Ben Sheaffer, Rainier High School boys basketball head coach, wanted the 2024-25 Mountaineers to become a player-led team. Not only is he seeing that transition four games in, but Rainier is reaching new heights with every practice and game.
Another big first half, ignited by a string of 43 unanswered points, fueled the Mountaineers to a 64-15 victory over Toutle Lake Thursday, Dec. 12. In their first two Central 2B League games of the young season, the Mountaineers have outscored their opponents, Mossyrock and Toutle Lake, in the first half 99-6 and 51-2 in the second quarter.
Thursday’s blowout over Toutle Lake was no different from Rainier’s beatdown of Mossyrock last week; the Mountaineers put the Ducks’ offense in a straitjacket and capitalized on sloppy turnovers. Jake Meldrum led the way with 19 points in the first half, including five of Rainier’s seven first-half triples.
“I think our group has established a standard of hard work and taking pride on the defensive end,” Sheaffer said of the defensive effort. “They’ve bought into that being our identity.”
A Caleb Webber free throw and a River Moss layup gave Toutle Lake an early lead with two minutes into the first quarter, and the Ducks would not score again until there were 15 seconds left in the first half.
For the second straight league matchup, Rainier’s defense allowed minimal open looks and made a living in the passing lane. On the other end, the Mountaineers zipped the ball around to find the open man, and the Ducks couldn’t stop Rainier’s attacks in the paint or its barrage of 3-pointers.
Rainier scored 15 straight to close out the first quarter with a 17-3 advantage, and the Mountaineers responded with their most dominant eight minutes of basketball in the second. Meldrum helped Rainier open up a massive lead with 13 of its 28 points in the frame.
Junior Yelm transfer Nehemiah Linson gave Rainier a nice lift in his first start, as Josh Meldrum was sidelined with a foot injury. He did a little bit of everything, including scoring seven points in the first half. Sheaffer was most impressed with his energy and hustle.
“He plays really physical defense on the ball. I like the aggressiveness that he’s playing with,” Sheaffer said of Linson. “Offensively, he brings some things, too.”
Linson, despite the short notice, said he was prepared to step into the starting role and has grown confident in his role as the “energy guy” in the early part of the season.
“Most teams don’t have that, so they need that one person who’s always hyped, even if they’re on the bench. I just like being that guy because I’m a high-energy, positive dude,” Linson said. “I can be who I want to be on and off the court here.”
James Meldrum was a headache for the Ducks on both ends. Typically a perimeter player on offense, the senior was effective grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring points from the low post. He finished with nine points.
“Jimmy’s just really good moving without the ball. He’s actually elite at that. He’s in constant motion,” Sheaffer said. “He’s always moving, and he’s really hard to guard. He recognizes where there’s gaps in the defense, and tonight, it happened to be in the post.”
With a running clock for most of the second half, Sheaffer gave his role players significant playing time. The crowd and the bench erupted when Jordan Pringle knocked down a triple from the wing in the third quarter.
Rainier cruised to its fourth straight win to open the season by crushing Toutle Lake, 64-15. Jake Meldrum finished with a game-high 19 points, outscoring the Ducks on his own. Peyton Sheaffer and Linson each added 11.
The biggest tests of the season so far are coming up next for the red-hot Mountaineers, who head to Adna (3-1, 3-0 C2BL) on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. before heading to Napavine on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Rainier knocked off Adna for the first time in 15 years last December with a 65-45 win on the road.
Ben Sheaffer hopes his Mountaineers are relevant in the C2BL race by season’s end, and a second straight road win at Adna would prove that they’re more than capable of being in that position.
“It’s going to be tough. They have a great program, and they can really score the ball. They’ll definitely be the best offensive team that we’ve played so far, which we’re really excited about,” he said. “It’s always a cool environment down there. We’re just trying to stay hungry. We talked about being hungry and not satisfied. We know that it’s early, and we’re trying to get better every day. I think right now, we’re doing that.”
