Playing in one of its biggest games of the season at home against league-leading Willapa Valley Saturday afternoon, the Mossyrock boys basketball team brought far too little energy in the first half in a 62-48 loss.
The Vikings (3-5, 1-2 1B CVL) were outscored 39-16 in the first half, and let the Vikings from the west do whatever they wanted in a dominant showing.
“I give Valley a ton of credit,” Mossyrock coach Adam Deck said. “If you don’t switch or communicate you’re going to have trouble. They outplayed and out-hustled us.”
Kolton Fluke got loose early and never looked back in a 20-point outing for Valley, while Mossy was led by Zack Munoz’ 22 points and Keegan Kolb’s 16. Deck praised the efforts of Warren Nelson on the defensive glass, and his team’s response in the second half, but recognized his team needs to play better in the opening frame to keep up with good teams.
“We played harder and the communication was better,” Deck said. “We played Mossyrock basketball in the second half.”
The Vikings will look to rebound in a rescheduled contest against Onalaska at home on Monday before taking on Rainier and Pe Ell.
