For about 20 minutes of game time, the W.F. West Bearcats were in control against 4A Battle Ground.
Thanks to a strong first half from beyond the arc and stout defensive play, the Bearcats held a six-point lead halfway through the third quarter.
In the blink of an eye, however, things quickly fell apart. The Tigers quickly scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead, and they never looked back en route to a 68-52 win.
“We just had a mental meltdown,” W.F. West coach Chris White said. “We just absolutely fell apart.”
After a bucket from Gage Brumfield gave W.F. West (2-2, 2-0 2A EvCo) a 40-34 lead, the Tigers put up 10 points in 92 seconds. They took advantage of multiple Bearcat mistakes in transition, ones that led to open shots both in the paint and from three.
“The run outs killed us,” White said. “We had a lot of run outs that made no sense. Guys got lost, didn’t get their head around … it’s never fun to give those up.”
That theme continued throughout the rest of the quarter, as the Tigers piled on eight more points in the final two minutes of the frame, capping an 18-2 run that turned a six-point deficit into a 10-point lead in just four minutes of play. The Tigers hit 11 of their 14 shots from the field in the third quarter.
On the other side of the floor, the Bearcat offense hit a wall, as they scored just 12 points in the final 12 minutes of the game. In the fourth quarter, they shot just 4 for 14 from the field, squashing any chance of a late comeback.
“I thought we showed a lot of promise in this one,” White said. “We just couldn’t close the deal.”
The positives were there early for W.F. West.
Tyler Klatush hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and added a fourth in the second, and Lucas Hoff hit two threes of his own in the first half. The defense was playing well, limiting the quick transition game and applying pressure on nearly every shot.
White pointed out that the Bearcats were also communicating better on both ends of the floor, which was something he had been hoping to see entering the game and something that vanished in the second half.
“It just sort of snowballed on us,” White said.
Klatush finished with a team-high 18 points, hauled in eight rebounds and dished out six assists, Hoff finished with 12 points and tallied four assists, and Grady Westlund grabbed 12 rebounds and scored eight. Parker Eiswald added six points, five rebounds and four assists of his own.
While frustrated with the end result, White acknowledged that they’ll need to turn the page quickly, as they’ll host Black Hills in a league matchup on Friday.
“All we can do is try to grow and learn from it,” White said. “We’re not gonna hang our heads. We’re gonna go back to the drawing board.”
