In a win-or-go-home playoff game, the Onalaska High School boys basketball team had the full complement of varsity players find their way into the scorebook after defeating Ilwaco 68-42 on Wednesday night in a Class 2B District 4 elimination game in Castle Rock.
It sets up an all-C2BL winner-to-state game on Friday night against Rainier. The two sides split the regular season meetings and the third matchup will take place in Chehalis.
“We made it a focus to come out aggressive and play great team defense,” Loggers head coach Fred Sturza said. “Luckily, we didn’t have to motivate the guys too much, as they were locked in (and) ready to go.”
The second quarter was the separator for Onalaska (12-13) in outscoring the Fishermen by 13 points and the lead kept climbing deep into the second half, at one point reaching a 30-point advantage. Eleven players recorded at least one made field goal on the night.
Blaze Underhill secured a game-high 21 points while Justin Jacoby chipped in 14 and Maddox McKinley added 10. The Loggers are a win away from their 13th career state tournament appearance and second in the last three years.
“Extremely proud of our guys and getting another opportunity to extend our season,” Sturza said.
