Winlock's Bryce Cline (3) puts up a shot during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
Winlock's coach Nick Bamer during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
Winlock's Noah Patching (20) takes an outside look during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
Winlock's Coleson Richendollar (11) takes the ball down court during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
Winlock's Nolan Swofford (31) puts up a shot during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
Winlock players cheer during a game against Northwest Christian Saturday night in Rochester.
ROCHESTER — The Cardinals had a particular plan of attack heading into Saturday’s matchup with Northwest Christian and they executed it nearly to perfection on their way to a 60-48 win in the District 4 2B boys basketball tournament.
“We wanted to dictate the tempo. Their length is an issue,” Winlock coach Nick Bamer said. “I did not want to play in the halfcourt with them and we wanted to run when we could. They did that the whole first half. The third quarter we had to take a rest because we were gassed.”
Winlock ran out to an 18-11 lead after one quarter and kept adding on until they emptied their bench with about a minute remaining in the contest. The Wolverines employ a short rotation with five players logging nearly all of their minutes and the Cardinals exploited that dearth of reserves to maximum effect.
Bryce Cline scored a game-high 26 points in the win while Nolan Swofford added 14 points.
“That was part of the game plan. First of all, not many teams can keep up with us and Swofford is frickin’ fast,” Bamer said. “He’s an animal. You think you’ve got a defensive rebound and then he slips in and rips it away. Plus he’ll guard you and piss you off because he’s pushing on you and he’s sweaty. He’s a special player.”
Noah Patching added 10 points for Winlock while Coleson Richendollar chipped in eight points, plus team-highs in rebounds (11), blocks (6) and charges (3).
“I thought we had a lot of deflections. That was a point of emphasis and it disrupted their flow. I just thought our defense was outstanding and Coleson was a big part of that. He was out of his mind,” noted Bamer. “Six blocked shots and three charges. You don’t see that very often.”
Noah Phillips paced the Wolverines with 15 points while Davis Yates added 14 points.
Winlock will face Life Christian Academy in the district semifinals on Wednesday in Kelso at 8 p.m. The 6 p.m. game at Kelso on Wednesday will feature Toutle Lake and Willapa Valley in the semifinal from the other side of the bracket.
MONTESANO — Morton-White Pass coach Chad Cramer had an inkling that his team would be in for a fight here on Saturday even before warmups were completed.
After four quarters, it was apparent that he was right.
The Timberwolves went the distance and then some with Willapa Valley in the quarterfinals of the District IV 2B boys basketball tournament before ultimately falling 67-60 in the overtime affair.
“I told the kids going into that game that it will be a lot like looking in the mirror. They are very much our equal and we could play them 10 times and win five, lose five,” Cramer said. “It was going to be a very, very close game and it would come down to executing down the stretch, which we did. We had some great looks there at the end of regulation, a great look at the buzzer it just rimmed out, then we went to overtime and they hit some shots.”
Morton-White Pass was paced by Josh Salguero’s 18 points and 14 rebound double-double. Kysen Collette added nine points and three assists in the gut punch of a loss.
“We played well. I thought defensively we were really locked in and offensively too,” added Cramer. “Josh played well. He’s putting together a nice tournament.”
Logan Walker led the Vikings with a game-high 25 points after scoring just five points in the first half. That tally included what Cramer dubbed a “dagger three” in overtime from the top of the key and two T-Wolves defenders draped all over him.
“Logan Walker is their best player. He might be the best player in this tournament,” Cramer noted.
Cole Buchanan added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Willapa Valley.
Both teams put up more than 80 shots and posted shooting percentages in the mid-30’s. While his team was just 3 of 20 from behind the arc, Cramer believes the difference may have been decided at the free throw line.
“The free throw line hurt us tonight. We shot 20 free throws in the second half and made 11 but we didn’t shoot any in the first half,” Cramer said.
Leytan Collette added seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists for MWP while Hayden Young scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The loss drops MWP into the losers bracket where they will face Ocosta on Monday at 4 p.m. in Rochester. Meanwhile, Willapa Valley advances to the semifinal round where they will face Toutle Lake at 6 p.m. in Kelso on Wednesday.
MONTESANO — Pacific 2B Champion Life Christian was too big, too fast, too athletic for Onalaska as the Loggers fell 76-58 to the Eagles in the District 4 quarterfinals Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Loggers (16-6) played neck-and-neck with the Eagles for three of the four quarters, even leading 18-17 after the first frame. But a 30-12 run by Life Christian in the second quarter spelled defeat for Onalaska.
“We tried to play at our pace and not run the floor with them,” Onalaska coach Wayne Nelson said. “We weren’t disciplined enough. You have to play your game against them.”
Carter Whitehead led the Loggers with 22 points, Kayden Allison added 17 and Ashton Haight 11.
Life Christian (18-3) was led Omari Maulana’s game-high 25 points, while Bradley Swillie added 18 and Dai’Shaun Nichols 14. The Eagles outrebounded the Loggers 35-14.
“They are hard to guard,” Nelson said. “They have some guys who can shoot. Our guys came ready to play, we just didn’t play as well as we wanted to.”
Onalaska will face No. 7 Rainier in the consolation bracket in a loser-out contest. The Loggers need to win at least two games to advance to the state tournament.
