Hoquiam closed out its regular season with a Myrtle Street Rivalry victory as we review Twin Harbors sports from over the weekend.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Hoquiam 53, Aberdeen 44

Hoquiam closed out its regular season in grand fashion, defeating Aberdeen 53-44 on Saturday in front of a packed Hoquiam Square Garden.

The Grizzlies (7-14 overall) trailed the Bobcats (7-13) by as much as nine points after junior post Jayden Gladson scored off a feed from junior guard Justin Howard with 5:17 to play in the first half.

But Hoquiam, which lost 66-61 to Aberdeen back on Jan. 20, began to chip away at the Bobcats lead, embarking on an 8-0 run to pull to within a point on a post-pivot basket by sophomore guard Lincoln Niemi with just over two minutes left in the first half.

Aberdeen responded when junior guard Isaac Garcia scored on a drive and layup at 1:27 followed later by a Niemi free throw to close out the first half with the Cats up 19-17.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam’s Lincoln Niemi celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer in the second half of a 53-44 victory over Aberdeen on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Hoquiam would take the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter on two Niemi free throws for a 24-23 lead approximately halfway through the third period.

The two teams would trade leads until Hoquiam took a 30-27 lead by hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final two minutes of the quarter.

A free throw by Aberdeen junior guard Jhacob Quezada trimmed the Grizzlies’ lead to 30-28 entering the final quarter of play.

Quezada would open the quarter by splashing in a corner three to state Aberdeen to a 31-30 lead, but Hoquiam guard Ryker Maxfield followed with a three of his own and, after a free throw by Lewis, the Grizzlies took a 38-32 lead on a step-back three from Niemi with 5:23 left to play.

Nearly two minutes later, the shifty Niemi scored on a running shot in the lane to put Hoquiam up by nine at 42-33 with 3:43 on the clock.

Aberdeen trimmed the deficit to 43-38 on a bucket by Lewis with just under a minute to play, but anytime the Bobcats made a move down the stretch, the Grizzlies responded.

Hoquiam converted 7 of 12 free throws in the final minute of the game to secure the victory.

“We are a young team and wasn’t really composed the first time,” Niemi said of the victory. “I feel like we were ready to play more and really competed. We didn’t shoot (from range) as much. We got to the rim a lot and that is what we needed.”

“I think (the victory) bodes well for our future,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said about his young team. “Every time you get one of these it probably puts a little more confidence in you and lets you know you can do it.”

Hoquiam went 15 for 44 from the field (34%) and went 20 for 33 from the free-throw line (61%).

Niemi led all scorers with 26 points, including a 15-of-20 performance from the charity stripe (75%), and had 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead the Grizzlies.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Aberdeen’s Tarren Lewis (4) drives to the hoop against Hoquiam’s Ethan Byron during the Grizzlies’ 53-44 victory on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Lewis led Aberdeen with 18 points with Quezada also scoring in double figures with 11.

The Bobcats shot 17 of 62 from the field (27%) and hit 8-of-15 free throws (53%).

Hoquiam outrebounded Aberdeen 42-37, which helped to limit the taller Bobcats to several one-and-done offensive trips, something the Grizzlies struggled with in January’s loss to the Bobcats.

“We didn’t really give them too many second shots,” Coach Niemi said. “We wanted to focus on staying in front, making them shoot over us and giving them one shot and I think we did a really good job of that for the most part tonight.”

“(The win) is definitely a confidence booster,” Lincoln Niemi said. “It’s great to transition a win into districts.”

Hoquiam plays at Columbia-White Salmon in a 1A District 4 pigtail game at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Aberdeen faces Washougal in a 2A District 4 Tournament pigtail play-in game at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Washougal High School.

Aberdeen 13 6 9 16 – 44

Hoquiam 7 10 13 23 – 53

Scoring: Aberdeen – Lewis 18, Quezada 11, Garcia 9, Gladson 4, Martin 2. Hoquiam – Niemi 26, Byron 6, Maxfield 5, Azevedo 4, Bozich 4, Dayton 3, Tobar 3, Abbott 2.

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Naselle 62, Ocosta 53

Ocosta missed a chance to lock up second place in the 1B Coastal League with a 62-53 loss to Naselle on Saturday at Naselle High School.

