Tenino made it a four-point game with three minutes to go but was unable to close in on Eatonville’s lead as the Beavers took a 59-51 road loss in a 1A Evergreen League contest on Monday.
It was a valiant effort for the Beavers, who were without freshman leading-scorer Noah Schow, who’s averaging 18.5 points per game.
The Beavers kept it close until the Cruisers broke off a 17-11 run in the third quarter to go up by 10. Tenino whittled that lead down to four in the final frame but couldn’t close out.
“It was a blast, it was a fun game,” Tenino coach Joe Chirhart said. “It was back and forth and close the whole time. We just had a couple late turnovers and missed some shots in the fourth quarter.”
Takari Hickle led the Beavers’ charge with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Jack Burkhardt added four points, six rebounds and four blocks. Austin Gonia provided some offensive firepower with 15 points and Preston Snider pitched in seven points.
Chirhart commended Gonia, Will Feltus, Brody Noonan, Snider and Hickle for their efforts.
“We switched some things up and slowed the game down a bit, not rushing shots,” Chirhart said. “Eatonville is a tough squad. Can’t take anything away from them. Really proud of my boys. Eatonville has some athletes and we hung with them.”
Tenino (6-8, 2-4 Evergreen) continues league play when it hits the road to Elma on Tuesday.
