BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Black Hills 79, Aberdeen 30
Too little shooting, too many turnovers and too many fouls in high school basketball often leads to a rout.
That was proven true on Saturday night as the Aberdeen Bobcats saw the game get away from them quickly in a 79-30 loss to Black Hills at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen (5-7 overall, 1-3 Evergreen 2A) got off on the right foot, opening the game with a short 4-0 run on a jumper from Gio Pisani followed by a bucket off an offensive rebound by Jayden Watson.
But turnovers and missed shots began to pile up for the Bobcats in the latter half of the first quarter, and the league-leading Wolves took advantage. Down 8-5 with 4:30 left in the frame, Black Hills (10-4, 4-0) closed the quarter on a 13-0 run, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the process.
The Bobcats temporarily stopped the bleeding in the opening minute of the first quarter when Nick Farrer hit a free-throw line jump shot to cut the deficit to 18-10.
But the Wolves dominated the second quarter, going on a 24-6 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding 42-14 lead.
Wyatt Johnson’s gritty 3-point play after grabbing two offensive rebounds was one of the few highlights the Bobcats had in what was otherwise a deflating half that saw Aberdeen looking up at a 46-19 scoreboard.
Aberdeen’s Romeo Sanchez, right, passes out of a double team during the second half of the Bobcats’ 79-30 loss to Black Hills on Saturday at Sam Benn Gym at Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Black Hills put an exclamation point on the victory when 6-foot-6 junior Justin Hicks threw down an emphatic one-handed dunk with 2:30 left in the quarter, giving the Wolves a 57-24 lead and drawing oohs and ahhs from the crowd.
A running clock in the fourth quarter drew down as Aberdeen lost 58-25.
The Bobcats managed just nine field goals in the game and shot 11-for-23 (48%) from the free-throw line.
Aberdeen tallied 20 fouls in the contest, with Pisani and Nick Farrer both spending significant time on the bench due to early foul troubles.
Aberdeen forward Kayden Seibert (15) puts up a shot over Black Hills’ Weston Ainsworth during Saturday’s game at Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | Grays Harbor News Group)
Watson scored six points to lead the Bobcats with Farrer, Johnson, Pisani and Kayden Seibert scoring five points apiece for Aberdeen.
Black Hills was led by guard Avery Armin, who scored a game-high 21 points. Hicks added 12 points and guard Deegan Hurley scored 10 points for a Wolves team that shot 15-of-20 (85%) from the charity stripe.
Black Hills 18 28 12 21 — 79
Aberdeen 8 11 6 5 — 30
Willapa Valley 64, North Beach 40
After shaking off some early rust, Willapa Valley woke up to earn a 64-40 victory over North Beach on Saturday in Menlo.
Playing in its first game in over a week, Willapa Valley (10-4, 9-2 Pacific 2B) lacked its typical defensive intensity, allowing North Beach (3-11, 3-9 Pacific 2B) to convert six 3-pointers to keep the game close in the first half.
“In the first half, we had no intensity or ball pressure on defense,” said Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson, whose team led 30-27 at the half. “It just looked like we were going through the motions. … At halftime, we challenged our senior leaders to play with more heart and get after it.”
Get after it they did. Willapa Valley’s defense smothered the Hyaks in the second half, holding North Beach to just two points in the third quarter until a last-minute three pointer fell for the Hyaks.
The Vikings put the game away in the fourth, outscoring the Hyaks 19-8 to earn the victory.
Willapa Valley’s Logan Walker, who surpassed 1,000 points in his prep career in a game against Life Christian on Jan. 3, had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds to go along with six assists.
Chad Flemetis scored 17 points, 14 of those coming in Willapa Valley’s dominant second half and Tyler Adkins added 15 points, all of them coming off of five made 3-pointers.
North Beach 13 14 5 8 — 40
Willapa Valley 40
Northwest Christian 45, Ocosta 42
For the second consecutive game, Ocosta found itself tied within the final minute. And for the second consecutive game, it was the Wildcats that had to deal with a bitter defeat.
Ocosta rallied from nine points down to tie the game with less than a minute to go, but a last-second shot sent the Wildcats home with another tough league loss, falling to Northwest Christian 45-42 on Saturday in Westport.
Ocosta (6-7, 6-6 Pacific 2B) and Northwest Christian (11-2, 9-2) played to the final buzzer for the second time this season as the game came down to the wire. The Wildcats rallied from a 39-30 deficit to tie the game 42-all when Kobe Rudolph hit a clutch 3-pointer with 29 seconds to go in the game.
On the game’s final possession, NWC’s Landon Koukal hit a fading, one-handed 3-pointer from 25-feet out to take the lead with one second left.
Ocosta’s last-ditch attempt failed, securing the win for the Wolverines.
Ocosta senior Cole Hatton scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats. Hatton surpassed 1,000 points in his stellar prep career with two free throws in the first half.
Omar Luque added five points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals for the Wildcats.
Northwest Christian 13 11 7 14 — 45
Ocosta 9 9 7 17 — 42
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Lake Quinault 37, Three Rivers Christian 36
Kat Neeland’s triple-double led Lake Quinault to a 37-36 victory over Three Rivers Christian on Saturday at Lake Quinault High School.
Neeland scored 14 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had 10 steals to lead the Elks (3-6, 2-1 Coastal 1B), who struggled from the field yet still found a way to win.
“It hurts their mindset when they don’t make shots,” explained Elks head coach TJ Carstensen, who said his team was visibly frustrated after shooting 13-of-66 from the floor. “I told them the only way we’re going to win is to keep shooting. They’re not going to score for us. … (Shots) started falling in the second half, which got us through.”
Lake Quinault outscored Three Rivers 16-2 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory.
Navaeh Priebe scored nine points while Kariana Cole scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds, had seven blocks and six steals in a complete floor game for the Elks.
Three Rivers Christian 8 12 14 2 — 36
Lake Quinault 4 3 14 16 — 37
White River 45, Montesano 39
Montesano couldn’t dig out of a first half deficit against a strong 2A opponent, losing to White River 45-39 on Saturday in Buckley.
White River (13-2) pressured Montesano (8-7, 3-0 Evergreen 1A) in the early going, holding the Bulldogs to just 13 points en route to a 25-13 halftime lead.
Monte responded in the second half and went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to cut into the Hornets’ lead.
But White River responded with some long-range shots to extend the lead as Monte would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
“I was really proud of our effort in the second half,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said. “Our defense was good the whole night. … It was a good effort.”
Zoe Hutchings scored 12 points to lead Monte, 10 of those coming in the second half.
McKynnlie Dalan added nine points for the Bulldogs.
Montesano 5 8 14 12 — 39
White River 14 11 10 10 — 45
Black Hills 69, Aberdeen 19
Aberdeen had no answers for the league’s top team in suffering a 69-19 loss to Black Hills on Saturday in Aberdeen.
Black Hills (12-2, 4-0 Evergreen 2A) took a 14 point lead after the first quarter and never looked back in handing the Bobcats (4-9, 0-4) their fourth straight league loss.
Aliyah Tageant scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Aberdeen.
The Wolves’ Jordyn Bender led all scorers with 17 points.
Black Hills 22 18 15 14 — 69
Aberdeen 8 2 4 5 — 19
