ONALASKA — Four Loggers hit double figures against Rochester, as Onalaska took a 71-42 SWW 1A League Evergreen Division win here Tuesday night — and officially clinched its first outright league title since 1999.
The Loggers were co-champions in 2004, and moved to 20-0 on the season — including 13-0 in league — with just rival Toledo left on the ledger.
“It just speaks volumes of the kids,” Logger coach Dennis Bower said. “Toledo’s gonna be a great game. We know they’d like to send themselves off to districts with a win.
“We’re looking forward to it,” the coach added. “It’s going to come down to that last game.”
Dalton Ritchey led the way with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Teammate Brady Stanley scored 12, while Cody Naillon and Taylor Majors scored 10 apiece.
The Loggers held just a 6-point lead at halftime, but went on to outscore the Warriors 41-18.
“It was our defense, by far,” Bower said. “Rochester played really well the first half. They outrebounded us.
“I thought we came out more focused on defense and that was the key for us,” he added. “I thought that third quarter was crucial.”
Bower commended Ritchey’s defense of Rochester’s Jared Burkhardt, who scored 9 points.
“He did a super job defending him,” the coach said. “When you can hold a kid like that to 9, that speaks highly of the individual, and the team.”
Tyler McLemore led the Warriors (9-10, 7-6 league) with 13 points.
Toledo Seniors Go Out With Win
TOLEDO — All five seniors started for the Indians here on Senior Night and blew out to a 12-0 lead after the first quarter to pace Toledo in a 48-39 SWW 1A League Evergreen Division win over Forks.
“They didn’t shoot the ball well, and we played decent defense,” Toledo coach Scott Merzoian said, of the first half.
Despite the early lead, however, Forks snuck back into the game in the second half to keep it interesting.
“It was just an unusual game,” Merzoian said. “The intensity and energy didn’t seem to be there.”
Alex Teitzel led Toledo with 13 points, and David Wallace added 11.
It was the final home game for seniors DJ Herbert, Keefer Askin, Jacob King, Wallace and Teitzel.
“It was just nice to have the seniors finish with a win,” Merzoian said. “We struggled last year as a team, and it was nice to have them come back and have a good season. I’m proud of those guys for their commitment to the program.”
The Indians (14-5, 11-2), who have wrapped up second in the Evergreen standings, finish out the regular season by at undefeated Onalaska Friday night.
Bulldogs Beat Tenino 46-36
TENINO — The Beavers opened the game strong, but couldn’t hold on as Montesano took the 46-36 SWW 1A Evergreen Division win here Tuesday night.
It was the Bulldogs’ fifth win in a row as they continue to creep up the Evergreen Division standings.
Tenino took a 13-12 lead after the first quarter, but Montesano outscored the Beavers 14-7 in the second quarter.
Monte’s Jack Aldrich notched a team-high 13 points after being held to just a point in the teams’ first meeting earlier in the season.
“Aldrich played much better tonight,” said Tenino coach Rod Enos.
Enos explained that the Bulldog guards did a good job of penetrating to the basket and when they missed, the big guys cleaned up on the boards.
The Beavers cut the Bulldog lead to 4 points with just over four minutes remaining, but couldn’t continue the momentum and had to foul late in the contest.
Josh Moss scored a game-high 18 points for the Beavers, 10 of which came in the first quarter.
“Moss has been Mr. Consistent for us,” said Enos. “Now we just need to get some other guys to step up and score some points.”
Tenino (2-16, 1-12 league) will host Rainier on Thursday at 7 p.m. for senior night.
Rainier Boulders Past Winlock
WINLOCK — With under a minute left here Tuesday night in an SWW 1A League Evergreen Division contest, the host Cardinals only trailed Rainier by 3 points.
But there wasn’t much Winlock (2-17, 2-11 league) could do, as the Mountaineers cashed in 5 of 6 free throw attempts in the final 40 seconds to seal it.
“This was, overall, our best defensive effort all year, even though we have two wins,” Cardinal coach Ross Hojem said. “We took Rainier out of what they wanted to do.
“We just made some bad decisions again,” the coach added. “We had our opportunities at the end of the game. We were right where we wanted to be.”
The Mountaineers were held to just one field goal in the final period.
Hojem said it was a vast improvement from the first time the two teams met, when the Mountaineers crushed the Cards by 47 points.
With one game left on the season — Friday night at Montesano — Hojem said his team is looking forward to going out in a positive way.
“We’re really looking forward to that game,” he said. “We’re getting better, and I’m proud of the kids.”
