Tuesday's 2A/1A Boys Basketball: Tigers Go Cold in Loss to Ridgefield

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The Tigers got the shot they wanted just before the final buzzer.

Like a few too many of their attempts on Tuesday night, though, it was just off the mark — helping Ridgefield escape the Hub City with a 52-49 nonleague win.

Centralia shot a dismal 3 of 17 from behind the 3-point arc in the game, and couldn’t find its transition rhythm against a balanced Spudder squad.

Tyler Ashmore led the Tigers (1-2) with 19 points, while Ridgefield had four players score in double figures.

“I felt like we could have pushed the ball better at times, and we just didn’t,” Centralia coach Kyle Donahue said. “We were content to bring it up, half-speed, and never got into our offense very well. We just settled for a lot of bad looks tonight.”

Ridgefield, meanwhile, ran out to a 10-1 lead, and led 28-23 at halftime thanks to Cameron Short’s 13 first-half points. Short finished with a team-high 15.

Centralia rallied in the third period, going on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 37-34 with 4 points from Ashmore and a fastbreak bucket from Malachi Emmons. The lead lasted into the fourth quarter before the Tigers went cold, and the Spudders threw together a 9-0 run to regain the lead.

Centralia turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter but managed to keep things close, with Ashmore draining a 3 with 9.6 seconds left on the clock to cut the lead to 50-49.

The Tigers immediately fouled Short, who hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 8 seconds to go.

Centralia brought the ball upcourt and called a timeout with 4.3 seconds left to draw up a final play.

“We drew it up and executed it perfectly, but it’s a matter of inches sometimes,” Donahue said.

Jackson Grimm added 7 points and eight rebounds for Centralia, and Ashmore went 7 of 9 at the foul line.

“We were trying to get the ball inside, and offensive breakdowns led to bad shots, and not getting the ball into him in the post,” Donahue said of Ashmore. “That’s what we wanted on a lot of possessions.

“I guess we’ve got to learn to recognize where our strengths are at right now, and take advantage of it,” he added. “We’re not there yet, as a team.”

Ben Janssan added 7 points, and Emmons and Connor Wasson each chipped in 6 for the Tigers.

Kade Ramey scored 11 for Ridgefield, and Matt Gama and Kellen Bringhurst added 10 each. Ridgefield shot 20 of 44 from the field and went 6 of 22 from long range.

Donahue said long-range shooting could be a strong point for his team, based on the Tigers’ practices.

“I would like to think we’re a good 3-point team,” he said, “but we haven’t shown it in a game yet.”

Centralia is off until Wednesday, when the Tigers play a nonleague game at White River.



W.F. West Falls to Kelso

W.F. West shot 26 percent from the field and had early foul trouble, allowing 3A Kelso to earn a 59-44 win in a nonleague boys basketball game on Tuesday night in Chehalis.

Brandon White recorded a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.

“It was a really a tough shooting night. It felt like there was a lid on the basket,” W.F. West coach Chris White said. “We had a lot of good looks, a lot of layups missed, a lot of putbacks missed. It was a real frustrating night.”

Kelso led 10-5 after one quarter and pushed the advantage to 29-13 at halftime. The Bearcats played better in the second half, but didn’t have enough to come from behind.

“They played with a lot of heart, we just couldn’t make a basket,” White added. “When you start making shots, you have a little more spring in your step. We still fought hard, but we couldn’t get over the hump.”

W.F. West (2-1) hits the road to face Woodland on Friday in a nonleague game.

Poor Shooting Dooms Rochester Against Montesano

ROCHESTER — The Warriors made eight shots against Montesano, which aided the Bulldogs in a 62-27 win a nonleague boys basketball action here Tuesday.

Joel McCarthy and Bryce Lollar each scored 10 points to lead Rochester.

Montesano led 20-0 after a quarter, and held a 39-12 lead at halftime.

“Give Montesano credit, they’re a good basketball team. You’re not going to beat your grandmother shooting 8 of 50,” Rochester coach Mark Goldrick said. “You’re just not going to be in any game with that kind of shooting. It was worse than bad.”

Rochester (2-1) travels to Morton to face the Timberwolves on Saturday in a nonleague basketball game.

King’s Way Christian Takes Down Tenino

VANCOUVER — Tenino trailed by 17 after the first quarter and couldn’t recover as King’s Way Christian won 59-44 in a nonleague boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Tony Canepa led the Beavers with 22 points and Yngwie Dowies added 12.

The Beavers had 10 turnovers in the first quarter and struggled to get any offense going, allowing King’s Way to take a 19-2 lead. Tenino battled back in the second quarter, cut the lead to 26-20 at halftime, and trailed by 5 heading into the fourth, but couldn’t get any closer.

Tenino (0-3) hosts Vashon Island on Thursday at 6 p.m. in a nonleague girls-boys doubleheader.