Hoquiam and Ocosta boys basketball teams continued their winning ways as we review Wednesday’s high school sports on the Harbor.
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Hoquiam 65, Kalama 49
Hoquiam’s busy start to the season hasn’t seemed to slow the Grizzlies down much.
Playing in back-to-back games for the second time in five days, the Grizzlies played solid basketball to earn a 65-49 win over Kalama on Wednesday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
The Grizzlies (3-2 overall) shot 45% from the field on 25-of-55 shooting, which was on-par with the previous evening’s victory over Shelton.
“To play back to back for the second time in five days, they really responded,” Hoquiam head coach Jeff Niemi said.
The Grizzlies were once again paced by sophomore guard Lincoln Niemi, who scored a game-high 32 points for the second night in a row.
Niemi went 11 for 26 from the field (42.3%), including six 3-pointers, to go along with eight assists and eight rebounds.
“It was very encouraging seeing him get to the basket tonight,” Coach Niemi said of his son’s performance. “He played a very effective floor game.”
Lincoln Niemi had plenty of help as junior guard Joey Bozich (10 points), sophomore guard Ryker Maxfield (9 points) and senior center Victor Azevedo (8 points) – an exchange student from Brazil – each scored eight or more points in the game.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam junior guard Joey Bozich scored 10 points in the Grizzlies’ 65-49 victory over Kalama on Wednesday at Hoquiam High School.
Niemi scored 10 points in the first quarter to lead Hoquiam to an 18-12 lead entering the second period, where the two teams played even.
At the half, Coach Niemi felt his team was relying on his son to carry the offensive load a bit too much, so he stressed getting other players more involved, particularly second-leading scorer in Bozich.
“What we challenged the kids to do at halftime was not to rely on Lincoln just scoring. ‘Could we just have a great team half because it’s time to work on stuff?’” Coach Niemi addressed his team. “And man, they did it. Joey had zero at halftime and I said, ‘Guys, there is no reason Joey should be shutout at the half.’ And we got him 10 in the second half.”
Regarding rebounding, which has been and admittedly will be an area of concern for the undersized Grizzlies this season, Hoquiam had a respectable 34 rebounds as a team to 37 for the Chinooks (2-1). Hoquiam outrebounded Kalama 25-22 on the defensive glass while Kalama held a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
“The rebounding was solid. They were definitely bigger than us, as usual,” Coach Niemi said. “Kalama had athletes and we’re holding our own.”
Both teams did a good job taking care of the basketball, with Hoquiam committing nine turnovers to eight for Kalama.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam guard Ryker Maxfield (1) scores on a layup during a 65-49 win over Kalama on Wednesday in Hoquiam.
With two impressive wins on consecutive nights, Coach Niemi said his team is enjoying their early-season success.
“It’s fun right now. The kids are really buying in to what we’re trying to sell them,” he said. “I just told them tonight, ‘Maybe it’s time for coach to have more fun too. Let’s enjoy this. This should be fun.’ We’re having fun right now and the kids are playing hard.”
Hoquiam has a rivalry game against Aberdeen at 6:45 p.m. on Friday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
Kalama 12 10 11 16 – 49
Hoquiam 18 10 14 23 – 65
Scoring: Kalama – Koski 14, McBride 6, Sigfridson 6, Harvill 5, Scott 4, Hahn 3, Crawford 3, Hale 3. Hoquiam – Niemi 21, Bozich 10, Maxfield 9, Azevedo 8, Byron 2, Bretz 2, Dayton 2.
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Ocosta 53, Ilwaco 37
Led by its defense, Ocosta remained unbeaten in the early season with a 53-37 win over Ilwaco on Wednesday at Ilwaco High School.
The Wildcats (3-0) held the Fishermen (0-2) to less than 10 points in each of the first three quarters and took command of the game with a 14-5 third period, stretching their lead to 15.
As a team, Ocosta had three blocks and 16 steals, led by senior guard Dalton Welch (4), freshman forward Sonny Beard (3) and senior guard Kayden Turner (3).
Turner led the way on offense with 20 points, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range (71.4%), and committed 11 turnovers as a team.
“Tonight was another great effort on defense as a team,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “Everyone contributed on the stat sheet, which is awesome to see. We continue to play great defense and keep our turnovers sort of minimal which is a recipe for success.”
The Wildcats host Crescent at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Ocosta 10 14 14 15 – 53
Ilwaco 9 9 5 14 – 37
Scoring: Ocosta – Turner 20, Beard 8, Welch 6, Agramon 5, Prigmore 5, Wyland 4, Solis 3. Ilwaco – Hazen 11, Needham 8, Petit 7, Pelas 4, Cunningham 3, Linquist 2, Sanders 2.
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GIRLS PREP WRESTLING
Aberdeen beats North Beach, Ocosta
The Aberdeen girls wrestling team defeated North Beach and Ocosta wrestlers in head-to-head matchups on Wednesday in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats won six of seven matches, with North Beach’s Myra Strandberg keeping Aberdeen from earning the clean sweep.
Results
120 pounds: Myra Strandberg (North Beach) via fall over Paisley Floch (Aberdeen), 0:49
135: Jaylynn Milton (A) via fall over Akyah Corwin (NB), 1:32
135: Laura Calzolari (A) via fall over Kennadi Aldrich (Ocosta), 0:20
135: Valerie Rico (A) via fall over Akyah Corwin (NB), 1:32
155: Hayden Abad (A) via fall over Kenna Dycus (NB), 1:19
155: Trinity Stone (A) via fall over Brook Scramlin (NB), 1:37
190: Abby Warmoth (A) via fall over Eva Fruh (NB), 0:50
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Other games
Boys Prep Basketball
Forks 59, Aberdeen 51
King’s Way Christian 72, Raymond-South Bend 43
Taholah 79, Clallam Bay 45
Girls Prep Basketball
Taholah 51, Clallam Bay 12
