TUMWATER — Black Hills fell behind early, struggled to stem Mark Morris’ hot shooting and took an 80-57, elimination loss in the 2A District IV playoffs on Thursday at Tumwater High School.
The Wolves fell into a rut early as the Monarchs broke off a 22-7 run to start the game to stun Black Hills from the get-go.
The Monarchs kept pouring it on offensively to outdistance the Wolves 37-23 at the half before reeling off a 22-10 run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Monarchs were led by Braydon Olson’s game-high 25 points.
Black Hills was led offensively by Keagan Rongen’s 16 points, while Luke Ellison chipped in 14.
What Black Hills’ coach Jeff Gallagher said he’ll remember most about this season is his team making it enjoyable to come to practice — something that doesn’t always happen every season.
“Like, there were never any issues we had to deal with as far as egos or anything,” Gallagher said. “Our kids just showed up to play so hard every single day, and it made practice enjoyable.”
Two seniors played their final games for the Wolves: Andre Byone and Ellison.
“We made a lot of strides this season,” Gallagher said. “It’s just so tough when you’ve got to say goodbye to your seniors. I’m probably gonna go in the locker room and cry because they’ve done a lot for our program.”
