RAINIER — Tenino suffered from a few first-game jitters, but shook them off in the second half to take a 51-36 nonleague boys basketball victory over Rainier in the Beavers’ season-opener here on Monday.
Thomas Pier led all scorers with a 16-point effort, while big man Nihls Peterson had 14 points. Kaleb Strawn, in his first outing as a Beaver on the hardwood, scored 10 points for Tenino.
"We had first game of the year jitters when everything seems too fast," Tenino coach Josef Chirhart said. "We realized that defense will lead to easy buckets and we plan on that being our staple again. We played tough and together and finished strong. It wasn't a bad first game."
The Beaver defense cranked up the pressure in the second half, holding the Mountaineers to 14 after allowing 22 in the first.
The Rainier offense was led by Shouridama Beadle, who scored 15 points.
Tenino (1-0) will host Ocosta tonight.
