The Centralia boys basketball team struggled to find its offense in its season opener, losing to Hockinson 59-32 in a non-league contest on the road on Wednesday.
The Tigers never got going from the perimeter, finishing 0 for 9 from beyond the arc, while also leaving points on the table at the free-throw line, going 8 for 23.
On the flip side, Hockinson burst out for 18 points in the first quarter, which turned out to be the difference 75% of the way through the game, as the Centralia defense shut the Hawks down to equal them in scoring across the middle two quarters. But the hosts came out firing with three 3-pointers in the first minute of the fourth, putting the game out of reach with a 26-point period.
Carlos Vallejo had a team-high 10 points and eight rebounds in the post for the Tigers. Cohen Ballard added eight points, and Von Wasson scored six — all on free throws.
Hockinson’s Igor Povazhniuk led all scorers with 16 points.
Centralia (0-1) will get its home opener on Friday against another Clark County squad, hosting 3A Heritage.
