MORTON — Thursday night’s matchup against the defending 2B District 4 champion didn’t look quite like the last time the Morton-White Pass boys basketball team played Kalama, with the Timberwolves emerging victorious in Morton, 91-39 in league action.
Improving to a perfect 4-0 in league play, MWP got off to a hot start thanks to 13 first quarter points from Josh Salguero, and clamped down on defense in the final three quarters to take home the dominant win at home.
“Every team wants to start fast but we have been fortunate to start quick and overwhelm some teams,” MWP coach Chad Cramer said. “Kalama came out and knocked down shots early, it seemed like they matched us for a bit and we just weathered it and wore them down.
“It’s easy for us to get going when Josh scores like that.”
Salguero ended the night with 19 points, imposing his will throughout the game with a pair of dunks and a dominant showing on the glass.
After a hot start inside in the first quarter, the Timberwolves moved their game outside to combat the Chinooks’ zone, and guard Jake Cournyer took advantage. The senior scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers throughout the night.
All the while, the T-Wolves held Kalama to just five second quarter points, helping them take a 49-17 lead at the halftime break.
“Jake got going in the third and if he makes one he’s capable of making six,” Cramer said. “We just kept feeding it to him and he shot them out of their zone.”
Hunter Hazen scored 18 points, and Carter Dantinne had eight off the bench for the T-Wolves in another balanced and versatile scoring night.
Orchestrating that performance for most of the game was point guard Judah Kelly, who scored just six points but was often the catalyst during MWP’s offensive sets.
“Judah doesn’t get enough credit,” Cramer said. “He doesn’t do a ton of scoring for us but we’re a team that scores 80-90 points a game right now and someone has to run it. Judah does a good job of running our stuff and getting into our system and making sure hot hands get fed. I don’t think he gets enough credit.”
With the game well in hand, Cramer emptied his bench to start the fourth and led by Tony Belgiorno’s 10 points, MWP again outscored the Chinooks in the final frame, 17-8.
It was another well-rounded win for a Morton-White Pass squad that has yet to be challenged in league play. But Cramer knows that won’t last.
“We have to shore up our defense and make sure we’re ready,” Cramer said. “We have to be balanced and win a defensive battle. We haven’t been in one yet — and hopefully we never get there — but I’m sure that day is coming. We have to be ready for that.”
The Timberwolves take on Eatonville in a rematch from last weekend’s contest — a 103-61 MWP win — on Monday in Randle.
