NAPAVINE — It was one of those nights for James Grose.
Already Napavine’s all-time leading scorer, he added on to his own record with an electric 38-point performance against Brewster on Friday, one that helped the Tigers stay unbeaten with an 84-80 win.
Grose was efficient in the first half, scoring 12 points, but in the second half, he took over. He drilled six of his eight 3-pointers in the latter two frames, helping the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 C2BL) build a double-digit lead.
As the Bears started shifting more attention his way defensively, he was able to find open teammates. Cayle Kelly drilled two open threes, and Jarin Prather nailed another. The late three that iced the game came from Cal Bullock.
“(Grose) obviously scores a lot of points,” Napavine coach Rex Stanley said. “But he’s really efficient, and he draws a lot of attention.
“Being able to have other guys step up as well is critical for our success … We had some guys make some big plays down the stretch tonight.”
Despite Grose’s big night, the Tigers were locked in a tight battle deep into the fourth quarter, as the Bears had two dynamic scorers of their own that had big nights. Brady Wulf and Cort Gebbers combined for 60 points, and the Bears trailed by just one point with just over 90 seconds to play.
“This is why we went over there last year and got them to come over this year,” Stanley said. “You play Brewster, you’re going to get a 32-minute game.”
Wulf drilled six threes and did most of his work on the perimeter, while Gebbers utilized his 6-foot, 5-inch frame to wreak havoc inside.
“We knew that was gonna be trouble,” Stanley said. “It’s contrasting styles … They’re physical.”
The Bears’ physical advantage showed on their own missed free throws, where Cort and Karden Gebbers, a 6-foot, 4-inch freshman, drew several fouls on missed attempts that turned into more free throw opportunities and possessions for Brewster.
“We were trying to block them out, and missed free throws turned into 50-50s, but they were really 80-20s for them.”
Three other Tigers finished with more than 10 points, including Karsen Denault, who scored 15, and Kelly, who added 13. Prather logged 11 points, and Bullock finished with seven, with five of them coming in the final 90 seconds.
The Tigers will welcome another school from the other side of the mountains on Saturday, when they’ll host Mabton. For Stanley, these games aren’t just early season tests, but a way to gauge where they stand.
“There’s a lot of stuff we can pull from this game,” Stanley said. “That physicality is what state is like … Hopefully, we can take from this moving forward and build on it.”
