All it took was an opening for Hoquiam to kick off its transition offense against Elma on Thursday night and the Eagles presented it at Hoquiam Square Garden.
The Grizzlies found plenty of room to run midway through the first quarter. Coupled with the Eagles’ early foul trouble, Hoquiam used the free-throw line early to get ahead and stay ahead running in an 85-46 Evergreen 1A League boys basketball win.
Elma’s Trace Thompson led all scorers with 23 points. Jace Varner led Hoquiam with 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals, with Jack Adams III adding 19 and Victor James 18.
“We emphasized, especially within the timeouts, to run,” HHS head coach Curtis Eccles said. “I thought we opened the game a bit slow, a little methodical. We told them they needed to get out and run. It is more fun that way and we play better that way.”
“For the first four minutes, we matched them step for step and I felt we were going to be in this game,” Elma head coach Marvin Prince said. “Yes, our foul trouble didn’t help us, but we just didn’t get back on defense. They went on a run and that’s it. They’re fast. They can shoot the ball. We lost our legs. We can’t keep up with that pace.”
For the first four-plus minutes of this league contest, both teams were hitting their shots and managing their offenses. However, Elma got hit with a string of fouls that allowed Hoquiam to start hitting bonus free throws with 3 1/2 minutes left in the opening quarter.
Once Trace Thompson drained a 3-pointer from the wing to cut the Elma deficit to 11-10, Hoquiam found room to run — a 14-4 run, with the Grizzlies hitting 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Hoquiam also got into the double bonus free throws when Elma had its 10th team foul and an additional one for a scorekeeping technical late in the quarter.
Hoquiam ran to a 25-14 lead after the first and kept on running in the second. The Grizzlies forced eight turnovers, hit 10-for-20 from the field and never allowed the Eagles a foothold to stay in the game en route to a 47-23 halftime score.
“The transition game is one of our strengths and we play into that,” Eccles said. “It is a great team win.”
Hoquiam’s momentum continued in the second half, with turnovers leading to transition offense for the Grizzlies. Thompson score eight of Elma’s 12 points in the third.
The fourth quarter was filled with reserves for both teams. Eccles cited sophomore Jackson Folkers for his work off the bench, as well as senior Jerod Steen for his support of the offense.
On Tuesday, Hoquiam (2-0, 8-5) travels to Forks, while Elma (0-2, 2-9) hosts rival Montesano on Wednesday.
Elma 14 9 12 11 — 46
Hoquiam 25 22 23 15 — 85
Elma (46) — AJ Brown 5, Tep 2, Peterson 2, Thompson 23, Vollan 6, Spalding, Av. Brown 6, Horton 2. FG — 16-52. FT — 9-9.
Hoquiam (85) — Espedal, Nash 4, Varner 21, Folkers 4, Dayton 2, Spradlin 9, Steen 6, Adams III 19, James 18, Mazariegos 2, Eccles. FG — 31-61. FT — 18-23.
JV — Hoquiam 45, Elma 35.
C Squad — Elma won.
