Dirk Plakinger and Soren Dalan combined for 41 points and W.F. West cruised past visiting Shelton for a 63-49 victory in the Bearcats’ 2A Evergreen Conference opener Wednesday.
Plakinger scored a game-high 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting (44%) from the field with seven rebounds. Dalan notched a monster double-double with 19 points and 23 rebounds on a scorching 8 of 12 shooting (67%).
“Soren had a crazy night on the glass against a legit big man (6-foot-8 Tyler Ireland),” W.F. West coach Chris White said.
The Bearcats came out hot, jumping out to a 14-5 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Seth Hoff, who finished with eight points in the first half.
“Big start for Seth Hoff,” White said.
W.F. West increased its lead to 12 at the end of the first quarter before Shelton came firing back. The Highclimbers engineered an 11-5 run midway through the second quarter to cut the deficit to 24-18 with 5:27 to go.
But a timeout by W.F. West coach Chris White steadied the Bearcats, who reeled off a 12-4 run to end the half and take a 36-22 lead going into the locker room.
Shelton stole the momentum to start the second half, ripping off a 16-8 run in the third quarter. But the Bearcats swung back, with Plakinger netting 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help W.F. West outscore Shelton 19-11 in the final frame.
“(Shelton) is one of the best teams in the league and they’ve got a lot of pieces back,” White said. “So beating them is a big deal.”
Hoff finished with 11 points as the Bearcats shot 42% from two on the night and 39% from the field. They shot just 29% (4 for 14) from long range, with three of those coming from Hoff.
Freshman guard Gage Brumfield earned his first career varsity start and handled ball pressure well all night. He finished with three points.
“Really happy with Gage getting his feet wet,” White said. “He’s only going to get better and better.”
White also praised Charlie Mallonee for his defensive effort, and said he was pleased to get 10 deep in the rotation.
Shelton was led by 6-foot-4 senior Charles Thompson’s 22 points. The Highclimbers shot 35% from the field, including just 2 of 15 from deep.
W.F. West (2-2, 1-0 2A EvCo) travels to Aberdeen Friday.
