Montesano held a big first-half lead and staved off a late Aberdeen rally to pick up a 45-37 win on Friday in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (3-6 overall) held a 24-11 halftime lead after an ugly first half and, after Aberdeen’s Baylor Ainsworth led a rally to get the Bobcats to within six points, Montesano got clutch buckets from Peyton Damasiewicz and Tyce Peterson in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
Aberdeen (1-7) took an early 3-2 lead on a 3-pointer from senior guard Kyle Miller, but the rest of the period belonged to Monte as the Bobcats managed just one more field goal in the first quarter.
Monte followed Miller’s three with two consecutive 3-pointers of their own, one each from senior guard Christian Olsen and junior winger Jaxson Wilson, to take an 8-3 lead.
The Bulldogs took a double-digit lead on a pair of free throws from Olsen to make it a 14-3 game at the 2:52 mark and took a 17-3 lead on a Peterson three a little over a minute later.
A bucket by Aberdeen junior Giovanni Ambrogiani just before the end of the period ended Monte’s 15-0 run and made it a 17-5 game at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Monte cooled off considerably while Aberdeen remained cold.
The two teams combined for just three points through approximately the first six minutes of the frame.
Montesano failed to score from the field in the quarter, but outscored Aberdeen 7-6 in the period thanks to hitting 7 of 12 free throws to take a 13-point lead into the half.
“I was really happy with the way we executed and our toughness in the first quarter,” Montesano head coach Mack Bertram said. “Second quarter, I thought we started playing into what they wanted to do.”
Both teams executed their offenses slightly better in the third quarter.
Monte led by 16 points after a pair of Peterson free throws made it a 36-20 game with 2:23 left.
Miller hit a jumper followed by junior center Jabron Brooks hitting 1 of 2 free throws to cut the Monte lead to 36-23 entering the fourth quarter.
Enter Aberdeen’s leading-scorer in Ainsworth, who opened the final period with a three and got hot, hitting two more from beyond the arc over the first five minutes to trim the deficit to 40-32.
An Ainsworth three was followed by a coast-to-coast layup from senior guard Julian Garcia as the Bobcats pulled to within two possessions at 40-34 with 2:20 left in the game.
But that was as close as Aberdeen would get as Damasiewicz scored on a hesitation drive and layup with 1:31 on the clock to give the Bulldogs a three-possession lead at 42-34.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Peyton Damasiewicz (22) puts up a shot during the Bulldogs’ 45-37 victory on Friday in Montesano.
“I’m looking up at the scoreboard and I’m thinking, ‘We just need one. We just need one bucket,’” Bertram said. “We were getting good looks, we were just missing. So when Peyton came down and made that play, that put us over and I think it really deflated (Aberdeen). … It was really cool to see Peyton do that.”
Monte sealed the victory when Peterson scored just his second field goal since the first quarter with a three with 58 seconds left.
Ambrogiani hit a three at the buzzer as Monte held on for the 45-37 win.
“Second half, we came out and really responded well,” Bertram said. “We stayed together and we were the more composed team and this was the first time all season that we executed offensively, which was really cool to see. … We had a really good, tough battle and I thought our guys did a good job of that.”
Peterson led Monte with 19 points — going 7 of 8 from the charity stripe in the process — while Ainsworth topped Aberdeen with 12 points and nine rebounds.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Baylor Ainsworth hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of a 45-37 loss to Montesano on Friday at Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium at Montesano High School.
Aberdeen went 13 of 49 from the field (27%), including 6 of 19 from the 3-point line (32%) and committed 20 turnovers in the game.
Montesano made 13 shots from the floor and went 11 for 17 from the free-throw line (65%).
Aberdeen plays at WF West at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Montesano hosts Tenino at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Aberdeen 5 6 12 14 — 37
Montesano 17 7 12 9 — 45
Scoring: Aberdeen — Ainsworth 12, Ambrogiani 7, Miller 5, Brooks 5, Goings 2, Quezada 2, Thurman 2, Walsh 1, Baker 1.
Montesano — Peterson 19, Olsen 8, Taylor 6, Gunter 5, Wilson 4, Damasiewicz 3.
Adna 59, Willapa Valley 44
Lacking the focus it needed, Willapa Valley fell to Adna 59-44 at the 15th Annual Jack Q. Pearson Holiday Classic on Friday in Menlo.
Trailing 17-14 after one quarter, Willapa Valley (6-4) scored just six points in the second frame, leading to a 30-20 halftime deficit.
