UPDATE: Added North Beach-Northwest Christian Academy game information.
Through the first two games of the season — both losses — the Elma Eagles scored 34 points in each game.
On Friday, they nearly doubled that.
The Eagles attacked the boards and shot well from the field en route to a 69-46 victory over a taller Columbia-White Salmon team at Elma High School.
It was evident Elma was playing at a different level early on Friday, as came out of the gate smoking hot.
Elma (1-2 overall) went up by eight at 10-2 on a Logan Witt offensive rebound and putback midway through the first quarter and took a double-digit lead at 18-8 when senior guard Canon Seaberg buried a three with 1:30 to go.
Eagles freshman Traden Carter drilled a step-up 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Elma a commanding 24-8 lead after one period.
“We put an emphasis on attacking the rim,” said Elma head coach Mark Ferrier, whose team consistently crashed the offensive glass to score points. “(Columbia-White Salmon) is long and definitely had the size advantage. … Our kids weren’t going to let them beat us on the glass.”
CWS (0-3) opened the second quarter by using its size to get baskets in the paint and cut Elma’s lead to 21-21 on a three from senior guard Dylan Connely with three minutes left until halftime.
But Elma responded by driving to the paint and getting to the free-throw line, extending its lead to 35-23 at the break on another offensive rebound and putback, this time by junior Gibson Cain in the final minute.
Witt took over in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points in the frame to stake the Eagles to a 53-35 lead heading to the fourth.
Elma continued to pound the glass and shoot well in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bruins 16-11 over the final eight minutes to secure its first victory of the season.
“We are very excited about how well we played,” Ferrier said. “Super excited that we executed so well. We distributed the ball well and played unselfishly. You win games when you play that way.”
Nine different players scored for Elma. After Witt’s top performance, the Eagles were led by Canon Seaberg, who finished with 16 points — 10 in the Eagles high-scoring first quarter.
Elma shot 42% for the game on 29-of-69 shooting from the field — 14-for-35 (40%) in the first half and a blistering 15-for-34 (63%) in the second half.
Columbia-White Salmon 8 15 12 11 — 46
Elma 24 11 18 16 — 69
Scoring
Elma (69) — Witt 20, Canon Seaberg 16, Baxter 7, Cason Seaberg 6, Jarred Bailey 5, Carter 5, Grant Vessey 4, Kyren Hackney 4, Gibson Cain 2
CWS (46) — Spencer Carlson 12, Carson Lanz 11, Leo Wilson 5, Ben Allen 5, Diego Guzman 5, Connely 3, Porter Haskell 2
King’s Way Christian 62, Montesano 30
A young Montesano Bulldogs team continued to struggle to score points on Friday, falling to defending district champion King’s Way Christian 62-30 at Montesano High School.
Monte (0-4) went scoreless for the first half of the first quarter and trailed 17-5 at the end of the period. Sophomore Tyce Peterson and junior Trent Adams each hit a field goal and a free throw from Monte’s lone senior, Caydon Lovell, accounted for Monte’s points in the period.
The Bulldogs offensive continued to struggle in the second quarter with junior forward Jackson Busz the making the only Monte shot of the frame.
Montesano trailed 36-7 at the half.
The Bulldogs managed 12 points in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth, most of that coming from Lovell, who scored a team-high 12 points in the contest.
In its four losses this season, Montesano has yet to break 40 points.
The Bulldogs take on Castle Rock at 7:15 on Wednesday in Castle Rock.
King’s Way Christian 17 19 17 9— 62
Montesano 5 2 12 11 — 30
Scoring
KWC (62) — Jamison Duke 19, Gio Evanson 19, Ryan Tyler 8, Alex Fulton 9, Matthew Belefski 3, Jack Somarakis 2, Will Gunn 2
Montesano (30) — C. Lovell 12, Adams 5, Josh Wills 3, Busz 3, Camden Taylor 3, Spencer Lovell 2, Peterson 2
Castle Rock 67, Hoquiam 52
Hoquiam is still searching for a victory this season after letting a lead slip away in the final quarter in a 67-52 loss to the Castle Rock Rockets on Friday in Castle Rock.
Hoquiam (0-3) played a solid all-around game for the first three quarters, leading to a 45-38 Grizzlies lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game.
