Photo by Paulene Maneman Raymond HS senior Andrew Hamilton goes up high for a shot against Northwest Christian.
Seagulls clobber Comets, Navs
By GEORGE KUNKE
Raymond set up its showdown for the Pacific League championship by blasting Northwest Christian 68-32 Saturday night at Seagull Gym. Darol Ratsavongsy plugged in 15 points for the Seagulls.
Raymond (15-4, 10-1) played at Willapa Valley (15-4, 10-1) Tuesday night for the winner-take-all league title game.
“We jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead and never looked back,” Raymond HS Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Mike Tully told the Herald. “Our defensive pressure allowed us to get a number of quick and easy baskets. We were able to get everyone some good playing time and work on some things.
“Before the game, we honored our senior basketball players, Carte Bisbee and Andrew Hamilton, who were playing their final home game. We also honored injured seniors Marcus Lundy and Alec Oatfield for their contributions over the previous three seasons.”
Eleven players scored for head coach Mike Tully’s Seagulls. Andrew Hamilton (6 rebs) and Rayce Newman netted eight points apiece and Elliott Murdock put in seven. Chase Flemetis and Pedro Viegas added six points each.
“We really spread the ball around and played as a team,” Coach Tully said. “Our pressure gave them problems and we moved the ball really well.”
Marvin So made six steals and handed out five assists.
Christian fell to 3-16 overall and 2-9 in the Pacific League.
Seagulls 73, Naselle 50
Raymond went back to basics and whipped up on Naselle 73-50 last Tuesday (Jan. 22) at Seagull Gym. Four players hit double-figure scoring for the Seagulls.
“We tried to go back to basics and worked on moving the ball around and playing as a team,” Coach Tully said. “Five guys in double figures showed we were able to do that.
Bisbee led the attack with 16 points, followed by Andrew Hamilton (13), James Hamilton (12), and Ratsavongsy (11). Rayce Newman scored nine points. Andrew Hamilton collected nine rebounds and Ratsavongsy had five steals and four assists. Marvin So handed out five assists and made four steals.
Raymond led 16-9 after one quarter and 38-28 after three quarters. The score was 49-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We jumped out to an early lead, but Naselle was able to keep within striking distance until we made a decisive run at the end of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter to push the lead over 20 points,” Coach Tully told the Herald.
“I thought we did a god job of applying pressure at both ends of the floor,” Tully said. “Our defense wore them down and pressured them into a number turnovers.
“Offensively, we did a really good job of moving the ball around and getting everyone involved,” Tully added.
The Gulls took 33 more shots than the Comets. Raymond was 31 of 78, while Naselle was 18 of 45. Raymond committed only nine turnovers.
Raymond improved to 14-4 and 9-1 in the Pacific League and NHS sank to 6-10 and 3-6.