Pulling off another upset of a higher-classified team, the 1B Oakville boys basketball team was down at the half against 2B Rainier but ended up defeating the Mountaineers in Thurston County on Saturday, Jan. 21, 56-46, in non-league play.
Trailing by two at the break, the Acorns outscored the Mountaineers, 26-14, in the second half to pull away for the win, as shots became hard to come by for the host Rainier.
“We really went cold in the second half,” Mountaineers coach Ben Sheaffer said. “Credit to Oakville, they were active and disrupted what we were trying to do offensively, but at some point you have to make shots, and we didn’t.”
The Acorns were led by Ashton Boyd’s 16 points, and Courtney Price and Eddie Klatush each dropped 14 in a balanced scoring night. The Mountaineers were led by Jared Sprouffske’s 15 points and Jimmy Meldrum’s 12. Gavin Owen scored another eight for Rainier.
On Friday, Jan. 20, the proceedings at Rainier were not in doubt long, as the Mountaineers blitzed Winlock from the get-go en route to a 77-31 win.
“We were really connected on both ends of the floor tonight,” Sheaffer said. “The way we shared the ball on offense highlights the belief that we have in one another. Defensively our on-ball defense really set the tone and allowed us to get our transition game going.”
Josh Meldrum put up 29 points as the high man for the Mountaineers. Owen scored 14 points and Jimmy Meldrum had 11.
Payton Sickles was the only Cardinal to crack double figures, scoring 13 points. Carter Svenson added nine.
Rainier really hit its stride in a 25-6 second quarter, which helped the Mountaineers climb out to a 46-17 halftime lead. From there, the hosts held their guests to 14 points in the second half to seal the lopsided win.
Earlier in the week, the Rainier boys basketball only got better the longer the game went on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at home, hammering Onalaska 72-28.
The Mountaineers led just 9-2 after an ugly first quarter, but dropped 19, 21, and 23 points in the second, third, and fourth, respectively to open up a huge lead.
“We got off to a slow start tonight, but we responded nicely in the second half with our defensive intensity,” Sheaffer said. “We really shared the ball well and made some great decisions in transition. There is a really cool energy when we compete and play together the way we did in the third and fourth quarters.”
Four Mountaineers finished in double figures, with Hunter Howell leading the way with 18, Sprouffske adding 12, Jimmy Meldrum scoring 11, and Johnny Boesch putting in 10. Josh Meldrum came close to making it five with nine points of his own.
Rylan McGraw led Onalaska with nine points.
The Mountaineers take on Adna in a return to league play on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
