Rainier Can’t Climb Out of Early Hole in Loss to Ducks

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Falling behind 21-10 after the first quarter, the Rainier boys basketball team couldn’t quite overcome that early hole in a 70-59 loss to Toutle Lake at home Tuesday night in Central 2B league play. 

The Mountaineers had their full lineup for the first time in weeks Tuesday, but were rushed out of the gate by a frenetic Ducks squad. Toutle was led by Zach Swanson’s 25 points, with Connor Cox right behind with 22 points. 

The Mountaineers were once again led by the Meldrum triplets, with Josh leading the way with 20, Jimmy adding 16, and Jake totaling 12 points. 

“We dug ourselves a hole early and it felt like we never totally regained the momentum,” Rainier coach Ben Sheaffer said. “We did show some grit and battled, but we can't dwell on this one because we know Toutle is a quality team. We will learn and move on.”

The Mountaineers will take the long trek to Morton to take on 2B No. 3 Morton-White Pass on Thursday in another league contest.