Centralia hit a rough patch in the third quarter and couldn’t catch back up to Black Hills in a 57-42 Evergreen 2A Conference boys hoops loss Friday night in Centralia.
The Tigers led 29-28 at halftime, but produced just four points in the third frame.
“Both teams were playing pretty good defensively. It felt like we had a lot of good looks, we just could not convert,” Centralia coach Kyle Donahue said. “And then, it’s kind of like a game of basketball. They got a little run on us at the end of the third quarter and we never quite rebounded from that.”
Brandon Yeung and Cameron Erickson both scored 11 for Centralia, with Benito Valencia adding nine points and six rebounds.
Point guard Brady Hoyt also played well, Donahue said.
“He’s kind of our silent leader at times. He does a really good job defensively,” he said. “I thought he just played a really solid game tonight as a senior on the court.”
Valencia, he added, had another strong performance, and Rex Akins played well off the bench.
“When he gets the ball and wants to score, he does a very good job about it,” Donahue noted.
Justin Hicks had 13 to lead Black Hills. Connor Hopkins added 12.
Centralia (1-4) plays at Aberdeen on Monday.
Bearcats Race Past Rochester
The Bearcats nearly scored enough to win in the first quarter Friday night in a 76-29 Evergreen 2A Conference boys basketball rout of Rochester in Chehalis.
W.F. West led 28-4 after the first frame and extended the lead to 41-17 by halftime, shooting 52% from the field (32 of 61) over the course of the game.
Carter McCoy led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds in three quarters of work and Whalen Deskins scored 11 with five rebounds. Soren Dalan added 11 points and Camryn Bostwick chipped in nine points with seven boards.
Cade Haller added five points with seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Brit Lusk and Dirk Plakinger each grabbed six rebounds with four assists
Sawyer Robbins led Rochester with nine points.
Rochester (0-6) hosts Tenino on Monday at 7 p.m.
W.F. West (5-2) plays at Tumwater on Monday.
