Tuesday's Boys Basketball: W.F. West Fends Off Steilacoom in Overtime

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The Bearcats and Sentinels battled for 32 minutes but couldn’t decide on a winner and it was a sophomore in his first varsity game that stepped up big for W.F. West.

Dirk Plakinger scored 21 points, including the game-winning jumper, to lift W.F. West to a 62-60 win in overtime in a non-league boys basketball game in Chehalis on Tuesday.

Plakinger also had seven rebounds. Tyler Speck tallied 20 points and five steals and Kayden Kelly was also in double figures with 11 points and eight assists, including making the game-tying basket in regulation to send the game to overtime.

“I’m really pleased with our energy and we’re going to shoot the ball so much better as we keep playing but there’s a lot of bright spots as far as just the guys playing like a family and the guys understand what we’re trying to do, what our game plan was,” W.F. West coach Chris White said. “We shot horribly from the free throw line in the first half but I just love how gritty our guys were, they fought through it. It looked pretty tough down the stretch to take that to OT and then to even get down in the overtime and just claw back, I’m really proud of them.”

Isaiah Devane led the Sentinels with 24 points. Barrett Lemming added 12 points and Katrell Walker also scored in double figures with 10 points.

With less than a minute remaining in overtime, the ball found its way to Plakinger and he put up a mid-range shot that found twine for the lead. Steilacoom had a shot to tie the game but couldn’t convert.

“That play got a little disrupted but he does have a really nice pullup and the ball kind of ended up in his hands there and we’re confident on his pullup in those kind of spots. It was beautiful,” White said. “He had a great night. He did a lot of good things for us and I was really happy with his rebounding and his tenacity, there was really a lot of growth out of him.”

The Sentinels had the advantage from the field, shooting 48 percent to just 36 percent shooting for the Bearcats. Each team struggled from the free throw line, shooting less than 65 percent.

W.F. West (1-0) hosts Capital on Friday in a non-league contest.

Winlock Tests Their Mettle Against Wolves

By Jordan Nailon

jnailon@chronline.com

WINLOCK — With a talented flock of players dotting the roster this year the Cardinals made a point to avoid any early cupcakes on the schedule. That’s why they brought Black Hills, a perennial contender in the 2A Evergreen Conference, into the Egg City for their season opener here on Tuesday.

Winlock wound up getting nearly everything out of the contest they were looking for, except for a win, as the Wolves held on for a 55-50 win in the non-league boys basketball contest.

“We were out-sized and a little undermanned. Our guys were dead tired and they just kept competing,” said Winlock coach Nick Bamer. “I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight. I knew we had a good group but they all stepped up.”

The Cardinals came out hot in front of an energetic home crowd and ran out to an 8-3 lead in the first four minutes of the contest before the Wolves could find an answer for Winlock’s pressure defense in the passing lanes and subsequent fast break offense. A late pull-up jumper by Bryce Cline gave the Cardinals a 14-11 advantage heading into the second quarter, but the lead was short lived.

That’s because Justin Hicks scored 15 of his 17 first half points in the second quarter, including one of his two pre-intermission dunks, as Black Hills outpaced the home team 25-15. The 6’6” junior dumped in a menagerie of lobs, fastbreaks, and rebound putbacks as the Cardinals struggled to find any antidote to his height and athleticism.

Bamer credited the efforts of post players Nolan Swofford (an optimistic 6’0” on the roster) and Nathan Suhrbier (6’4”) for limiting the damage that Hicks could inflict the rest of the game. Still, the high flying Wolf finished with a game-high 25 points.

After trailing 36-29 at halftime Winlock was able to keep things close in the second half thanks in large part to the output of Coleson Richendollar. A three-pointer by Richendollaer with 4:45 left in the contest got Winlock as close as they would get, trailing just 47-45, before the Wolves were able to steel themselves against the Cardinals surge.

Noah Patching, and his right-place-right time style of play, also figured prominently in the Cardinals season-opening efforts against a team that’s two classifications larger.

“Richendollar had 16. We kind of expect him to help us offensively. Noah Patching, you can’t say enough about him, especially since he can play all five positions. He likes to play defense and we’re trying to get him to score,” said Bamer.

Patching added eight hustle points for Winlock while Landon Tiemens chipped in seven points with a pair of threes and a free throw. Bryce Cline added a dozen points, with a half dozen rebounds and assists to his credit.

Those totals are likely to be among the lowest of the season for the senior do-it-all.

“Credit to Black Hills’ defense there. That’s them throwing guard after guard after guard and wearing him down and making things difficult on him, which is what I assume we’re going to see every night. He’s going to be the focal point of everyone we play,” noted Bamer. “Bryce has just got to figure out how to handle that pressure.”

