2B Boys: MWP Secures Regional Bid; LCA Tops Napavine

ROCHESTER — The Poquette brothers provided the offense, and Morton-White Pass checked another item off its season to-do list here Saturday night.

The Timberwolves got a total 46 points from Matt and Kaleb Poquette to crush Chief Leschi, 75-40, in District 4 2B quarterfinal boys hoops action and seal a berth in the regional playoffs for the fourth straight year.

“Well, any time you’re in districts it’s never easy, trust me,” MWP coach Tony Gillispie said. “Chief Leschi’s a young team that’s coming on, and our experience mattered in a game like that.”

For MWP — the two-time defending state champs, and this year’s Central 2B League regular-season champions, with a No. 2 ranking and 21-1 record — it’s almost as much a relief as it is a cause for celebration.

“Everybody has to get to that game, whether you’re first, second, third or whatever, so it is a little bit of a relief,” Gillispie said. “But it is also excitement. You should never not be excited about playing in a regional.”

It marked the fourth-straight regional berth for MWP, which has been to the state tournament the past three years.

“We’re just glad to be back,” Matt Poquette said. “Our goal this year was to get back to state, and it’s just nice that we could accomplish that as a team, and get back to accomplishing our goals.”

Chief Leschi led 3-0 after the first two minutes, though the advantage was quickly erased. The Timberwolves went on a 20-0 run, with 10 points from Central 2B League MVP Kaleb Poquette, and led 22-5 after a quarter.

Matt Poquette, meanwhile, scored 20 in the second quarter, helping the Timberwolves to a 48-21 halftime lead. From inside the 3-point line, MWP went 20 of 26 (77 percent) in the first half.

“My teammates did a nice job of getting me the ball when I had a shorter guy on me,” Poquette said. “I had a height advantage, so I just wanted to attack it a little bit.”

Matt Poquette, a sophomore, finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Kaleb tallied 22 points. The Poquettes were both on the bench for good by the end of the third frame.

“Every game he’s getting a little bit better,” Gillispie said. “He’d been playing behind some good kids last year, and he could have played more, but at practice he just got better by playing them. We’re real comfortable going to him.”

Cameron Hart added 10 points for MWP, which shot 60 percent from the field for the game.

Kahea Baker led Chief Leschi (14-6; fourth in the Pacific 2B League) with 11 points.

The Timberwolves now take on rival Mossyrock in the district semifinals on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Tumwater.

Life Christian Holds Off Napavine 60-52

ROCHESTER — The Tigers kept pace with the No. 3-ranked Eagles, but couldn’t slow down Luke Lovelady in a 60-52 loss here Saturday in the quarterfinals of the District 4 2B Boys Basketball Tournament.

Lovelady, a 6-foot-7 guard and the Pacific 2B League MVP, scored 24 points and snared 20 rebounds to lead Life Christian Academy to a spot in the regional playoffs.

Wyatt Stanley led Napavine with 17 points and 15 boards, but the Eagles (20-2) built a lead early and never quite gave it up.

Lovelady hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to help LCA to a 17-8 lead late in the first quarter. The advantage was at 7 at halftime (30-23), and Napavine was never able to get closer than within 6 in the second half.

Life Christian outrebounded the Tigers 45-33, with a lineup that, in addition to Lovelady, featured 6-5 Reid Roelofs, 6-4 Anthony Kunitsa and 6-3 CJ Kovacs.

Roelofs finished with 19 points.

Peyton Stanley added 13 for Napavine, while Jordan Purvis scored 11.

The Tigers (15-7) will take on Rainier on Monday at 5:30 p.m., back in Rochester, in a loser-out consolation game.