TENINO — Things went from slow to stopped on offense for the Tenino boys basketball team at the wrong time Tuesday, as the Beavers saw their shot at a 1A Evergreen title fade significantly in a 47-33 loss to Hoquiam.
“I think we got down a little bit, just due to the turnovers and not playing very well, and we can’t do that,” Tenino coach Ryan Robertson said. “We have to play through it, no matter what the situation is. We talk about who is the aggressive team, and they were more aggressive than us in the second half.”
The Beavers still sit in second place in the league standings, two games back of first-place Eatonville, but would need to beat them, beat Elma, and see the Cruisers fall twice more to win the league outright.
Tuesday night, the Grizzlies’ sat back in a deep 2-3 zone from the get-go, and four quarters later, the Beavers still were looking for a way to crack it consistently. Sophomore leader Noah Schow — who had to sit much of the second quarter in foul trouble — was held to a season-low 12 points, with Austin Gonia behind him at eight.
As a team, Tenino finished at 28 percent shooting from the field, and took 23 3-pointers compared to 16 shots inside the arc.
“We just struggled,” Robertson said. “If you shut Noah and Austin down, we’re in trouble. We shot way too many threes, didn’t get the ball inside, didn’t attack inside.”
Topping off the rough offensive night, the Beavers turned the ball over 19 times, with the Grizzlies getting eight points in transition.
“We’re trying to run a number of different things, and none of them work,” Robertson said. “We need to to be able to let the play develop and see things coming, but we just rush, get out of position, force it, and turn the ball over.”
On the other side of the floor, Hoquiam’s Michael Lorton-Watkins led all scorers with 22 points, including 18 of his side’s 26 points in the second half.
For a half, Tenino’s defense held Hoquiam down to its level, grinding out to a 12-12 game after a quarter of play and a 22-21 lead at halftime. But coming out for the third quarter, with Lorton-Watkins finding his spots to drive, the Grizzlies took off, going on a 16-4 run and holding the Beavers off the board for the final three minutes.
Tenino finished with just 11 points scored in the second half.
“We were defensive on offense, we weren’t aggressive, and that was the key today,” Robertson said.
The Beavers will get right back to action Thursday with their clash against Eatonville.
