Tuesday's Boys Basketball: Indians Fire Away to Bury Winlock

TOLEDO — The instruction Toledo guard Andreas Malunat gets isn’t so much about where to shoot from on the court as it is about where to shoot from in the shot clock.

So, for example, firing up a bomb from a good 8 feet behind the arc isn’t out of the ordinary — so long as it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the Indians’ offense.

And there wasn’t much slowing down Toledo’s outside shooting here Tuesday night, as the Indians drubbed rival Winlock 72-40 in their home opener.

Malunat poured in 20 points to lead the way, burying six 3-pointers and tallying 14 points in the first half.

The senior knocked down a 28-foot bomb late in the first quarter that put Toledo up 18-9, and hit back-to-back triples in the second frame that briefly increased the Indians’ lead to 20 points. That hot shooting, and 12 first-half turnovers from Winlock, had the hosts up 37-19 at halftime.

“I really try to get him to take the best shot in the shot clock, not just the first one we see, so they’ve got to play some defense,” Toledo coach Grady Fallon said. “But on the line or 6 feet back, it doesn’t matter to him. He’s a great shooter. At open gyms and things, he regularly shoots them maybe even a little deeper.”

Malunat said he heard after the game that one of his particularly long shots might have raised an eyebrow back on the bench but, luckily, it found the bottom of the net. Having played with the same teammates for years, he knows he’s got the green light.

“I’ve put in a lot of time and our coaches recognize that. It’s just kind of cool to see when I hit those deep 3s,” he said. “But it depends. (Grady) doesn’t want, like, the first shot of the possession. He wants us to move the ball.”

There was plenty of movement Tuesday, as six different Indians (Malunat, Bryce Marcil, Hayden Farbo, Carlo Arceo-Hansen, Anthony Peak and Ivan Cibrian) hit 3-pointers.

“Hopefully that’s something we can count on in zones,” Fallon said. “You game plan for (Andreas), and it’s when the role players step up that you’re a real good team.”

Fano-Arceo Hansen added 10 of his 14 points in the first half, and Westin Wallace chipped in with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Bryce Cline led Winlock with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Coleson Richendollar scored 13 of his 15 in the fourth quarter for the Cardinals and added eight boards.

Winlock, however, was just 13 of 53 (24 percent) from the field, and didn’t hit a field goal for the first 5 ½ minutes of the third quarter. That dry spell helped Toledo go on a 16-1 run — capped by back-to-back buckets inside from Wallace — that increased the lead to 53-20.

Tuesday’s affair was the first of two regular-season Battle of the Cowlitz games, a rivalry featuring a handful of players that compete on the same Toledo-Winlock United boys soccer team in the spring.

“We know a lot of them really well. Most of us play soccer, but there’s just that rivalry for basketball that we’re not friends on the court,” Malunat said. “Not until after the game.”

The second rivalry game, which will carry Central 2B League implications, is Jan. 23 in Winlock.

Winlock (1-2) hosts Toutle Lake on Thursday. Toledo (3-0) plays at Adna on Saturday in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader that begins at 5:45 p.m.

Kelso Takes Down W.F. West

KELSO — W.F. West managed just two points in the first quarter and wasn’t ever able to catch up, falling to Kelso 63-45 in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Leandre Gaines led the Bearcats with 10 points. Kayden Kelly, Troy Yarter and Tyler Speck each with nine points and Speck led the team with six rebounds.

Shaw Anderson led all scorers with 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double for the Hilanders.

Kelso shot 51 percent from the field while W.F. West shot just 36 percent. The Hilanders were able to get to the foul line as well, shooting 46 free throws while W.F. West shot just three.

The Hilanders jumped out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter. W.F. West won the second quarter but trailed 23-15 at halftime. It was all Kelso in the second half, outscoring W.F. West 40-30.

W.F. West (0-3) hosts Modbury, Australia on Wednesday.

