johnson closing out to defend. The shot missed off the back iron, giving the Bobcats the league victory.

Aberdeen’s Giovanni Pisani, right, drives the lane while defended by Centralia’s Malakai Emmons in the second quarter on Friday night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

Aberdeen head coach Mark Buckman was pleased with the way his team defended in the second half and said maintaining defensive energy has been a priority for his team over the past few games.

“That’s been our emphasis the last couple of days. When you’re in league, the level picks up a little bit,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re as active as possible and have the most energy. We need to ensure that we have no letdowns on the defensive end.”

Buckman liked what he saw on defense, but the offense struggled early on. Centralia’s defensive game plan was predicated on stopping Ben Dublanko with the Tigers using a box-and-one defense on Aberdeen’s star point-guard.

Dublanko came into the game averaging 21 points per game but was held to seven points on seven shot attempts.

Aberdeen’s Ben Dublanko attempts a reverse layup in the second quarter against Centralia on Friday night. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)

The Tigers also made life difficult for Aberdeen’s post players by collapsing into the lane to challenge shots at the rim.

Down 27-21 at the half, Bojorge said coaches told the team to be more aggressive against Centralia’s defense.

“You have to give Centralia credit. They were really good defenders and they were clogging our lanes and they were up in our grill when we were going up for layups,” he said. “That’s how it’s going to be sometimes so coach told us not to hesitate at halftime.”

Bojorge began to heat up in the second half where he scored 13 of his 20 points. Dublanko didn’t crack double digits but helped move the ball around the perimeter. He ended the game with a team-leading four assists.

Bojorge said that Dublanko looked to defer to him in the second half.

“The defense was so focused on Ben and he was telling me ‘I’ll find you. Go do your thing and I will find you,’” he said.

Aberdeen will look to reach .500 in league play at home against Tumwater on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Tumwater is 5-8 overall, but a perfect 3-0 in league play.

Buckman said that his team can’t take Tumwater lightly despite its non-league losses earlier in the season.

“Everyone in our league was tested, playing some good competition in their non-league schedule. They have some losses on their record but their still a tough team,” he said “They won the league the past couple of years and were in the playoffs last year, so this is a big game for us.”

Centralia 18 9 14 13 – 54

Aberdeen 9 12 19 17 – 57

Top Players: Aberdeen – Bojorge (20 pts.) Derrell Shale (6 pts., 12 pts.), Nick Farer (9 pts., 8 reb.); Michael Ajoge (20 pts.), William Brown (13 pts.)

Hoquiam 63, Tenino 49

Hoquiam’s Garrett Dick, right, battles Tenino’s Alex Bratton for a rebound on Friday night. (Jared Wenzelburger | Centralia Chronicle)

Hoquiam’s win streak stretched to five games with a 63-49 road victory over Tenino on Friday.

The Grizzlies (7-7, 3-0 Evergreen 1A) got another double-double performance from Rayyon Dayton, who had 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Dayton did a lot of his damage from the elbow while Matt Brown went to work in the low post. Matt Brown added another 16 points to go along with his eight rebounds.

Hoquiam head coach Curtis Eccles was particularly pleased with the defensive effort that kept Tenino’s leading scorer, Yngwie Dowies, in check for most of the game.

“We denied him the ball as much as possible. He got some looks but they didn’t fall for him since our defenders were right there to contest,” he said.

Dowies ended the game with 16 points, 10 of which he scored in the fourth quarter.

Hoquiam’s Rayyon Dyaton, right, comes over to contest a shot from Tenino’s Logan Brewer on Friday night. (Jared Wenzelburger | Centralia Chronicle)

The loss drops the Beavers’ record to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Hoquiam will put its win streak on the line against Forks on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. in Forks.

Hoquiam 16 14 18 15 — 63

Tenino 18 4 12 15 — 49

Top Players:Dayton (16 pts., 16 reb.), Brown (16 pts,m 8 reb), Cameron Bumstead (10 pts., 6 stl., 5 asst.); Dowies (16 pts.), Logan Brewer (21 pts.)

Adna 47, Montesano 45

The Montesano Bulldogs couldn’t hold a second-half lead en route to a 47-45 non-league loss to Adna on Friday in Montesano.

Trace Ridgway led the way for Monte with 16 points, 14 of those coming in the second half as the Bulldogs tried to rally back from a 39-33 fourth-quarter deficit after Adna (9-3) outscored the Bulldogs 23-14 in the third.

