The Rainier boys basketball team needed a bit of time to get going, but found its groove in a hurry once the train started moving, rolling to a 77-39 win over Winlock in both team’s Central 2B League opener Thursday.
The Cardinals (1-2, 0-1 C2BL) held the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0 C2BL) scoreless for the first four minutes after the opening tip-off, but that only staved off the rout a bit longer, as the hosts went on to score 22 points in the final four minutes of the quarter to lead by 15 going into the second.
From there, Rainier was clinical, spreading the love all the way around its lineup. The Mountaineers’ Meldrums combined to outscore the Cardinals by themselves, with Josh Meldrum scoring 17 points, Jimmy Meldrum adding 16, and Jake Meldrum scoring 11, while Jimmy Boesch also pitched in 11 and Peyton Sheaffer had 10.
“We shot the three pretty well tonight, getting some really good perimeter looks on inside-out threes,” Rainier coach Ben Sheaffer said. “We are happy with the way that we continue to compete on the defensive end and trust one another on offense.”
Lincoln Ruiz led Winlock with nine points, while Freddy Patching had eight.
Rainier will host Mossyrock in a non-league battle Saturday, before returning to C2BL play Tuesday. Winlock will be off until next Thursday, when it hosts Wahkiakum.
