BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Aberdeen 62, Hoquiam 54
Aberdeen’s used an early second-half run and held Hoquiam at bay in defeating the Grizzlies 62-54 on Saturday in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (2-4 overall) used its size and length to give its offense second and third chances as Aberdeen had 18 offensive rebounds in the victory.
In the heated Myrtle Street Rivalry game, it was Hoquiam (3-4) that got off to the hot start as the Grizzlies led 4-0 to start the game and 14-9 later in the first quarter after a layup from junior guard Alex Reyes.
But Aberdeen went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter, highlighted by a Kayden Seibert corner three, giving the Bobcats their first lead at 17-15 with 23 seconds left in the frame.
After a back-and-forth opening minutes of the second quarter, the team’s traded blows until halftime. Aberdeen guard Ethan Morrill hit a corner three as the Bobcats took a 30-23 lead with 2:10 left in the half. Hoquiam’s Cameron Bumstead responded, hitting a deep 3-pointer with 1:24 left followed by a running jumper by Dane McMillan to cut the Bobcats lead to 30-28.
“In the first half we were preaching composure and working together,” said Aberdeen senior forward Nick Farrer, who scored a team high 15 points to lead the Bobcats. “We just kept trying to pound it inside to me and Kayden (Seibert). That worked and we kept doing that throughout the whole game.”
A Griffin Kincade free throw with just over four seconds left gave Aberdeen a precocious 31-28 halftime lead.
But that’s as close as Hoquiam would get, as Aberdeen opened the second half determined to put the game out of reach. The Bobcats started the third quarter on a 9-1 run and took a 42-29 lead on a bucket in the paint by Dylan Richie.
“The mindset was it’s a rivalry game, a close game, and anything can happen,” Farrer said. “So it’s a new game. It’s 0-0. So we had to keep the pedal to the metal and keep going and keep playing together. That was our goal the whole game.”
Hoquiam didn’t quit, however, cutting the lead to 47-40 on an Abe Morales three with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Grizzlies would get even closer as Morales opened the fourth with his second three of the game, cutting the Aberdeen advantage to 47-43.
But on the following play, a foul call in the Hoquiam end was deemed a shooting foul, sending Morrill to the free-throw line.
Hoquiam head coach Curtis Eccles was then hit with a technical foul for expressing his displeasure with the call. When asked for an explanation as to why he received the tech, Eccles was told it was due to “an accumulation of you complaining all game.”
“I thought, ‘Whoa! There is a first for everything,’” Eccles said of the call, which he believed should have been a non-shooting foul. “My back was turned, I was walking down the baseline and all I said was, ‘That was ridiculous.’”
Gio Pisani hit one of two technical free throws followed by Morrill hitting his two freebies for the personal-foul call, extending Aberdeen’s lead to 50-43.
Aberdeen stretched the lead to 58-49 later in the fourth on a Pisani jumper before closing out the game at 62-54.
Hoquiam’s Troy McMinn (21) puts up a shot while being defended by Aberdeen’s Andrew Troeh (5) and Robert Salomon on Saturday in Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Eccles was quick to give credit to Aberdeen’s energetic play and aggressive attack on the boards, adding that the Bobcats took advantage after Hoquiam leading rebounder Zach Elsos didn’t return to the game after halftime due to an injury he suffered in Friday’s win over Toledo.
“That hurt us, having our leading rebounder on the bench. That was something they took advantage of. We need to do a better job of blocking them out,” he said. “Obviously, after a great game yesterday I felt we played differently tonight. We didn’t make the extra pass and we need to share the ball a little more than we did.”
“We came together and played the best ball we could against our rivals and in this kind of atmosphere,” Farrer said. “We had a little shaky start. But came out last Saturday (after a loss to Montesano a day earlier) and decided to come out with a new identity. This is a new team and we’re going to play more aggressive and we’re going to press. … We’re becoming a much better team and playing a lot better together.”
Hoquiam 14 14 12 14 — 54
Aberdeen 17 14 16 15 — 62
Willapa Valley 62, Chief Leschi 53
Logan Walker scored 22 points, including five at a critical moment of the game, to lead Willapa Valley to a 62-53 win over Chief Leschi on Saturday in Menlo.
With 2.3 seconds left to go in the first half of a close game, Willapa Valley’s Joseph Pulsifer saved a loose ball from going out of bounds, throwing a pass to Walker at half court.
Walker was fouled on the half-court, buzzer-beating attempt, heading to the free-throw line for three shots.
Chief Leschi’s Delshae Gower argued the call and was hit with a technical foul.
Walker then proceeded to hit five straight free throws — three for the personal foul and two for Gower’s technical — to trim the Warriors’ lead to 30-26 at the half.
“They were outplaying us in the first half,” Vikings head coach Jay Pearson said. “We got caught up in their run-and-gun offense and we can’t do that with them. They’re very athletic and we needed to stick to our game plan. … In the second half, we were more disciplined. We ran our offense and got to the boards.”
The third quarter was all Vikings (4-1 overall, Pacific 2B) as Willapa Valley outscored Chief Leschi 19-9 in the frame to take the lead.
The Vikings also took the fourth quarter by a score of 17-14 to claim the victory.
Walker had seven rebounds to go along with his 22 points.
Allen Deniston added 12 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double performance for the Vikings.
Chief Leschi 15 11 19 17 — 53
Willapa Valley 15 11 19 17 — 62
Seaside 77, Montesano 52
Montesano struggled against perennial Oregon power Seaside en route to a 77-52 loss in the championship game of the Seaside Tournament on Saturday.
Trace Ridgway scored 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists as Monte (4-3) fell behind 37-20 by halftime after trailing 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Seaside outscored Monte 20-8 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and win the tourney title on its home floor.
“I’m definitely proud of the kids and thought we came together as a team, on the court and off,” Monte head coach Doug Galloway said of the Bulldogs’ performance at the three-day tournament. “It was a great bonding experience.”
Montesano 12 8 8 24 — 52
Seaside 14 23 20 20 — 77
Adna 68, Ocosta 52
Ocosta couldn’t stop Adna’s hot shooting as the Wildcats fell to the Pirates 68-52 on Saturday in Adna.
Ocosta’s Cole Hatton scored a game high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds for the Wildcats (3-4, 3-3 Pacific 2B.
Ocosta fell behind 38-23 at halftime after Adna (4-2) started the game hot from long range while pounding the ball inside to Braden Thomas, who scored 24 points for the Pirates.
Cesar Martinez added eight points, six boards and four steals in the game.
The Wildcats shot 18-for-52 from the field compared to 27-for-72 for Adna.
Ocosta 13 10 8 21 — 52
Adna 20 18 14 16 — 68
