ROCHESTER — There was nary a positive for the Pirates here Wednesday night as they fell to Toutle Lake, 45-35, in the District IV 2B Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.
Adna turned the ball over 17 times, dished out a collective four assists and saw its two post players combine for just two rebounds on the night.
The Pirates held Toutle Lake to a meager three field goals in the second half, but still couldn’t erase an 8-point halftime deficit.
“We played okay defensively in the second half,” said Adna coach Casey Dotson. “But nobody stepped up offensively in the second half, and everyone played scared.”
It wasn’t as though Adna didn’t have its opportunities.
With under a minute remaining in the game and ahead 8 points, the Ducks hit just 1 of 6 free throws and turned the ball over twice. Adna, though, couldn’t convert on the offensive end, and the Toutle lead was secure.
The Ducks started the game off with three first-quarter 3s for a 14-6 lead after a quarter, but hit just one more triple the rest of the night.
Cody O’Connor led Toutle with 11. Zack Hayes scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Dan Schilter chipped in with 10.
Kyle Grosshans led the Pirates with 13 points and Nate Trotter chipped in 6.
Toutle Lake will play Willapa Valley in Chehalis on Saturday in a winner-to-state semifinal.
Adna now must fight its way through the consolation bracket, starting with South Bend on Saturday at a site and time yet to be determined.
Notes: The District IV 2B Boys Tournament organizers will wait to see the outcomes of tonight’s 2B girls games before deciding when and where to schedule the boys’ Saturday games to avoid scheduling conflicts. ... Wednesday’s loss, combined with a regular season-ending loss to White Pass, mark the first back-to-back losses by the Pirates this season. ... Wednesday night’s 35 points was the second lowest Adna point total of the season, barely surpassing a 33-point performance in an early-season loss to Napavine.
Tigers Douse Comets in OT
MONTESANO — It took a few extra minutes, but Napavine advanced to the semifinals of the District IV tournament here Wednesday night with a 55-48 overtime win over the Pacific 2B League champion Comets.
The Tigers had a 6-point lead with a few minutes left, but a few untimely turnovers and missed free throws gave Naselle a last shot.
“We had a chance to put it away there at the end, and we didn’t,” Napavine coach Rex Stanley said. “I was actually with the guys, how we responded to that. Coming in to overtime, you never know how that’s going to go.”
The Tigers scored the first 5 points of overtime and never looked back to seal the win.
Micah Brown scored 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting from the floor, and Reece Stanley scored 11 and pulled down 12 rebounds for the winners.
“Micah was really aggressive tonight,” Stanley said. “He just had a tremendous game. When Micah brings that energy and plays well, we are really tough to beat.”
The Tigers also held Naselle’s top two scorers, Manny Lopez and Austin Burkhalter, to 18 combined points.
Jordan Brown added 11 and Colton Brown 10 for Napavine (13-9), which will take on Pe Ell Tuesday night in Chehalis with a trip to the State 2B Boys Basketball Tournament on the line.
“As long as we can keep moving to the right of the bracket, I’m happy,” Stanley said. “It’s going to be a tough game, like they all are in this tournament.”
Valley Knocks Off Panthers
MONTESANO — White Pass nearly pulled off another stunning victory here Wednesday night in the District IV 2B tournament, falling just short in a 45-42 quarterfinal loss to Willapa Valley.
The Vikings led most of the way, but Devin Sume hit three 3-pointers and twin brother Cameron added another, all in the final quarter, to erase an 11-point deficit and cut the lead to 2 with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left to play.
Valley’s Matt Friese, though, hit an off-balance 3-ball with 53 seconds left to play to gain a little breathing room, and added a few late free throws to seal the win. White Pass tossed up a long 3-pointer at the buzzer that caromed off the backboard.
Green led the Panthers with 11 points. Devin Sume had 9, and Cameron Sume and Trevor Blackburn both had 7.
The Panthers (6-15 overall) now face North Beach in a loser-out contest Saturday at a time and site to be determined, while Willapa Valley takes on Toutle Lake in the district semifinals on Tuesday.
