Just like Tuesday night with Hoquiam, Centralia needed big buckets, and got some.
And just like Tuesday night, the Tigers’ opponent — Elma — responded right back, and forced key turnovers at the end of the game.
That’s how the Eagles escaped with a 58-54 win at Ron Brown Court Thursday night, keeping the Hub City boys winless in Evergreen 2A Conference play before they embark on a four-game road trip.
“I think we definitely had our opportunity,” Tiger guard Dominick Courcy said. “I thought we played our hearts out. There was definitely a few mistakes, but we did great.”
“It was hard fought by both teams,” Centralia coach Ron Brown said. “It was pretty even. We had our opportunities. We just made a few mistakes at the end.”
Brown was, however, proud of how his team played the first three quarters, as they went into the final period with under 10 turnovers.
“I thought we played more energetic,” said Brown, whose Tigers outrebounded the Eagles 35-26. “But turnovers have killed us all season. If we keep improving on that, you give yourself a good chance.”
The game started off as the Easton Masteller (Centralia) versus Garrett Stoney show, as the players went into halftime with 11 and 14 points, respectively. However, each player only added 4 points to their totals in the second half — when it became a battle between Tiger forward Steven Hamilton and the hot-shooting of Blade Bolden.
Bolden hit 3 of 4 from long range with 12 second-half points, including two free throws to make it a two possession game with just under 5 seconds remaining.
Hamilton had a game-high 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds. James Green also had a double-double for Centralia, with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Tigers started off the night shooting 75 percent in the first quarter in establishing a quick 10-point lead, before Elma hit two straight buckets to go into the second period down 20-14. That’s when Centralia collapsed, shooting just 3 of 13 from the field and allowing the Eagles to take a 27-26 halftime lead.
“In that second quarter, we got in a little bit of foul trouble and had to change personnel,” Brown said. “We only scored 6. We just didn’t have any offensive punch out there.”
Neither team posted outstanding numbers in the third, as Centralia shot 6 of 23 and Elma made just four field goals, including a key 4-point play in the middle of 11 failed shot attempts. In the last two minutes of the third, Hamilton had a 6-point spree to knot the game at 40 with one quarter to go.
Elma held the lead for the first 5 minutes of the final frame, before a huge 3-pointer from Tiger guard Tyler Shumate put the Tigers up 1. But Elma responded hastily with a follow-up on an offensive rebound. On the Tigers’ next trip down the court, Green netted a 15-footer to put the Tigers up 54-53. Then the Eagles responded again with a Bolden 3-pointer with 1:49 left.
“It was anybody’s ballgame,” Brown said of the final flurry of points scored by each team.
Centralia, down two for the final 1:45, missed three shots and had three turnovers, when the Eagles failed on two-straight 1-and-1 attempts but got offensive rebounds.
“That’s when we made bad passes,” Brown said. “We turned it over three times at that critical stage and didn’t get a shot on any of them.”
Consecutive Elma free throws iced the game, as the Tigers had no chance of making up 4 points in under 4 seconds.
Centralia (2-11, 0-6 league) plays at W.F. West on Wednesday.
