T-Birds Fend off Bearcats, Stay Perfect in League

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Like clockwork, the W.F. West boys basketball team went on a run, every quarter Wednesday evening in Chehalis. And like clockwork, Tumwater answered back, en route to a 71-58 win over the Bearcats to stay undefeated in 2A EvCo play.

“We came out and executed a really good gameplan,” Tumwater coach Josh Wilson said. “Like I told the guys in the locker room, this was a good basketball win. We played the way we needed to play.”

Every time Tumwater threatened to turn the game into a blowout, W.F. West answered back. But every time the Bearcats started to make things close, the T-Birds got the last laugh.

In the first quarter, a quick W.F. West run shrank the gap to two points, at which point Luke Brewer sparked a 7-0 streak to make it nine. In the second, W.F. West got it back to four, but Clayton Morgan and Tanner Brewer combined for a run to get the lead to double digits for the first time, before Luke Brewer nailed a late 3-pointer to make it a 13-point game at the half.

“Down here is a really tough place to play,” Wilson said. “You have to be able to match those runs that you know are coming, no matter what.”

W.F. West got off to a strong start in the third behind three Tyler Klatush 3-pointers, but once again, Tumwater answered to end the quarter up 10 again. And in the fourth, the Bearcats got some buzz going in the gym with a 6-0 run to narrow the lead to six, before Tumwater ended on a 12-5 run.

Luke Brewer led the T-Birds the whole way, going 11 for 19 from the field in a 31-point performance.

“Luckily we could open that up a little for him, and he executed it really well,” Wilson said. “He’s a good shooter. I love the mid-range game, I’m super partial to it, so I’m glad he has that in his bag.”

Soren Dalan posted up for 22 points in the post for W.F. West, and added 12 rebounds to his line. 

But for the most part, the visitors owned the boards; Tumwater racked up 11 offensive rebounds, and turned them into 11 second-chance points.

“We’ve got to get on the glass a lot better,” W.F. West coach Chris White said. “We got exposed there, I’m very displeased with our effort on the glass. If I watch the film, I’ll see a lot of guys just corkscrewing themselves into the ground and spectating instead of finding a body.”

Klatush finished with 18 points for the Bearcats, and Braden Jones added nine. Behind Luke Brewer, Tumwater got 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals from Andrew Collins.

Tumwater will try to keep things going back at home on Friday, facing Shelton. W.F. West will look to bounce back at Rochester.