MONTESANO — From the most unpromising of beginnings, Montesano’s boys did their part to set up an Evergreen 1A League basketball showdown.

Overcoming an early nine-point deficit, the Bulldogs used solid defense and brilliant foul shooting to top Forks, 52-42, in the second half of a co-ed doubleheader Friday night at Bo Griffith Memorial Gym.

The victory lifted the Bulldogs (3-0, 9-5) into a tie with idle Hoquiam for the Evergreen lead. The Harbor rivals will collide for the first time this season on Wednesday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Sinking all eight of his free throws, junior guard L.J. Valley paced Montesano with 16 points. Junior forward Trevor Ridgway added 10 for the winners.

The Bulldogs also received vital contributions from a pair of freshmen.

Sam Winter came off the bench to fire in a trio of 3-pointers to tally nine points. Classmate Tanner Nicklas, the tallest of the Bulldogs at 6-foot-5, received an uncharacteristic start to provide a better match-up with 6-9 Forks standout Marky Adams. He wound up limiting Adams to six points.

“Tanner had a heck of a game,” Monte coach Doug Galloway said. “He really battled. I was very proud of him.”

At the beginning, however, it appeared as if the Bulldogs would be fortunate to avoid a blowout loss.

Monte was guilty of five turnovers in the opening four minutes. With Adams controlling the boards and the Spartans (1-2, 9-5) running the floor well, that helped put the Bulldogs in a 12-3 hole midway through the first quarter.

The Dogs then began taking better care of the ball and picking up the intensity with their man-to-man defense.

“I think we were a little shocked at how big they were and how fast they were,” Galloway said. “(Our players) made the adjustment, not me.”

With Adams neutralized inside, Forks was unable to buy anything from the perimeter. That left Parker Browning as the major Spartan weapon. Doing most of his damage on drives, the 6-3 senior led all scorers with 21 points.

Montesano caught the Spartans with a run of 10 successive points early in the second quarter en route to a 24-21 halftime lead.

After Browning’s driving layin produced a 36-all standoff early in the fourth quarter, Nicklas’ two free throws with 5:40 remaining gave the Bulldogs they never relinquished.

They protected the advantage with unerring foul shooting. Making its final eight free throws, Monte was 11-of-12 from the stripe in the fourth quarter.

Winter’s three-ball and Seth Dierkop’s 12-foot jumper gave the Bulldogs a 46-38 lead with 2:10 on the clock. The Spartans were never closer than six the rest of the way.

Dierkop, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, led Bulldog rebounders with nine. Valley and Ridgway dished out five assists apiece.

Forks 13 8 9 12 — 42 Montesano 5 19 10 18 — 52

Forks (42) — Schumack 7, Baysinger 2, Browning 21, Prose 3, Adams 6, Johnson, Tejano, Baar, Flores 3. FG — 17-58 (.293). FT — 6-13.

Montesano (52) — Ridgway 10, Chapman, Valley 16, Dierkop 8, Nicklas 4, Burbidge, Quinn 1, Winter 9, Farmer 4. FG — 16-46 (.349). FT — 14-18.