ELMA — Host Elma honored its seniors on Wednesday night, but Hoquiam’s seniors were the ones who stood out in this Evergreen 1A League boys basketball contest.
Misfiring from the perimeter, the Grizzlies were told by head coach Curtis Eccles to stop shooting from the outside, leading to a paint-dominating performance from senior Jack Adams III and Jace Varner en route to a 56-30 victory over the Eagles.
Adams led all scorers with 26 points, while Varner knocked home 16 points and pulled in 13 rebounds for Hoquiam (6-0, 12-5). Avery Brown led Elma (1-5, 3-13) with 12 points.
“This was a good team win,” Eccles said. “I give credit to Elma. They battled and lost one of their best players (Trace Thompson) to injury. I knew they would still be hungry. They had issues scoring. We were able to eventually pull away, scored more and took control.”
“We struggled scoring in the first half and did a bit better in the second half, but we struggled,” Elma head coach Marvin Prince said. “The kids kept battling. Our defense wasn’t the greatest, but we took away some things that were pretty good.”
Eccles has been preaching to his players this season the importance of finding their shots, especially if they aren’t falling in one particular area of the court. On Wednesday, Hoquiam’s perimeter game was misfiring — 1-for-9 in the first half and 3-for-14 overall.
Against Elma’s defense, Hoquiam worked the ball inside, drove the lane and had players flying to the basket for second- and third-chance opportunities. It was effective as the Grizzlies outrebounded the Eagles, 38-23, including 17 offense rebounds.
“There were times when they’d get 2-3 chances on one trip down the floor and you can’t do that,” Prince added. “You have to play defense and keep them from those extra chances. We told the guys they needed to limit their opportunities and we had 21 turnovers. You can’t turn it over. You have to make the shots when you have them. You have to play good defense, limit their opportunities.”
“When we started to extend those misses, we emphasized in the timeouts to get the ball inside to either Jack or Jace,” Eccles added. “They were shooting well. The guys did a better job of looking inside for shots.”
Adams was the only one to connect from the perimeter, hitting all three of Hoquiam’s 3-point baskets, but spent the rest of the night hitting baskets from within 6 feet of the basket. Varner, who is used to playing in the crowded paint, thrived as well.
Elma’s A.J. Brown and Marquess Peterson were responsible on defense down low, with Cody Vollan getting work in the paint as well as guard Avery Brown.
While Hoquiam’s offense found its rhythm down low, Elma’s offensive beat was offline.
Held to just eight points in the first half, the Eagles relied upon their defense to keep the Grizzlies from turning the contest into a boat race. Hoquiam’s biggest lead was 30 points, which triggered multiple substitutions to empty the bench for the Grizzlies with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
Seniors A.J. Brown, Sohtye Tep, Peterson, Trace Thompson, Vollan and Isaac Horton were honored before the game. Thompson is out for the season with a broken elbow, which he suffered earlier in the week.
On Friday, Hoquiam hosts Forks in a key league contest, while Elma travels to rival Montesano.
Hoquiam 12 15 11 18 — 56 Elma 6 2 10 12 — 30
Hoquiam (56) — Spradlin 2, Espedal 1, Rivera 2, Eccles, Nash 3, Dayton, Folkers, Steen 4, Adams III 26, Varner 16, Mazariegos, Brown 2. FG — 20-53. FT — 11-21.
Elma (30) — AJ Brown 6, Tep, Peterson 6, Vollan 2, Spalding, Av. Brown 12, Horton 2, Schneider. FG — 12-36. FT — 5-9.
JV — Hoquiam 56, Elma 36.
