UPDATE: Information added for “Bash at the Beach” boys wrestling tournament.

Beleaguered by COVID issues, the Ocosta Wildcats played games on back-to-back nights with less than a handful of varsity players as we review the weekend’s local sports action.

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

Forks 69, Ocosta 45

Playing with a COVID-hampered roster, Ocosta dropped a league game to Forks 69-45 on Friday in Forks.

Due to COVID contact tracing measures, the Wildcats (3-5, 1-3 2B Pacific) were down to just three varsity players available for Friday evening’s game, meaning Ocosta filled out its roster with mostly junior varsity players against the league’s third-place team in the Spartans (4-3, 3-1).

Despite the roster issues, Ocosta led 11-6 halfway through the first quarter before foul trouble to key post players gave Forks an advantage in the paint.

Ocosta led 14-13 after the first quarter but saw its lead evaporate as the Spartans outscored the Wildcats 21-3 in the second frame.

“(The foul trouble) hampered some of our momentum and Forks kind of beat us up inside offensively and began to be more aggressive on the perimeter once our inside presence was sidelined,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “It was a good learning experience for my young guys, but frustrating to say the least knowing we had some healthy guys sitting at home tonight but unable to play due to certain COVID rules.”

Xander Prigmore — one of three varsity players on the roster for Ocosta — scored 17 points, 11 of those coming in the fourth quarter as he was plagued with foul troubles in the second and third quarters.

Josh Figueroa (8 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and Mark Lewis (7 pts., 9 reb.) also figured in the mix for a Wildcats team that hit 16 shots from the field and went 8-of-13 (62%) from the charity stripe.

Ocosta 14 3 14 14 — 45

Forks 13 21 21 10 — 69

Scoring

Ocosta (45) — X. Prigmore 17, Figueroa 8, Lewis 7, Dalton Welch 5, Alexis Agramon 3, Kayden Turner 3, Noah Prigmore 2

Forks (69) — Brody Lavsche 16, Keaton Northcut 13, Ashton Doyle 12, Ryan Rancourt 11, Logan Olson 8, Dylan Micheau 7, Landin Davis 2

Ocosta 64, North Beach 57

Playing for the second night in a row with a depleted roster thanks to COVID-mitigation measures, Ocosta held on to earn a hard-fought 64-57 victory over North Beach on Saturday in Westport.

The Wildcats (4-5, 2-3) and Hyaks (4-4, 1-4) battled through four quarters, with neither team able to build a lead of more than five points until halfway through the final period when Ocosta went up by seven.

“Bouncing back from a tough game last night, I thought we played with a lot more confidence tonight,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “Every time we seemed to get momentum, North Beach would hit a three or two to get right back into it. … I couldn’t be more proud of the guys for taking a giant step from last night to tonight in terms of execution and toughness. We played with a lot of grit tonight and I hope we can continue that going forward.”

Mark Lewis (20 points, 4 rebounds), Xander Prigmore (16 pts., 8 reb.) and Josh Figueroa (13 pts., 6 reb., 4 steals) led the way for Ocosta.

Daniel Castaneda led the way for North Beach with 18 points followed by fellow seniors Tre’Vaughn Greene (17 pts.) and Josh Bighead (12 pts.).

Both teams are scheduled to play on Tuesday, with Ocosta hosting Northwest Christian at 7 p.m. and North Beach welcoming Ilwaco into Ocean Shores for a 7:15 p.m. tip-off.

North Beach 11 16 13 17 — 57

Ocosta 12 14 15 17 — 64

North Beach (57) — Castaneda 18, Greene 17, Bighead 12, Sam Teague 5, Tyrell Curry-Sith 5

Ocosta (64) — Lewis 20, X. Prigmore 16, Figueroa 13, Kayden Turner 9, Dalton Welch 2

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

Willapa Valley 45, South Bend 24

Willapa Valley got a balanced scoring performance en route to a 45-24 victory over South Bend in a non-league matchup on Saturday at Willapa Valley High School.

The Vikings (5-6) got at least seven points from four different players as Willapa Valley shot 17-for-53 (32%) from the field and 7-of-12 (58%) from the free-throw line on the evening.

Willapa Valley played well on the defensive end of the court, holding South Bend (1-6) to 8-of-46 (17%) shooting from the field and held South Bend scoreless for approximately 11 straight minutes in the second half.

Vikings head coach John Peterson also said he was most pleased with the way his team took care of the ball on Saturday, committing just 13 turnovers compared to 29 in a loss to Naselle on Monday.

“If we can score between 45-55 and can hang in there on the boards, the way we play defense, we’re going to hang around,” he said. “And they did that tonight so I’m hopeful that we can continue along this line.”

Lanissa Amacher led the way for Willapa Valley, scoring 16 points followed by Ana Chavez (9 pts., 4 stl.), Brooklyn Patrick (9 pts.) and Chayse Coady (7 pts., 14 rebounds).

Willapa Valley has a big 1B Columbia Valley League matchup against Mossyrock set for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday in Menlo.

South Bend 6 6 2 10 — 24

Willapa Valley 12 10 14 9 — 45

Scoring

South Bend (24) — N/A

Willapa Valley (45) — Amacher 16, Chavez 9, Patrick 9, Coady 7, Hannah Hamilton 3, Lauren Emery 1

PREP BOYS WRESTLING

Aberdeen takes team title at Bash at the Beach

Aberdeen had 12 wrestlers place in the top three of their respective weight classes to take the team title at the “Bash at the Beach” tournament on Saturday at North Beach High School in Ocean Shores.

Led by first-place finishes from Joel Nelson (120 pounds), Liam Heikkila (195) and Erick Hayter-Ramsey (285) Aberdeen finished with 146.5 points to cruise to the team championship, with Hayter-Ramsey earning the “Outstanding Wrestler” of the tournament honor.

Mikey Hatton (113) Drew Lock (126), Michael Leonteyv (132) and Aiden Watkins (152) each placed second while Talatheon Warness (113), Jayden Velazquez (120), Rique Gadwa-Guzman (132), Shane Glowacki (138) and Josh Henry (285) placed third for the Wildcats in their weight classes.

“The boys wrestling team had a tough week with limited practices due to weather and tidal flooding,” Aberdeen head coach Jeff Hatton said. “The boys stayed in good wrestling shape and came to compete on Saturday.”

Team Results

1, Aberdeen 146.5. 2, Franklin Pierce 100. 3, Chief Sealth 93. 4, Montesano 73.5. 5, North Beach 72. 6, Ilwaco 59. 7, Muckleshoot 45. 8, Ocosta 34. 9, Hoquiam 27. 10, Chief Leschi 14.