ROCHESTER — In an ugly, do-or-die, loser-out contest Tuesday at Rochester, the W.F. West boys basketball team had to dig deep in a 45-42 win over Shelton to stay alive.
The Bearcats struggled to score in the first two and a half quarters, and though their defense kept them in the game, it took some late heroics from Seth Hoff and company to get the win and stave off elimination.
Hoff hit three shots from deep in the third quarter, after the Bearcats trailed by one at the half and fell into an early hole in the third quarter, and thanks to some lockdown defense from the whole team, but especially freshman Gage Brumfield, W.F. West prevailed.
Brumfield was tasked with guarding the Highclimbers leading scorer and first-team all league selection Chuckie Thompson, and held the senior guard to just eight points, nine below his season average.
Leading the way for the Bearcats on the offensive end was Dirk Plakinger, who scored 12 points, Hoff, who had 11, and Soren Dalan, who scored 10 points and broke the Bearcats single season rebound record, with 289 this season to date.
The record stood for nearly 40 years, and was held by Chris Nelson, set back in 1985.
The Bearcats will play Ridgefield in a loser-out, winner-to-regionals contest at Tumwater High School on Thursday.