The Wildcats (13-6, 5-3 1B Coastal) came into the game leading the Comets (11-8, 5-3) by one game and would have secured the league’s No. 2 playoff seed with a victory.

But it wasn’t to be as holding a slim 15-13 lead after one period of play, Ocosta saw the Comets take off in the second quarter.

Naselle’s Jacob Lindstrom scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the second quarter as Ocosta trailed 30-23 at the half.

The Wildcats would trail by as much as 16 points in the third quarter before cutting the Comets’ lead to two points with approximately two minutes left in the game.

But a breakaway layup that would have tied the game rolled off the rim and Naselle responded with a corner 3-pointer on the other end for a five-point swing that Ocosta was unable to overcome.

Naselle hit free throws down the stretch as the Wildcats were forced to foul, leading to Ocosta’s 62-53 loss.

Ocosta was led by Kayden Turner (15 points, 6 rebounds), Sonny Beard (12 pts., 13 reb.) and Luis Solis (11 pts., 2 assists, 2 steals) each scored in double digits.

Ocosta has another shot at securing the No. 2 playoff spot when they face Naselle at 6 p.m. on Monday at Raymond High School.

Ocosta 15 8 14 16 – 53

Naselle 13 17 19 13 – 62

Scoring: Ocosta – Turner 15, Beard 12, Solis 11, Prigmore 9, Welch 6. Naselle – Lindstrom 28, Strange 16, Chadwick 10, Hennington 3, Anderson 3, Pakenen 2.

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BOYS PREP SWIM & DIVE

Aberdeen’s Schroeder, Olson advance to state

Aberdeen’s boys swim and dive team got two tickets punched to the state 2A diving championships on Saturday morning at the Auburn District Pool.

Aberdeen junior Micah Schroeder claimed the district title with an 11-dive total of 252.50 points. Aberdeen junior Zeke Olson, who won the district title last year, took second with 216.95 points.

“The boys did a great job today,” Aberdeen diving coach Carly Giles said. “Compared to their last 11-dive meet, they improved greatly in their point totals and execution of their dives. It was awesome. Both Micah and Zeke deserve their chance to go to state.”

Olson hit a personal best 6.5/6/6 scored dive in his fourth dive of the day, while Schroeder hit two 30-plus point dives in a row in his fourth and fifth dives. Both divers also overcame a rough dive during the competition, but finished well to qualify for the state meet.

Both divers, along with the entire Aberdeen boys swim roster, will continue their postseason with the District IV 2A swimming championships on Feb. 14-15.

– Submitted article

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MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

South Puget Sound 93, Grays Harbor 45

Grays Harbor College was overwhelmed by one of the Northwest Athletic Conference’s better teams in a 93-45 loss to South Puget Sound on Saturday in Olympia.

The Chokers (10-13, 3-6 NWAC West) were no match for the third-ranked Clippers (20-4, 9-0), which entered the game in the midst of a nine-game winning streak, including a victory over defending NWAC champion Green River on Jan. 29.

Grays Harbor struggled in every facet of the game against SPS, shooting 27% (16-59 FG) to 48.5% for the Clippers (32-66), including 5 of 27 from beyond the arc (18.5%) to 37% from SPS (13-35).

GHC was outrebounded 47-29, allowed 24 points off turnovers to 12, and was outscored in bench points 38-18.

Josh Adamsel Jr. was the lone Choker to score in double digits with 10 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals.

Kane Wood added eight rebounds to lead GHC.

The Chokers sit in fifth place in the NWAC West Region and will host last-place Centralia at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Grays Harbor 22 23 – 45

S. Puget Sound 43 50 – 93

Scoring: GHC – Adamsel Jr. 10, Savusa 9, Oryang 8, Casebolt 6, Wood 5, Smith 3, Kulang 2, Chouhan 2. SPS – Pollard 20, Bowden 15, C. Lawson 14, M. Lawson 10, Biebrich 9, Linton 8, Ambrose-Pearce 6, Tichenor 5, Lewis 2, Loncar 2, Engholm 2.

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Other games

Girls Prep Basketball

Toutle Lake 51, North Beach 11 (Saturday)