TENINO — Perhaps no team in Class 1A underwent a seismic shift in expectations than the Tenino High School boys basketball team.

Ten months ago, the Beavers lost a heartbreaking first game at the state tournament in Yakima. Then over the summer, one of their star players transferred. By the time the season kicked off in late-November, they weren’t at 100 percent.

Jack Burkhardt didn’t come back until the second-to-last game before Christmas and Will Feltus was dealing with an illness. All while dealing with a meat-grinder of a non-league schedule that put Tenino at 2-11 overall.

Yet Ryan Robertson never went away from what his team does best.

“There’s no easy way to say it, that is hard,” the Beavers head coach said. “We never changed. We believe the T in Tenino stands for tough. Be resilient, be tough.”

That was evident on Monday night.

Ignited by a lockdown second half defense, winning a handful of 50/50 balls and having the bank stay open late, Tenino outscored Montesano 30-9 in the final two quarters on its way to a 43-28 triumph in an Evergreen League matchup at Tenino High School.

Since getting waxed by 2A state contender R.A. Long 80-43 nearly three weeks ago, the Beavers have won four consecutive games. None quite like the slugfest they endured to be tied with the Bulldogs for first place in the standings.

Montesano only registered four field goals in the third and fourth frames.

“We talked about playing harder defense and the offense started to flow for us,” senior Austin Gonia said. “We didn’t try to worry about the non-league. We’ve been competing with those teams, gotten better (from it).”

Gonia was pulling double primary duty. He was tasked with defending the Bulldogs’ top scorer Mason Fry while also being the go-to option offensively.

Prior to the start of the third, he grabbed a waste basket and puked. He proceeded to score nine of his game-high 21 points to put the Beavers up eight. Preston Snider banked in a corner 3-pointer that gave them the lead for good at 22-19.

Fry was limited to just two points in the second half and was met at the rim by Gonia and Burkhardt several times.

“Jack was a man and (he owned) every board,” Robertson said. 

“I was trying to give good leadership,” Gonia added.

Montesano never could chip away at the deficit, mainly due to turnovers. Tenino’s Ashton Moore came away with a steal near midcourt and Snider chased after a loose ball that gave the Beavers possession.

Up 10 late in the final minutes, senior Jaxson Gore unleashed a deep triple that banked in that ended up as the dagger. Then Feltus drew a charge that sent Robertson and the Beavers bench into euphoria.

Feltus finished with eight points while Burkhardt added six.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Gonia said.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 advantage in the opening quarter. After the Beavers cut it to a one-point game, Fry went on a personal 8-0 spree that featured a dunk plus the foul for a 3-point play.

Gonia launched a shot from downtown to make it a two-possession game. Tenino’s defense took care of the rest.

“He wants the biggest challenge,” Robertson said of Gonia. “Whatever your team needs, he will give you. That’s every day, he’s a great leader.”

Tenino will host Elma on Thursday for senior night. If the Beavers and Montesano run the table and tie at 7-1 in the league, the top seed for the district tournament may come down to who has the highest RPI.