Tigers Stave Off Ducks After Slow Start

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Despite 21 points from Toutle Lake’s Zach Swanson — including 14 in the first quarter — the Napavine boys basketball team came back and held on to beat the Ducks, 57-53 at home Wednesday.

The Tigers (7-1, 3-0 C2BL) had two double figures scorers, with sharpshooter Jarin Prather leading the way with 14 points and James Grose scoring 11. Senior center Keith Olson played just 22 minutes with foul trouble, and scored eight points, but his absence was felt on the boards.

Napavine was outrebounded 43-28, which kept the Ducks in the game when the Tigers were trying to put things away late.

“We got off to a tough start,” Tigers coach Rex Stanley said. “On the defensive end, you have to account for Swanson, he got off to a hot start and you have to take away their best player. We have to tighten up our defense.”

The Tigers will have another big challenge ahead of them on Friday, as they take on Kalama in a district championship rematch with Jackson Esary and the Chinooks. The two squads have yet to be beaten in league play.