Two East County boys basketball teams are licking their wounds after suffering losses as we review Friday’s prep hoops on the Harbor.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Forks 67, Elma 48
The way the game started was much preferable to how it finished for the Elma Eagles.
Despite getting the early jump, Elma was dominated by Forks in the second half of a 67-48 loss on Friday at Elma High School.
The Eagles (3-1 overall) were hot at the start, opening the game on an 11-3 run capped by a three from junior guard Tanner Moe.
Elma senior guard Traden Carter’s jumper just before the buzzer put the Eagles up 16-9 at the end of one quarter of play.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma senior guard Traden Carter (0) is defended by a pair of Forks Spartans during a 67-48 loss to Forks on Friday at Elma High School.
Forks (5-0) chipped away at the lead throughout the second quarter and eventually caught the Eagles on a basket in the paint by sophomore forward Ty Rowley, tying the game at 25-all with 2:13 left in the first half.
The Eagles would regain the lead on a three by junior guard Matthew Wood with 55 seconds to play in the third quarter, but Rowley responded with a basket at the other end to give the Spartans a 29-28 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Elma’s dam broke and it was Rowley that burst through.
The Spartans’ 6-foot-3 forward scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the third as Forks’ lead extended to as much as 17 points in the frame.
Elma got as close as 12 points when senior guard Theo Flores stole the ball and sent an outlet pass to Isaac McGaffey, who scored to make it a 53-41 game with 6:18 on left in the fourth quarter.
But Forks continued to pound the boards and run the fast-break to push its lead to 21 points at 67-46 in the final minute of the game.
“I thought we were a hair fatigued tonight, but that doesn’t matter. Effort is effort and we should be able to do the effort things and the dirty work when the game is on the line,” Elma head coach Matt Ferrier said. “And we just didn’t do that tonight.”
Rebounding turned out to be a determining factor as Forks held a 44-28 advantage on the glass, including 14-6 on the offensive boards.
“You are going to lose games every single night if you get outrebounded by that many double digits,” Ferrier said.
Forks’ rebounding, particularly on the offensive glass, led to a huge margin in shots taken in favor of the Spartans. Forks took 78 total shots to 55 for Elma, including converting 22-of-41 shots in the paint (54%), where most of the Spartans’ damage was done.
“We went away from doing some key things. We saw a few layups miss. We saw a few free throws miss and all of a sudden we were starting to get down while they were starting to get confident and comfortable,” Ferrier said. “Once they smelled some blood in the water, it was all over for us. We got pounded in our own house, which is unreal. It’s the first time since I’ve been coaching here that we left the gym after a loss feeling that we got the (obscenity) kicked out of us.”
In addition to Rowley’s 24 points, the junior had over 20 rebounds in the game.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma senior guard Theo Flores (right) is tripped up from behind during a 67-48 loss to Forks on Friday in Elma.
Elma was led by Flores with 12 points while Carter (11 pts.), McGaffey (10 points, 13 rebounds) and Wood (10 pts., 4 reb.) each scored in double digits for the Eagles.
“We’re going to watch video tape and take a peek at us getting the (obscenity) kicked out of us and show (the players) what, how and why we got beat up and down the court and on the offensive glass and get better at it,” Ferrier said.
Elma plays at North Beach High School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Forks 9 20 20 18 – 67
Elma 16 12 8 12 – 48
Scoring: Forks – Rowley 24, Lausche 12, Barajas 8, Foster 6, Olson 5, Lohrengel 5. Elma – Flores 12, Carter 11, McGaffey 10, Wood 10, Moe 5.
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Black Hills 61, Montesano 36
Montesano dropped its second game to open the season with a 61-36 loss to Black Hills on Friday in Tumwater.
The Bulldogs (0-2) struggled at the start, committing eight turnovers and hitting just 2-of-12 shots to score four points and trail by 11 at the end of one quarter of play.
Monte trimmed the deficit to six by halftime thanks to 5-of-13 shooting and just one turnover.
With the Bulldogs trailing 38-29 entering the fourth quarter, the Wolves (3-2) outscored Monte 23-7, with six different players hitting at least one shot from the field in the frame.
Montesano shot 3 for 13 and had seven turnovers in the period.
Junior wing Mason Fry led Montesano with 12 points and five rebounds.
Sophomore post Caden Grubb had eight points and a team-best nine rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Montesano takes on Shelton at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Moda Center in Portland.
Montesano 4 13 12 7 – 36
Black Hills 15 8 15 23 – 61
Scoring: Montesano – Fry 12, Ca. Grubb 8, Co. Grubb 6, Painter 5, Gunter 2, Dowler 2. Black Hills – Morgan 15, Q. Morrill 14, T. Morrill 11, Beck 9, Buhre 4, Roberson 3, Faught 3.
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Other games
North Beach 45, Northwest Christian 39
Naselle 68, Taholah 47
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Willapa Valley 43, Mary M. Knight 35
Willapa Valley opened up 1B Coastal League play with a 43-35 win over Mary M. Knight on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.
The Vikings (2-1, 1-0 1B Coastal) were led by junior forward Rilyn Channell, who had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Valley junior guard Lauren Matlock had 10 points and five steals while junior center Paisley Hurley had two points and a game-high six blocks in the victory.
”It may not have been a pretty league win, but the girls battled until the end and came out ahead,” said Valley head coach Dawn Keeton, whose team hadn’t played a game since Dec. 5. “It’s hard having a week in between games early in the season. We’re trying some new things and struggled at times, but that’s how we get better is to struggle. We adjusted and fixed some things as we went along, which is what we should be doing early in the season.”
Valley faces Pe Ell in a non-league game at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday at Pe Ell High School.
Mary M. Knight 14 9 12 8 – 35
Willapa Valley 13 5 13 4 – 43
Scoring: WV – Channell 13, Matlock 10, Keeton 6, Merkel 5, Fluke 4, Ashley 3, Hurley 2.
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Other games
Naselle 36, Taholah 30
