Much was at stake for Hoquiam and Montesano entering a highly-anticipated season finale. A win for either team would mean a higher seed entering next week’s district tournament.
But with all the fanfare and atmosphere surrounding the large Senior Night crowd at Hoquiam Square Garden on Friday, the game belonged to Montesano from tip-off to buzzer.
The Bulldogs held the Grizzles to season-low 28 points in a 61-28 victory and leapfrogged Elma for the No. 2 seed on the final day of the regular season.
“It means so much,” said Bulldogs senior forward Tyce Peterson, who had 23 points to lead all scorers. “Hosting a district game, we did it my sophomore year and I think it’s time we give our fans what they deserve because they’ve been showing out all year.”
With Hoquiam coming off arguably its most complete team performance of the season, scoring 80 points in a win over Eatonville, and Montesano riding a five-game winning streak since losing to the Grizzlies back on Jan. 16, most spectators at Hoquiam High School on Friday were expecting a hotly-contested matchup.
It turned out it was anything but.
The Bulldogs (14-4 overall, 5-3 1A Evergreen) attacked the paint from the get-go on offense and made life rough for Hoquiam shooters on the defensive end.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano center Soren Cobb (32) and Hoquiam center Chris Bryson battle for a rebound during the Bulldogs’ 61-28 win on Friday in Hoquiam.
Monte went up 12-4 on a Peterson three halfway through the first quarter and led by double-digits when Peterson scored off an assist from senior guard Peyton Damasiewicz with under a minute to go in the period.
Junior guard Delon Chan hit a running jumper with 0:01 on the clock to put Monte up 20-8 after one quarter.
A combination of the Bulldogs defense combined with poor shooting from Hoquiam led to Monte extending its lead in the second quarter.
A Peterson drive and layup put the Bulldogs up 31-13 at the half.
Monte continued to build its lead in the third quarter. A steal and layup by Chan put Monte up 38-17 with nearly three minutes elapsed in the second half and a Peterson free throw gave the Bulldogs a 46-18 lead with 2:03 to go in the period.
With under a half-minute to go in the third quarter, Monte senior reserve Spencer Lovell hit a three as the Bulldogs took a commanding 49-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
Sparked by an 11-0 run capped by another Peterson three, Monte’s lead stretched to 60-23 in the fourth quarter, handing Hoquiam its largest loss of the season at 33 points.
“Last game, we had a lot of stuff that we critiqued on film. It was just a lot of defensive things that we had to adjust and I think we did a really good job of executing that and it resulted in a win.” Peterson said of Monte’s switching, rotating defensive effort that held Hoquiam to less than 20 points until the 1:52 mark of the third quarter. “I’m really proud of (Monte guard) Peyton Damasiewicz. He played really good defense.”
Damasiewicz had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals for Monte.
His backcourt partner Chan had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Bulldogs.
Monte big men Gabe Bodwell and Cam Taylor had eight rebounds apiece for a Bulldogs team that held a 40-38 advantage on the glass, had 10 steals and forced 19 turnovers in the game.
“The kids are believing,” Monte head coach Leonard Barnes said. “You can see it in how hard they are playing. … They are all believing and they all have each other’s back. I love that.”
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Hoquiam senior Zander Jump (11) glides to the hoop to score two of his team-high 15 points in a 61-28 loss to Montesano on Friday in Hoquiam.
Hoquiam was led by senior forward Zander Jump, who had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds as one of the few bright spots for the Grizzlies.
Arguably the most glaring stat the night was the shooting numbers. Monte was 44% on 26-of-59 shooting, most of those coming on 21-of-46 shots (46%) from inside the 3-point line. Hoquiam was 9 for 48 (19%), including 3 for 23 from 3-point range (13%).
“I told them in the locker room, ‘You’re getting better every game, but you haven’t peaked yet,’” Barnes said. “Our half-court execution in our defensive sets and offensive sets were key tonight. … (Hoquiam guard Lincoln) Niemi is an outstanding player. Jump is an outstanding player. They’ve got several great kids, but our kids D’d it up.”
With the win, Montesano finished tied with Elma for second place in the 1A Evergreen League and will be the No. 2 seed in the 1A District 4 Tournament. Monte and Elma split two games this season with the tiebreaker being head-to-head margin of victory (Monte 10, Elma 3).
After completing the first half of the league schedule with a 1-3 record, the Bulldogs have won four straight league games – six consecutive overall – and will host the Trico League’s No. 3 seed when the district tournament begins on Wednesday.
Hoquiam had a chance at a No. 3 seed with a victory, but the loss means the No. 4 Grizzlies will travel to face Trico No. 1 Seton Catholic in the tournament opener on Wednesday.
The Grizzlies honored seniors Jump, Konlan Higgins, Chance LaBounty, Chris Bryson, Jose Fabian and Aiden Butcher on Senior Night.
Times of these games have yet to be determined at the time of this writing.
Dates and locations subject to change.
Montesano 20 11 18 12 – 61
Hoquiam 8 5 10 5 – 28
Scoring: Peterson 23, Chan 14, Damasiewicz 10, Bodwell 6, Taylor 4, Lovell 3, Dowler 1. Hoquiam – Jump 15, Niemi 7, Bozich 3, Bryson 2, Dayton 1.