Tanner Nicklas recorded a double-double for Monte (8-7, 2-1 Evergreen 1A), with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Monte hosts Elma in a league matchup at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Adna 12 4 23 8 — 57

Montesano 14 5 14 12 — 54

Top Players: Montesano — Ridgway (16 pts.), Nicklas (12 pts., 11 reb.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

Taholah 70, Oakville 34

The Taholah Chitwhins got a game-high 21 points from James Orozco in a 70-34 victory over Oakville on Friday at Oakville High School.

After an admittedly slow start, Chitwhins head coach Tyler Crossguns said it was his team’s defense that got things going.

“Our defense woke up and we took off, offensively,” he said.

The Chitwhins (7-2, 3-0 Coastal 1B) outscored the Acorns (3-7, 1-3) 17-4 in the second quarter and scored 42 points in the second half to earn the league victory.

Jayson Mowitch and Devin James also scored in double digits for Taholah, recording 12 and 10 points, respectively.

No further information was available for this game at the time of this writing.

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Willapa Valley 59, North Beach 37

Willapa Valley started the game with a suffocating press defense that set the tone early on in its 59-37 win over the Hyaks in North Beach on Friday night.

Willapa Valley (12-2 overall, Pacific 2B) was led by Brooke Friese, who put up 27 points and grabbed seven boards.

The Vikings also got a contributions from Hannah Cook who scored 12 points and disrupted North Beach’s offense with six steals.

Ball movement also played a role in Willapa Valley’s success with the Vikings assisting on 14 of their 27 made shots.

Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said the 32-15 halftime lead allowed him to experiment with different lineups and strategies in the second half.

“It was a good game because everyone got to play and we found some stuff out about our team,” he said. “I have to give credit to North Beach because they really improved from when we played them earlier in the year.”

North Beach was led by Adelina Desamours’ 12 points.

They Hyaks (4-7, 4-9) will get a few days off before facing Ocosta on Thursday at 7 p.m. in North Beach.

Willapa Valley will be hoping to push its win streak to seven games when the Vikings host Chief Leschi on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Willapa Valley 20 12 13 14 – 59

North Beach 1 14 7 15 – 37

Top Players: Willapa Valley — Friese (27 pts., 7 reb), Cook ( 12 pts., 6 stl), Britney Patrick (10 pts., 6 asst.); North Beach — Desamours (12 pts.), Chasya Bighead (8 pts.)

Wishkah Valley 36, Lake Quinault 29

Lake Quinault began to heat up in the fourth quarter, but Wishkah Valley held on for the 36-29 victory in Lake Quinault on Friday night.

Erica Bomhoff led Wishkah with 14 points on what was an up-and-down shooting night for both teams.

The first half ended with the Elks and Loggers locked at 12 points apiece, but Wishkah found the shooting touch in the third quarter.

Wishkah scored 16 points in the third quarter alone to bring a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

Lake Quinault head coach Travis Carstensen said his team started to get hot from beyond the arc in the final eight minutes to make the game close.

“We had missed a lot of shots and we were like 2-for-23 from the 3-point line. In the fourth quarter, they just started falling and we got a little bit of confidence,” he said.

Lake Quinault (0-6, 0-3 Coastal 1B) will head up to Montesano to take on Montesano’s C-team on Monday at 5:45 p.m.

Wishkah (1-1 overall, Coastal 1B) will get a week-long break before they head to Cosmopolis to face North River at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Lake Quinault 7 5 2 15 — 29

Wishkah Valley 10 2 16 9 — 36

Top Players: Wishkah Valley — Erica Bomhoff (14 pts.), Char Gutierrez (10 pts.); Lake Quinault — Christin Saavedra (12 pts.), Kat Neeland (17 reb.)

Ilwaco 67, South Bend 32

Facing the top team in the 2B Pacific League, the South Bend Indians fell behind and never recovered in a 67-32 loss to Ilwaco on Friday at South Bed High School.

“Ilwaco just forced us in to playing out of control,” Indians head coach Gary Wilson said. “Nevertheless, our effort was very good throughout the game.”

Karley Reidinger led the Indians (7-7, 7-5 Pacific 2B) with 18 points — including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line — to go with six rebounds.

“Reidinger did a good job of creating shots for herself,” Wilson said.

But aside from Reidinger, Ilwaco (13-1, 12-0) shut down the Indians’ offense, holding South Bend to 10-of-31 shooting from the field.

By contrast, the Fishermen shot 28-of-73 on the evening.

With the loss, South Bend currently sits in fourth place in the 2B Pacific League and is a game up on Raymond.