But the Rockets (4-0) took off over down the stretch, outscoring Hoquiam 29-7 in the final quarter to hand Hoquiam its fourth straight loss to start the season.
“(We were) in it until the end. The game got away in the last six minutes,” Hoquiam head coach Kyle Blumberg said. “(We are) growing everyday and putting in the work.”
Three players scored in double figures for Hoquiam.
Michael Lorton Watkins scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Owen McNeil scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Jake Templar had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for Hoquiam and was cited by Blumberg as playing “great defense all game” for the Grizzlies.
Hoquiam has a quick turnaround as it takes on North Mason at 5 p.m. Saturday on the road followed by a matchup against Columbia-White Salmon at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Hoquiam.
Hoquiam 17 14 14 7 — 52
Castle Rock 17 9 12 29 — 67
WF West 49, Aberdeen 35
Aberdeen lost for the third straight game after a 49-35 loss to WF West on Friday in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (1-4, 0-2 2A Evergreen) struggled on offense, scoring less than 40 points for the fourth time this season.
Senior Andrew Troeh was a bright spot for the Bobcats as he scored 20 points to lead Aberdeen.
Baylor Ainsworth had eight points off the bench for Aberdeen, which was tied at 12 after the first quarter but was outscored 17-3 in the second.
Trailing 42-30 after three quarters, Aberdeen scored just five points on a field goal from Troeh and a 3-pointer by Ainsworth over the final eight minutes of the game.
Aberdeen plays on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday in Napavine followed by a league contest against Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Tumwater.
Aberdeen 12 3 15 5 — 35
WF West 12 17 13 7 — 49
Scoring
WF West (49) — Plakinger 14, Dalan 13, Mallonee 7, Hoff 5, Brumfield 5, Tornow 2, Mathews 2, Davis 1
Aberdeen (35) — Troeh 20, Ainsworth 8, Isiah Watson 4, Tommy Ray 3
Willapa Valley 64, Wahkiakum 60
Willapa Valley overcame a slow start to earn a 64-60 victory over Wahkiakum on Friday in Menlo.
The Vikings (3-3) trailed 19-15 after one quarter after what Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson said was a “lackadaisical” start.
“We were our own worst enemy again,” he said after the Vikings allowed Wahkiakum scorer Brodie Avalon to score 11 of the Mules’ 19 first-quarter points.
But the Vikings fortunes changed after Pearson made a strategic move by having Willapa Valley guard Tyler Adkins shadow Avalon as a ball-denial defender.
That move slowed Avalon, who had as many points the rest of the game as he did in the first quarter.
Trailing 43-40 entering the fourth quarter, Willapa Valley broke through for a 24 point fourth quarter that included six straight free-throws — two each by Grady Christen, Adkins and Riley Pearson — down the stretch to pick up the victory.
“Finally good to win one of those close games,” Coach Pearson said.
Riley Pearson led the Vikings with 20 points.
Adkins added 15 points and Derek Fluke, who was cited by Coach Pearson for keeping Willapa Valley in the game with his inside presence in the first half — had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Willapa Valley plays at Firm Foundation at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Wahkiakum 19 10 14 17 — 60
Willapa Valley 15 15 10 24 — 64
Ilwaco 86, Raymond 52
Raymond lost for the first time this season, falling to Ilwaco 86-52 on Friday in Ilwaco.
“Ilwaco really took it to us tonight on their home floor. They are a fine basketball team and they beat us in all phases of the game,” Raymond head coach Derek Rask said. “I’m disappointed because we were pretty uninspired from the tip.”
Raymond’s Tre’ Seydel finished with 19 points and Adrian Quintana added 10 for the Seagulls (2-1, 1-1 2B Pacific).
Raymond hosts Chief Leschi at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
No further information was available for this game at the time of this writing.
North Beach 57, Northwest Christian 46
North Beach picked up its first league victory of the season with a 57-46 victory over Northwest Christian Academy on Friday in Ocean shores.
The Hyaks (2-1, 1-1 2B Pacific) got a big game from Tre’Vaughn Greene. The 6-foot-9 senior scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had eight blocks in a dominant performance.
Hyaks senior guard Josh Bighead added 15 points and 11 assists while senior Daniel Castaneda scored nine points, had five boards and four assists for North Beach.
“A strong defensive effort in the first half was a key in our win,” North Beach head coach Larry Moore said.