Willapa Valley trailed 44-34 at the end of the third quarter and were outscored 15-10 over the final eight minutes of the game.
“We are just lacking that consistency and tonight, we lost mental focus,” Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson said. “We couldn’t line up and execute and foul trouble kind of got us.”
The Vikings shot 29% from the floor on 15-of-51 shooting, including 2 of 19 from 3-point range (11%).
“Our Achilles’ heel is not attacking the basket.” Pearson said. “Two of 19 doesn’t cut it.”
Senior forward Wil Clements led Willapa Valley with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Senior guard Riley Pearson scored 11 points with guard Kolten Fluke was limited to nine points and seven rebounds due to foul trouble.
Willapa Valley takes on Naselle at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Adna 17 13 14 15 — 59
Willapa Valley 14 6 14 10 — 44
Scoring: Adna — Salme 16, Smith 15, Meister 12, Loose 11, Guerrero 3, Johnson 2. Willapa Valley — Clements 16, Pearson 11, K. Fluke 9, Keeton 4, King 2, D. Fluke 2.
Jack Q. Pearson Holiday Classic Boys All-Tournament Team
Braeden Salme, jr., Adna (MVP); Seth Meister, sr., Adna; Cayton Loose, sr., Adna; Alex West, sr., Ilwaco; Kyle Morris, jr., Ilwaco; Josh Salguero, sr., Morton-White Pass; Wil Clements, Willapa Valley.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Olympia 49, Montesano 44
Montesano tried punching up against a 4A school and fell just short, suffering a 49-44 loss to Olympia on Friday in Olympia.
Montesano (6-2) got off to a good start, holding the Bears (8-4) to just six points in the first quarter en route to a 15-6 lead at the end of the period.
Leading 30-23 at halftime, Monte saw its lead evaporate in the second half, scoring just six points in the third quarter and being outscored 17-8 over the final eight minutes of the game.
“In the second half, we had a hard time scoring,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said. “Our decision-making wasn’t quite as good. … They made some adjustments and we missed some defensive assignments. We started to play a little faster in our head.”
Montesano star senior McKynnlie Dalan had a whale of a game, scoring 24 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, deflecting seven balls and snatching six steals in the loss.
The Bulldogs went 17 of 43 from the field (39.5%) and went 9 of 12 from the charity stripe (75%).
Monte held a 27-17 advantage on the boards, but committed 26 turnovers in the game, 18 in the decisive second half.
The Bulldogs play at Tenino at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Montesano 15 15 6 8 — 44
Olympia 6 17 9 17 — 49
Scoring: Montesano — M. Dalan 24, E. Dalan 8, King 7, Karr 3, Stanfield 2. Olympia — n/a.
Adna 63, Willapa Valley 30
Try as they could, the Willapa Valley Vikings struggled to slow down Adna in a 63-30 loss at the 15th Annual Jack Q. Pearson Holiday Classic on Friday in Menlo.
The Vikings (6-4) trailed 12-11 after one quarter, but saw the state’s third-ranked team in the 2B class open up a 28-16 halftime lead after holding Willapa Valley to just five points in the second quarter.
The second half was more of the same, as the Vikings were outscored 19-7 and 16-7 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
“We tried to slow them down as much as we could and did a partly good job of it in the first half,” Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson said. “They’re a very good, very deep, well-coached team and our girls battled like crazy.”
Senior standout Grace Huber led the Vikings with a 20 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and went 10 of 14 (71%) from the free-throw line to earn all-tournament honors.
Senior guard Brooklyn Patrick had five points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists for Willapa Valley, which made 9 of 37 shots from the field (24%) and committed 28 turnovers.
The Vikings face Naselle at 5:45 p.m. on Monday in Menlo.
Adna 12 16 19 16 — 63
Willapa Valley 11 5 7 7 — 30
Scoring: Adna — K. VonMoos 16, Guard 15, Hallom 12, Loose 12, Chapman 4, Lafontaine 2, A. VonMoos 2. Willapa Valley — Huber 20, Patrick 5, Emory 3, Quezada 2.
Jack Q. Pearson Holiday Classic Girls All-Tournament Team
Gaby Guard, soph., Adna (MVP); Danica Hallom, soph., Adna; Brooklyn Loose, sr., Adna; Ione Sheldon, sr., Ilwaco; Olivia McKinstry, sr., Ilwaco; Laynie Dean, fr., Toutle Lake; Grace Huber, sr., Willapa Valley.