The Indians will be back in action on Tuesday for a road game against Life Christian Academy. Tip-off scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

Ilwaco 16 16 16 19 — 67

South Bend 4 11 11 6 — 32

Top Players: South Bend — Reidinger (18 pts., 6 reb.); Blakeli Jeries (5 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

Tenino 56, Hoquiam 36

Hoquiam’s recent struggles continued in a 56-36 loss in Tenino on Friday.

Due to an issue with the scorekeeper, Hoquiam was assessed a technical foul before tip-off.

“The tone was set by the referees because we had all our teams down there to play and we were penalized because we were waiting for our (JV) players, coaches and bookkeeper to show up,” Hoquiam head coach Denny Hinchen said, explaining that the Tenino-area gymnasiums are approximately a mile apart, meaning that his injury-riddled team had to wait for additional players from the JV squad to arrive, including Hoquiam’s scorekeeper, who made the trip to score both the JV and varsity games. “The game started with a technical foul against us, which led to a 4-0 lead for them. … That didn’t sit right with me.”

According to Hinchen, the bus that brought the JV team, scorekeeper and assistant coaches didn’t arrive until the second quarter, meaning Hoquiam played with seven girls for the first eight-plus minutes, where the Grizzlies were already facing a 10-point deficit.

Hoquiam’s fortunes fared no better as the game wore on, as Tenino shot 30 free throws in the game, making 21 of them, compared to Hoquiam’s 7-of-16 from the charity stripe.

“We started to comeback midway through the third quarter and they started calling fouls on us again,” Hinchen said. “You go on the road, you’re going to get called like that.”

Tenino (11-4, 3-1 Evergreen 1A) was led by Kaylee Schow, who scored 17 points to lead all scorers. Schow’s younger sister, Ashley, scored 16 points for the Beavers.

Hinchen also took issue with what he felt was a breach of basketball etiquette by Tenino head coach Brandi Thomas.

“We were down 20 with two minutes left and I put my bench in the game,” Hinchen explained. “(Thomas) then puts her stud (K. Schow) back in to pick up some more points in the end. … It was just a tough road trip.”

Hoquiam was led by senior Kylee Bagwell, who led the Grizzlies with 13 points.

Rylee Vonhoff scored nine points and grabbed a team-best 17 rebounds for Hoquiam.

As if things couldn’t get any worse for Hoquiam, the Grizzlies received more bad news this week when they learned that junior Maddie German, one of the Grizzlies’ leading scorers, may be out for the season after suffering what is believed to be an ACL/MCL injury against Centralia on Dec. 19. German is still recovering from the injury and is scheduled for an MRI in the near future.

The loss is the third in a row for Hoquiam, which looks to pick up its first league win of the season when they face Forks at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday at Forks High School.

Hoquiam 6 11 11 8 — 36

Tenino 16 9 12 16 — 56

Top Players: Hoquiam — Bagwell (13 pts.), Vonhoff (9 pts., 17 reb.), Maya Jump (5 stl.); Tenino — K. Schow (17 pts.), A. Schow (16 pts.).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group

PREP BOWLING

Black Hills 18, Aberdeen 1

The Black Hills Wolves proved why they are the top team in the 2A Evergreen League this season, defeating Aberdeen by a score of 18-1 on Friday at Rainier Lanes.

The Wolves (12-1, 8-0 Evergreen 2A) were led by Mac Theophilus, who bowled a high-game of 243 and a series score of 430.

Aberdeen (7-7, 4-4) was led by Illiana Mercado-George’s series score of 294.

Aberdeen lost Game 1, 791-622, and Game 2 by a score of 832-646.

The Bobcats’ only point was earned by their No. 2 bowler, Bryerlee Perry, who rolled a 131 in her Game 2 match against the Wolves’ Keira Eggert, who bowled a 128.

“We would all like to thank Bryerlee Perry for earning our only point to keep us from being shutout,” Aberdeen head coach Dave Bruncke said.

Aberdeen has two remaining games on the regular-season schedule: At Tumwater on Monday followed by a home match against Montesano on Wednesday. Both matches are scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Black Hills (18) — Theophilus (187, 243, 430), Hallie Stuart (136, 189, 325), Maranda Hall (177, 138, 315), Keira Eggert (144, 128, 272), Mackenzie Laabs (147, 134, 281).

Aberdeen (1) — Mercado-George (157, 137, 294), Meghan Howell (126, 145, 271), Annabelle Micheau (119, 119, 238), Perry (114, 131, 245), Kaitlyn Martin (106, 114, 220).

— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group