Montesano and Raymond beat teams above them in their respective leagues as we review Thursday’s prep basketball action.

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Montesano 55, Tenino 53

Montesano threw a big monkey wrench into the gears of the 1A Evergreen League.

The Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak with a rousing 55-53 victory over first-place Tenino on Thursday in Montesano.

The Bulldogs (9-4 overall, 2-3 1A Evergreen) rallied from down 31-23 at the half to overtake the Beavers (9-4, 4-1) in the fourth quarter and took the lead with a pair of free throws from junior guard Delon Chan late in the game.

Tenino had two chances to score on the final possession of the game, but a jump shot from standout junior Noah Schow was off the mark. A mad scramble for the loose ball ensued, with Schow picking up the ball near midcourt and quickly throwing up a desperation heave at the buzzer. The shot failed to draw iron, cementing the signature league victory Montesano has been searching for.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Delon Chan (21) is fouled late in the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs’ 55-53 win over Tenino on Thursday in Montesano. Chan would sink two free throws to secure the victory.

“Our kids have not been in a place where we’ve played these really tight games,” Monte head coach Leonard Barnes said. “Tonight, they found that magic how to finish a game out. … We’ve been close in a lot of these games and we just have not been in that moment and they’re getting hungry to win that, and they did that tonight. They gave that extra effort on defense and rebounding.”

Monte was led by Chan with 22 points, 14 of those coming in the Bulldogs’ 20-10 third quarter.

Schow led all scorers with 24 points, but was held to eight points in the second half – two in the fourth quarter – as Montesano senior forward Gabe Bodwell stepped up his man-defense against the talented Beavers scorer.

Barnes credited Bodwell and fellow big men Soren Cobb and Cam Taylor with “owning the paint” on Thursday.

The Bulldogs head coach added a key to his team’s success was contributions off the bench from the likes of guards Terek Gunter and Jaxson Wilson, who “played phenomenal” in lieu of starter Tyce Peterson, who fouled out for the first time in his prep career in the fourth quarter.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Tyce Peterson looks to pass during a 55-53 win over Tenino on Thursday in Tenino.

“The kids just buckled in and locked in. … I’m really excited for them. They’re having a great year from where they’ve been (in the past). Just so proud of the whole team,” said Barnes, who added his team was ecstatic after the game. “They were going crazy. It was electrifyingly awesome in that locker room and I want those kids to feel good, they earned it.”

Monte sits in third place, a half-game ahead of Hoquiam, in the 1A Evergreen League standings.

With the loss, the Beavers moved into a first-place tie with Elma.

Monte takes on Aberdeen at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Aberdeen High School.

Tenino 15 16 10 12 — 53

Montesano 14 9 20 13 — 55

Scoring: Tenino — Schow 24, Gonia 15, Burkhardt 6, Snider 5, Feltus 3. Montesano — Chan 22, Cobb 6, Gunter 5, Bodwell 4, Taylor 4, Peterson 4, Wilson 2.

Tumwater 59, Aberdeen 27

Aberdeen’s offense had its struggles in a 59-27 loss to Tumwater on Thursday at Aberdeen High School.

The Bobcats (5-10, 3-6 2A Evergreen) failed to hit double digits in any quarter and went 8 for 32 from the field as a team (25%).

Aberdeen forward Baylor Ainsworth led the Bobcats with eight points while senior Patrick Walsh had a team-high seven rebounds for the Cats.

Aberdeen had 39 rebounds and 19 turnovers as a team.

The Bobcats host Montesano in a non-league game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Tumwater 12 16 17 14 — 59

Aberdeen 8 9 6 4 — 27

Scoring: Tumwater — Anthony III 8, C. Morgan 8, Howell 7, Wall 7, Tucker 6, Anchors 6, Dillon 4, Wilson 4, Konrad 3, Campbell 2, Schlecht 2, B. Morgan 2. Aberdeen — Ainsworth 8, M. Garcia 4, Zarahe 3, Larocque 3, Brooks 3, Quezada 2, I. Garcia 2, Springer 2.

