W.F. West seniors combined for 61 points and the Bearcats flew past visiting Rochester, 80-38, on a packed senior night to secure the 2A Evergreen Conference’s No. 2 seed.
Senior Dirk Plakinger scored a game-high 34 points, which included a bleacher-shaking, alley-oop dunk from Braden Jones in the second quarter. The 34 spot was eight short of the Bearcats’ single-game record.
Other Bearcat seniors scoring were Evan Tornow with 10 points, Seth Hoff added nine, Austin Snyder contributed four, Ryan Witham finished with three and Christian Davis knocked down a free throw. Gideon Priest also logged minutes, while Charlie Mallonee rounded out seniors this season.
The Bearcats were on fire early, jumping out to a 20-12 lead before taking a decisive 40-17 lead at the break. Junior post Soren Dalan added 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Rochester was led by sophomore Tyler Klatush’s 11 points, while senior Sawyer Robbins added eight. Other Warriors playing in their final high school game were Landon Hawes, Cam’Ron Henderson, Tony Groninger, Erik Vasquez Valentine and Johnny Childers.
W.F. West will host the Greater St. Helen’s League’s No. 3 seed in the opening round of the 2A District 4 tournament on Feb. 12 at a time yet to be determined.
