2B Boys Basketball: Cline Scores 1,000th Point as Cardinals Eclipse Onalaska

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WINLOCK — Bryce Cline notched his 1,000th career point, and then some, here on Wednesday as the Cardinals dispatched Onalaska 62-46 in a raucous Central 2B League boys basketball contest.

The game pitted two of the league’s top teams against one another and the loss was the first for Onalaska all season. The high stakes were not lost on anyone in attendance or on the court as a playoff atmosphere permeated the Winlock gymnasium.

“It’s kind of like a district title game. I mean, I’ve never been there as a player, but you couldn’t really hear anything on the court,” said Cline, after shaking seemingly one hand for each point in his prep career. “It was just crazy. It was awesome. The greatest feeling ever.”

The pace of play during the first quarter seemed unsustainable as both teams spent more time swapping sweat on the hardwood than setting pick-and-rolls. Things never really slowed down as the teams traded hustle plays with reckless abandon.

After one quarter the score stood at a 12-9 Winlock advantage, and the Cardinals took a 22-19 lead into the intermission. Just two Onalaska players scored in the first half: Carter Whitehead notched 12 points and Kayden Allison added seven. Whitehead would wind up with a game-high 26 points, while Allison added 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Our game plan was to push the tempo. I put on the board ‘Let’s make it a track meet!’ I don’t know if we really accomplished that but we made a good effort,” Winlock coach Nick Bamer said “The crowd certainly helped. We haven’t had an energetic crowd like that in years.”

Using a steady diet of midrange jumpers the Loggers managed to claw back into the game before taking their first lead at 28-26 early in the third quarter.

Shortly thereafter, with the Loggers holding a 30-28 edge and the momentum shifting, Bamer called for a break.

“After they had that little run we called timeout and decided we needed to stop the middle. We executed the middle and forced turnovers by pressuring them,” said Cline. “They have good guard play, but if you pressure them a little they get a little crazy.”

The plan worked to perfection as Winlock stymied the Onalaska charge and retook the lead at 33-32. Cline notched the next bucket, which pushed him over the 1,000-point mark and set the home team sailing off toward victory. The Cards closed the quarter on a 9-2 run and never looked back.

Cline finished with 23 points and five rebounds. Nolan Swofford added 14 points and five rebounds, while Coleson Richendollar chipped in another 14 points.

With 10 seconds left in the contest, and Winlock holding their final 16-point advantage, Bamer called timeout and sent Cline out to midcourt to soak in a standing ovation from the home crowd in honor of his accomplishments.

“I hoped that we could be ahead enough to give him the curtain call that we did. It was nice to send him out in front of the packed house,” noted Bamer. “A thousand points in three years in our league doesn’t happen very often. He’s a special kid. I mean, he had 23 tonight and he was basically denied the ball the whole time.”

For his part, Cline tried his best to take all of the attention in stride while simultaneously dolling out kudos to his teammates.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it. I just wanted to come out here and get a win whether I got to 1,000 or not. It’s a team game and we came out here and won. That’s all that matters to me,” said Cline, adding praise for Swofford. “He came up big down the stretch. Had some good and-ones. Some big boards. Those were big minutes from him.”

Bamer echoed that praise of Swofford, the Cardinals’ 6-foot sophomore post.

“He’s the reason we won,” Bamer said. “Defensively, he just works so hard. He has a knack for finishing at the rim. He rebounds for us. He’s the perfect trashman.”

Winlock (8-2, 2-0 league) will play at Mossyrock on Friday. Onalaska (6-1, 2-1) will host Toledo on Friday.

Young, T-Wolves Hold Off Kalama 51-48

KALAMA — Hayden Young scored 17 points and Morton-White Pass beat Kalama, 51-48, here Wednesday night in Central 2B League boys basketball action.

The Timberwolves fell in an early hole, but solid shooting (22 of 46, 48%) helped them climb out of it.

“The last few days of practice we finally started shooting the ball better,” MWP coach Chad Cramer said. “It was really nice. Hayden Young hit some big shots for us, too.”

Freshman Josh Salguero added 15 points and seven rebounds for MWP.

“He’s doing well,” Cramer said. “He’s starting to kind of figure out what varsity basketball is like.”

The Timberwolves also held Kalama to 34% shooting.

Sophomore Jackson Esary led Kalama with 22 points, and Tommy Brandenburg chipped in 11.



“He’s a handful,” Cramer said of Esary. “He made some tough shots.”

It was the first C2BL win of the season for MWP, which improved to 5-6 overall (1-1 league).

“You only play every team in league one time, so it’s a sprint to the finish,” Cramer said. “You cannot afford to slip up or mess up. It’s nice to go on a long road trip and pick up a win in their gym.”

MWP hosts Adna on Friday in Morton.

Mules Too Much for Toledo

TOLEDO — Logan LaBerge scored 19 points to pace Wahkiakum in a 64-45 win over Toledo here Wednesday in C2BL boys hoops action.

Duke Schaplow led Toledo with 11 points, but the Indians shot just 28% from the field and 19% (4 of 21) from long range.

Brody Carlson added 15 for the Mules, who scored 20 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

“It just felt like we’d break down, and they’d get a bucket, and we just couldn’t get those opportunities on our end,” Toledo coach Grady Fallon said. “It just didn’t go our way tonight.”

Carlo Arceo-Hansen added seven points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Toledo (4-8, 0-2 league). The Indians play at Onalaska on Friday.

Thomas, Pirates Thump Rainier

ADNA — Braden Thomas scored 22 points and snagged 15 rebounds, leading Adna to a 63-33 C2BL boys hoops victory over Rainier Wednesday in Adna.

Tyler Minkoff added 13 points and Tyler Werner put 11 to the board for the Pirates.

“We came out and played really well in the start and then we had a little trouble in the second quarter,” said coach Luke Salme. “Our players came back and played consistently in the second half, it was good to get a league win.”

Chase Collins added eight points for Adna.

Jake Jeske led Rainier with 11 points.

Adna (5-6) plays at Morton-White Pass on Friday in Morton.

Parker Lifts Tigers Past Elma

NAPAVINE — Gavin Parker scored a career-high 20 points, including the biggest bucket of the game, to lead Napavine to a 62-61 overtime win against Elma here Wednesday in non-league boys hoops action.

Parker grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed layup and hit the putback just before the final buzzer to wrap the overtime period.

“He played great,” Napavine coach Rex Stanley said, noting that foul trouble limited the sophomore’s minutes. “He played about 26 minutes, but with how he was playing, he would have played every minute of the game. He played really well tonight for us.”

Keith Olson added 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Laythan Demarest chipped in nine points for the Tigers.

Brady Johnston led the Eagles with 20 points. Sawyer Witt added seven points and nine rebounds for Elma.

Napavine (9-1) plays at Rainier on Friday.