Raymond 56, Forks 47

Raymond celebrated Senior Night with a big victory, dispatching Forks 56-47 on Thursday at Raymond High School.

The Seagulls (8-8, 6-4 2B Pacific) opened the game “focused and determined,” according to Raymond head coach Mike Tully, flying out to an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes.

Forks (9-6, 5-3) tied the game with its own 11-0 run as a precursor of what was to come in the back-and-forth contest.

Raymond outscored the Spartans by six in the second quarter and led 40-35 heading into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, junior guard Chris Quintana and senior wing Austin Snodgrass took over with seven and six points, respectively, to secure an important 2B Pacific League victory.

“We had one of our most complete games of the season tonight,” Tully said. “We did a great job of executing the game plan and minimizing our mistakes. Everyone that played had key contributions throughout the night.”

Quintana led the Gulls with a game-high 21 points while Snodgrass added 19 for Raymond, which shot 23 of 57 from the field as a team (40%).

Senior center Talan Yearout was huge on the glass for the Seagulls, grabbing 16 rebounds to go along with a block and two assists.

The win puts Raymond one game back of Forks for third place in the 2B Pacific League.

Tully thanked his seniors for what they mean to the Raymond program.

“I’d like to thank our seniors Auston Caricchio, Jesse Gonzalez, Ashton Kongbouakhay, Elijah Rumbles, Austin Snodgrass, Taren Stephens and Talan Yearout for all of their contributions to our program,” he said.

Raymond has a tough non-league game against Elma at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Elma.

Forks 13 7 15 12 – 47

Raymond 16 13 11 16 – 56

Scoring: Forks – Lausche 17, Salazar 10, Lohrengel 9, Micheau 7, Rowley 4. Raymond – Quintana 21, Snodgrass 19, Banker 6, Welch 4, Yearout 3, Kongbouakhay 2, Schlueter 1.

Ocosta 72, South Bend 39

Ocosta ended a five-game losing streak with a 72-39 win over South Bend on Thursday at Ocosta High School.

The Wildcats (4-10, 3-7 2B Pacific) pressured South Bend (1-13, 1-9) to get out to a 10-0 lead two minutes into the game, but nine turnovers in the first quarter led to a slim 15-14 lead early in the second quarter.

After some stern words from Wildcats head coach Jason Quinby, Ocosta responded with a dominant second quarter to take a 34-18 lead at halftime.

“After some good old fashioned butt-chewing, our guys responded and cleaned up their mistakes,” Quinby said of the second quarter. “I challenged the guys at halftime to keep the pressure up to start the half, and while not always mistake free, we did a pretty good job of moving the ball around and finding the open guy.”

The Wildcats held South Bend to 20 points in the second half to win for the first time since beating South Bend back on Dec. 15.

Tarren Lewis led Ocosta with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Jesus Agramon and Kayden Turner also scored in double digits with 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Wildcats, which shot 29 of 65 from the field (45%) as a team.

South Bend was led by freshman guard Adam Mora with 20 points and sophomore post Michael Nunez with 10 points.

Ocosta plays at first-place Ilwaco at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

South Bend hosts Chief Leschi at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

South Bend 12 6 12 8 – 39

Ocosta 15 19 19 13 – 72

Scoring: South Bend – Mora 20, Nunez 10, Stigall 2, Camarena Ojeda 2, Ridderbush 2, Flynn 2. Ocosta – Lewis 19, Agramon 13, Kay. Turner 10, Priest 8, Kor. Turner 5, Prigmore 4, Beard 4, Dungey 3, Ceja 2, Solis 2.

Other scores

Boys Prep Basketball

Chief Leschi 64, North Beach 64

Oakville 54, Wishkah Valley 14

Girls Prep Basketball

Oakville 67, Wishkah Valley 19