TUMWATER — A regional berth on the line was more than enough for Raymond to kickstart Wednesday’s game and Ocosta to rally back to end a 44-year drought.
The Gulls blistered the Wildcats in the first 1 1/2 quarters, but Ocosta stood on its defense and it fed a game-turning run to secure a 51-45 victory in the District IV 2B boys basketball tournament at Black Hills High School.
Ocosta (17-7) clinched its first regional/post-district postseason berth since 1971 with the victory. On Friday, the Wildcats will take on Onalaska in a district seeding semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. at Rochester High School. The winner will move into Saturday’s third-fourth place game, while the loser will play in Saturday’s fifth-sixth place game.
For Raymond, its season come to an end at 15-9.
“As we told the boys, we want to rewrite Ocosta boys basketball history,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby. “Legacy has been the word we’ve been using. We want to create a legacy here and this feels pretty good. It has been a lot of work. It hasn’t been easy.”
“We came out a’blazing,” Raymond head coach Derek Rask said. “After that, with turnovers, I think we got a little complacent. We’ve done it before. I think you have to tip your hat to Ocosta and where they are as a program. They are committed to everything they do in every phase of the game. Coach Quinby has gotten them to that place. It is his third year and those guys have bought in. I can say we were complacent, but it is a game of runs and you have to tip your hat to (Ocosta). They stormed back.”
A raucous crowd was worked up into a frothy hysteria during Raymond’s hot start. On the strength of its defense, along with seven points from Jayce Freeman, the Gulls scored the first 14 points of the contest. Raymond forced seven turnovers during the span and its transition offense was in fifth gear against Ocosta’s full-court pressure defense.
With 2:30 left in the first, Ocosta got onto the scoreboard on a steal and layup by Drake Mitby. The Wildcats got a little bit of momentum to end the frame with a hook shot from Connor Pegg and a 3-pointer from the win by Kyle Bambauer for a 16-7 deficit.
Raymond’s offense began to slow down in the second quarter by Ocosta’s defense. Turnovers limited the Gulls’ chances that were there for the taking in the first quarter. However, Raymond built up its biggest lead of the game — 24-11, with 3:18 left in the half. Ocosta’s offense still couldn’t find its shooting range inside the Black Hills gym, but the defense keyed its chances.
“In our last game, we started 2-for-17 from the field and we were probably (3-for-17) tonight,” Quinby added. “We had layups, too. We wanted to use our depth and we knew as long as we could get going, we were going to be OK. After Raymond’s 14-0 run, our defense solidified. But, your defense doesn’t mean much if you can’t capitalize on the other end.”
After the Gulls got their biggest lead, senior Dan Sobrera nailed two consecutive 3-point baskets. Senior Caleb Tackett got an offensive-rebound putback later on and Mitby drained two free throws for what turned into a 24-21 halftime score. The 10-0 run for the Wildcats was just the beginning.
“We were pretty down, but we got our morale back; we weren’t going to quit,” Tackett said. “We gained confidence. Our defense stepped up a lot and that helped us on the offensive side. We got a couple of steals, which led to some easy layups and that built our confidence.”
The second-quarter spurt turned into a game-changing session for Ocosta. Including all of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth, the Wildcats would take their biggest lead of the game, 42-33, with a 31-9 run.
The entire third quarter was Ocosta’s to take. Raymond was held to 2-for-14 shooting from the field, but stayed in the game at the free-throw line at 6-for-10. The Wildcats pounded the ball inside to Pegg and Tackett, while Tackett, Sobrera, Luke Anderson and Zach Allton drive, penetrated and fired from the outside.
Tackett’s 3-pointer and last-second offensive-rebound putback gave Ocosta a 38-33 lead after three. The senior nailed a mid-range jumper to start the fourth and Mitby ended the run with an inside basket, 42-33, with 6:50 left in the contest.
Raymond climbed back to within five on inside baskets from Rayce Newman and Kason Koski, but Tackett drained another 3-pointer to push the lead back to eight, 45-37. Koski nailed his own trey from the corner after Tackett’s conversion, but the Gulls couldn’t mount another run in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
The crowd, now going bananas on the Ocosta side of the gym with time running down, stayed hot in the final minutes with the Wildcats leading, 51-42. Alan Phansisay knocked down a 3-point shot with 10 seconds left and the Ocosta crowd gave its team a standing ovation as the buzzer sounded.
“Most likely, we’ll get Onalaska,” Quinby said. “We played them tough in our place (a 49-44 overtime loss in the district opening round). If we are able to play the kind of defense we played the first time we faced them, all we have to do is make a few more shots and I like our chances. If we do that, we’re playing for third place on Saturday.”
Coach Rask cited his seniors — Landon Maneman, Newman and Phansisay — for their work and contributions to the season.
Tackett led all scorers with 16 points and Pegg added 11 points for Ocosta. Newman led Raymond in scoring with nine.
Ray 16 8 9 12 — 45 Oco 7 14 17 13 — 51
Raymond (45) — Freeman 7, Newman 9, Murdock 4, Ja. Hamilton 7, L. Hamilton 2, Maneman 5, Koski 8, Phansisay 3, Anderson. FG — 17-55. FT — 9-20.
Ocosta (51) — Anderson 3, Allton 4, Tackett 16, Sobrera 6, Pegg 11, Prigmore, Bambauer 5, Mitby 6, Juarez. FG — 20-73. FT — 5-9.
