Aberdeen never fully recovered from a poor first half en route to a 67-43 loss to Black Hills on Wednesday in Tumwater.
Aberdeen (1-3 overall, 0-1 2A Evergreen) lost its league opener in the first half as a slow start saw the Bobcats facing an uphill climb.
Aberdeen scored a mere four points in the first quarter and fell behind by nine points after the first eight minutes of play.
In the second stanza, Aberdeen didn’t fare much better, scoring five points to fall behind 32-9 by halftime.
“Another slow start and the defense did not hold up to make up for the offensive inefficiencies,” Aberdeen head coach Mark Buckman said.
The Bobcats put together a more respectable performance in the second half led by Andrew Troeh and Isiah Watson, who scored 11 and eight points in the half, respectively.
“(We) came out with better energy and more confidence in the second half, but ultimately the game was out of reach,” Buckman said.
Troeh finished with 14 points while Watson had 10 for Aberdeen.
After being blown out in each of its three losses Buckman said he “remains positive” Aberdeen can turn its fortunes around this season.
“The (coaching) staff and I continue to see flashes of solid play and players are beginning to settle into roles,” he said. “(We) certainly have more time to improve this season and this team has every intention of doing so.”
Aberdeen 4 5 13 21 — 43
Black Hills 15 17 22 13 — 67
Scoring
Black Hills (67) —Stallings 14, Shepler 10, Ellison 9, Jounson 9, Byoune 8, Nysted 6, Beck 5, Rougen 3, Pilow 2
Aberdeen (43) — Troeh 14, Watson 10, Kyle Miller 6, Baylor Ainsworth 4, Kale Goings 3, Ashdon Swope 2, Manny Garcia 2
Ilwaco 81, South Bend 36
South Bend dropped a 2B Pacific League game 81-36 to Ilwaco on Wednesday in Ilwaco.
South Bend (0-1 overall, league) struggled against Ilwaco (2-0, 1-0) falling behind by 30 points at the end of the first quarter.
“Ilwaco is a tall, fast, aggressive team that also shoots well,” South Bend head coach John Schray said. “I was very happy with our effort tonight. The kids on this team don’t know the word quit.”
Ty Reidinger led South Bend with 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
South Bend 4 14 6 12 — 36
Ilwaco 34 18 17 12 — 81
Scoring
Ilwaco (81) — Reidinger 13, Jacob Carlson 8, Josh Flynn 8, Esteban Morales 3, Ryan Kirpes 2, Justin Yi 2
South Bend (36) — B. Turner 16, J. Turner 13, Morris 12, Glenn 8, West 9, Needham 8, Rogers 4, Hart 4, Fitzgerald 3, Kuhn 2, Cutting 2
Other scores
Forks 62, North Beach 47
