Playing without two key pieces in its lineup, the Rainier boys basketball team defeated Mossyrock on the road Monday night to open 2023 in the win column, 59-53.
The Mountaineers outscored the Vikings by five in the opening frame, and held that pace for most of the game all the way up until the fourth for the key non-league victory, without both Jake and Josh Meldrum.
“This was a tremendous team win for us,” Rainier coach Ben Sheaffer said. “We were playing shorthanded and our guys really stepped up and rose to the occasion making winning plays on both ends of the court. We have been talking about how energy travels and we proved to ourselves tonight that you don't have to play perfect, as long as you bring energy and play with passion. I’m so proud of our guys.”
Jimmy Meldrum scored a game-high 19 points, and Hunter Howell and Johnny Boesch also logged double figure scoring nights with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Gavin Owen scored nine, and Jared Sprouffske scored another eight in a well-rounded offensive game.
On the other end, the Vikings suffered their second straight defeat to a Central 2B League foe, after falling to Wahkiakum over the weekend. Zackary Munoz led the way with 16 points, and Keegan Kolb had 10 points, but Mossyrock just couldn’t quite get over the hump to secure a home win to start the year.
The Mountaineers will look to build on this win when they return to league play against Toledo on Thursday, while the Vikings take on league foe Pe Ell on the road Wednesday.
