MONTESANO — Zach Cain’s stellar presence helped Taholah’s boys repeat as district champions.
Cain scored 25 points as the Chitwhins beat Naselle, 68-58, in the District IV Class 1B boys basketball championship game Saturday at Montesano.
Earlier in the evening, Taholah’s girls were unable to hold on to a slim second-half lead and fell to Columbia Adventist, 60-54.
Both Taholah’s boys (18-3) and girls (16-5) advance to regional competition in a doubleheaders Saturday at Chehalis.
The Chitwhin boys oppose Riverside Christian at 6 p.m., while the girls take on Northwest Yeshiva of Mercer Island at 8 p.m.
BOYS: Chitwhins 68, Comets 58
After a night of muscling his way into the paint, Cain attacked the basket one more time after the final buzzer with aid of a ladder and a pair of scissors as he cut down the net following the win.
When the Chitwhins got off to a slow start and struggled to separate themselves from Naselle, all-stater Cain took over on offense and led the way with a combination of drives to the paint and shots from the outside.
Taholah head coach Mike Rose said getting the win was a team effort but said it was good to lean on the team’s leading scorer when they needed it.
“We tried to get some movement and we weren’t getting the type of movement we like to see all the time,” he said. “When Cain gets the ball, he’s hard to stop so we just let him do his thing.”
With Cain taking control of the game late in the first quarter, everything seemed to fall into place from there.
Down by one entering the fourth quarter, Taholah erupted for 26 points in the final period.
The defensive focus on Cain made it a little bit easier for players like Jesse Purdy to get going. Purdy dropped 10 points while playing through an ankle injury. Jay Mowitch also had a solid game, finishing the night with 12 points and seven defensive rebounds.
The Chitwhins also benefited from a strong defensive effort that kept Naselle from being able to crawl back into the game late in the fourth quarter.
Rose described his team’s defensive strategy as combination of man and zone concepts and said he liked the way his team rotated on shooters around the 3-point line.
“I liked the way we were out on them,” he said. “I thought our kids did really well. Naselle has some kids who can really shoot but most of the time we were forcing them to take shots they didn’t want.”
Naselle was never really out of the game. The Comets, however, were forced to foul in the late going and put the game away from the free-throw line.
Taholah had already clinched its spot in the regional tournament but that didn’t stop players from enjoying themselves after the win.
GIRLS: Kodiaks 60, Chitwhins 54
Taholah’s girls had one of those nights when they were plagued by turnovers and defensive containment.
Up 31-27 at the half, Taholah nursed the lead for most of the game but its defense began to falter a little bit in the third and fourth quarters.
Macey Pearson hit a couple of late threes to help swing the momentum away from Taholah as the Chitwhin zone that had clogged up the lane found itself a step too slow to contest shots on the perimeter.
Chitwhin head coach Karl Braden gave Columbia Adventist credit for its effort but said he felt the game was winnable.
“We played well offensively but overall the turnovers killed us,” he said. “You can’t win ball games when you turn the ball over. I have to give Columbia credit but if we play the game like how we’re supposed to play it we should have won.”
On a night that would end up requiring a little more scoring than usual to keep a the sharp-shooting Kodiaks from running away with things, Netty Mail was up to the task and led the Chitwhins in scoring with 12 points.
Denise Curleybear was also instrumental in the early going and finished at the rim to help build Taholah’s lead in the first half.
Braden was disappointed with the loss but with his team still going to regionals, he wants to use the next practices to get his team mentally ready for the next stage.
“We’ll get in practice this week but I told the girls there were 50 other teams that wish they were in the spot we were,” he said “I’m going to emphasize that this game is over and done with. You have to take winning like you do losing so they just gotta keep their heads up.”
BOYS
Taholah 11 15 16 26 — 68
Naselle 15 16 12 15 — 58
Taholah (68) — Orozco 9, Underwood 7, Dan, Waugh 2, Cain 25, Purdy 10, Mowitch 12, James-Juneau, Bastian. FG — 24-68 (.353). FT — 9-11.
Naselle (58) —Edwards, Lindstrom 12, Nolan 9, Eaton 6, Glenn, 12, Gregory 14 . FG — 22-61 (.361). FT — 6-12.
GIRLS
Col. Advent. 8 19 12 21 — 60
Taholah 15 16 12 11 — 54
Col. Adventist (60) — D. Ermshar, Tyler 6, B. Ermshar 2, Boatright 9, Wright 2, Pearson 12, Reed 14, Fernando 12. FG — 20-58 (.345). FT — 10-18.
Taholah (54) — Curleybear 10, N. McCrory 4, K. McCrory 9, Mail 12, Ancheta 7, Ralston 2, Grover 10. FG — 19-51 (.373). FT — 6-12.