La Center Rolls Past Morton-White Pass

MORTON — Kaleb Rashoff scored 21 points but it wasn’t enough, as La Center earned a 96-60 win in a non-league boys basketball game here on Tuesday.

Dylan Richards added 13 points and MWP coach Chad Cramer noted his solid performance for the second straight game. He was also pleased with Rashoff’s performance as a senior leader.

Avery Seter led the Wildcats with 17 points.

MWP and La Center were knotted at 16 after one quarter, but the Wildcats began to pull away in the second quarter and led 45-29 at halftime.

The T-Wolves were never able to mount a comeback and were outscored 51-31 in the second half.

“We played really hard. The first and third quarters, we played right with them. In the second quarter, they’re a team that wants to run a lot with a full court press and they made two substantial runs,” Cramer said. “It got away from us. They know exactly who they are, they were the league champs from last year. They’ll do that to you, we just didn’t have enough firepower to come back on a team like that.”

MWP (1-1) hits the road to face Wahkiakum on Thursday in a non-league game in Cathlamet.

Rainier Smashes Vikings on the Rocks

MOSSYROCK — Rainier played the part of uncourteous guest here Tuesday night as they dropped a shorthanded Mossyrock squad by a score of 82-31 in non-league 2B boys basketball

Vikings head coach Jordan Hunter noted that injuries and eligibility issues attributed to practice time that allowed his team to only suit up seven varsity players for the game and the short bench hurt them right from the start.

“In the first half our point guard (Deuce Kolb) picked up two fouls right away. I tried to sneak him back in and he picked up a third. He sat the whole second quarter and their press just destroyed us,” explained Hunter.

The Mossyrock coach noted that his team committed 16 dribble-drive turnovers in the first half alone and 26 turnovers in the contest.

“Right now, without Deuce Kolb on the floor we can’t get the ball past half court. We’re just really inexperienced outside of him as far as players who can handle the ball on the court,” Hunter said. “With only seven guys on the roster tonight we didn't’ have many options for substitutions so we were not able to take care of the ball. When you can’t set up your offense you can’t score.”

Rainier was paced by Travis Eygabroad’s 19 points. Kolb was Mossyrock’s leading scorer with 14 points. Ryan Bellino added eight points and a team-high of four blocks and eight rebounds for the Vikings.

“Really, outside of the turnovers I thought we played pretty well,” said Hunter, who expects to have a bench 12 players deep by next week. “Once we get to that point then we’ll be able to compete. Until that point it’s going to be hard.”

Mossyrock (0-1) will host Onalaska on Thursday.

Loggers Hobble Mules

ONALASKA — The Loggers used a quartet of double-digit scoring efforts here Tuesday night to burry Wahkiakum 74-58 in non-league boys basketball action.

That output helped the Loggers to a 15-point lead at halftime but the Mules refused to go away quietly, preferring instead to hee-haw into the night. In fact, they did their best to mirror the Loggers’ approach.

“They had four guys in double figures. They’d penetrate and kick or penetrate and just go right at the basket. They were good at that,” said Onalaska coach Wayne Nelson. “I was disappointed in our defensive effort tonight.”

Wahkiakum shot 58 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line in order to keep within firing distance of Onalaska. However, the Loggers were able to outscore the Mules in every quarter to secure the victory.

“Kayden had a big night. We had Alex in double figures and Ash (Haight) was in double figures and Carter was also in double figures with 17 so we had some balance,” noted Nelson.

Kayden Allison led all scorers with 27 points while Carter Whitehead scored 17 points, Ashton Haight scored a dozen points and Alex Frazier tallied a baker’s dozen. Frazier also collected a team-high seven rebounds and Nelson complimented his all-around performance.

“We have some guys who are capable of big nights,” said Nelson. “Offensively we played just well enough to get a win.”

While Nelson would have preferred a more lopsided result he was still able to find the silver lining in the aftermath.

“It’s always better to win a game and learn a lesson than to lose a game and learn a lesson that way,” he said.

Onalaska (2-1) will play at Mossyrock on Thursday.