OAKVILLE — When Pe Ell and Oakville first met three weeks ago, neither team could get going offensively, and neither team ended up scoring more than 35 points.
The rematch played out very similarly, as both defenses dominated on Thursday in Oakville. The Trojans were able to do enough in the second half, though, to come away with a 44-32 win.
“In the first half, I thought we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a lot,” Pe Ell coach Ross Hojem said. “We fixed that at half time. I think the kids responded. I just feel good about how we executed.”
The Trojans scored just 18 points in the first half, thanks in large part to Blake Nelson. The freshman forward scored the team’s first 15 points, helping Pe Ell take the lead late in the second quarter.
“That was just crucial,” Hojem said. “Blake was important. He rebounded well, and he challenged shots.”
Nelson only slightly slowed down in the second half, scoring eight more points, while Jakob Hayes added five more to finish the night with eight.
Calan McCarty scored six, while Eli Mason tallied three. Liam McGrath and Wyatt Harris both added a pair.
The Oakville defense did well enough to keep the Acorns in the game, but they weren’t able to connect consistently and fell behind by 12 midway through the fourth.
“Early on, we got the looks we wanted,” Oakville coach Franklin Johnson said. “Shots that we normally knock down. But we missed some shots. We’re a rhythm basketball team, and when shots aren’t going down, we gotta find different ways to score.”
Hojem and Johnson both gave credit to the opposing defense, saying they were forced to adjust on the fly throughout the game.
“I think we’re both two tough defensive teams,” Johnson said. “We struggled with it as they did on the other end.”
The strong defensive performance has Johnson feeling good about Oakville’s final two regular season games. The Acorns (7-9, 2-6 1B CVL) will take on Ocosta in a non-league game on Wednesday before facing Three Rivers Christian in their league finale on Thursday.
A win against TRC clinches a spot in the district tournament.
“We clinch that spot, everyone is 0-0,” Johnson said. “We’re in a spot where we believe that anyone can beat anyone at this point. We’ll take care of business next week and make a run in the playoffs … We’re excited about what’s to come.”
Pe Ell (9-9, 6-2 1B CVL) is currently second in the CVL standings, a half-game up on Wahkiakum, which is in third. The two teams meet for the second time this season on Tuesday. Wahkiakum won the first matchup 68-32.
Regardless of what seed the Trojans end up with, Hojem is confident that the CVL can make noise come playoff time.
““I told Franklin (Johnson), I said ‘let’s go represent our league.’” Hojem said. “Let’s just show that this is the toughest 1B district this side of the mountains.”