The Black Hills offense was balanced out by Weston Ainsworth’s 11 points, with another six points coming from Zach Crumley. While a pack of Black Hills coaches had a hard time pinpointing who exactly constitutes the Wolves’ best player, Bamer says his sources believe Crumley could find himself in the conversation for MVP of the 2A EvCo by the end of the regular season.

With all that in mind, the Cardinals’ shot-caller was willing to begrudgingly accept the results of his team’s first trip up and down the hardwood.

“We’re not a moral victory program, but we’re not hanging our heads at all. That could have been a 25 or 30 point game,” said Bamer. “That Black Hills team has the talent to run over people.”

Winlock (0-1) will play at Darrington on Thursday.

Capital Dominates Centralia



OLYMPIA — Centralia struggled on offense to allow Capital to cruise to a 53-23 win in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Matt House led the Tigers with eight points. Benito Valencia tallied six points and Cameron Erickson totaled five points.

Spencer Halstead led the Cougars with 14 points and Brandin Riedel added 12 points.

The Tigers scored four points in the first quarter and five points in the second quarter to trail 25-9 at halftime. The Cougars held Centralia to four points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

“Obviously, we’ve got some areas we’ve got to work on. We’re a more inexperienced team, haven't played together a lot. The score is a little lopsided but there were some good positives to take out of it,” Centralia coach Kyle Donahue said. “Defensively, I felt like we had a pretty good game for the most part. We’re trying to figure out some rotations and different combinations and we gave up some quick points.”

Centralia (0-1) hosts River Ridge on Friday in a non-league game.

Morton-White Pass Crushes Rochester

RANDLE — Morton-White Pass had 11 guys score to push the Timberwolves to an 85-39 win against Rochester in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

MWP’s Hayden Young scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Gary Dotson also had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Elliott Smith scored 11 points and Layten Collette was also in double figures with 10 points.

Ben Clouse led the Warriors with nine points and Cody Weddle and Kade Yakovich each had six points.

MWP made 36 field goals compared to just 14 for the Warriors. The T-Wolves also crashed the glass with a 69-30 rebounding advantage.

The T-Wolves led 26-13 after one quarter and scored 32 points in the second quarter for a 58-30 lead at halftime. MWP held Rochester to just one point in the fourth quarter.

“First game, it was nice to get a win. At times, we looked well, looked good and executed well and at times, we looked like it was our first game,” MWP coach Chad Cramer said. “Overall, I was pleased with our effort. Everybody contributed and defensively, when you hold a team under 40, you’re doing good stuff. The first half, we were able to score the basketball a bit and build a nice lead. We were able to establish the things we wanted to do and it worked well for us.

MWP (1-0) takes on Mary M. Knight on Saturday while Rochester (0-1) travels to Montesano on Thursday for a non-league game.

Tenino Holds Off Chimacum

CHIMACUM — Tenino’s Logan Brewer tallied 19 points to lead the Beavers to a 51-45 win against Chimacum in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Harly Whitaker added seven points and Paxton Russell had six points for the Beavers.

Chimacum was led by Tanner Carstensen with 11 points. Joe Savill and Clayton Smith each added 10 points.

Tenino trailed 10-8 after one quarter but was able to bounce back and lead 22-20 at halftime. After nine points in the third quarter, the Beavers outscored Chimacum 19-10 in the final frame to earn the victory.

Tenino coach Joe Chrihart commended the play of Paxton Russell and Takari Hickle down low and also noted the 10 rebounds of Nick Beckford after taking a year off from basketball.

“We missed 45, 50 layups. We couldn’t put the ball in the hole, just couldn’t finish it out,” Chirhart said. “I was happy with the effort. We got 40 looks, 30 of those were inside the key for layups that didn't get a chance to fall but I’m happy with how we played.”

Tenino (1-0) hosts Rainier on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a non-league girls-boys doubleheader.

Mossyrock Defeats Columbia Adventist in Opener

MOSSYROCK — The Vikings earned their first win in more than a year in a 48-41 victory against Columbia Adventist in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Aiden Weist led the Vikings with 12 points and Ryan Bellino chipped in 11 points. Dyllan Padrick grabbed 15 rebounds.

Mossyrock led 13-8 after one quarter but scored just three points in the second quarter to trail 19-16 at halftime. The Vikings outscored the Kodiaks 16-11 in each the third and fourth quarters to earn the victory.

“It was pretty fun. For the most part, we just battled. We were careless with the ball and we took some poor shots at times but I’m so proud of this team,” Mossyrock coach Adam Deck said. “I’m super proud of how they battled back. We shared the ball really well and got to work on some blocking out. Every time we needed a big shot, a kid hit it. Outside of some careless passes and poor shot selection, I thought we played pretty well and I’m proud of the effort.”

Mossyrock (1-0) will host Morton-White Pass next Tuesday in a non-league game.