Friday night was the game of the year for the Astoria boys basketball team, the Seaside girls team was looking to rebound after a tough loss, while the Warrenton and Knappa teams continued to play on the hardwood.

Astoria downed by hot shooting

What started out well for the Astoria boys basketball team ended quickly.

With Friday night being the game of the year for the Fishermen, the boys opened up hot. Knowing that a loss would pretty much knock them out of Cowapa League contender, the boys used a hyped-up home crowd to put 23 points on the board in the first 8 minutes. A buzzer beater by Quin Gohr had the crowd cheering as the Fishermen looked like they were on their way to a big win.

But the No. 5-ranked Lions flexed their muscles the rest of the way.

The Lions certainly looked to be one of the best teams in 4A over the last three quarters on Friday night. After giving up double digits in the first quarter, they held Astoria to just 33 over the last three.

Perhaps most impressive for the Lions was the pace at which they made shots. After scoring 16 in the first quarter, they finished the game with 74 in their 74-56 victory.

Senior wing Andrew Waite and sophomore guard Noah Bigham took over the game in the second half with some of the best shots Fishermen fans saw all season. Waite in particular was spectacular.

The 6-foot-4 senior showed off a complete arsenal of skills. Waite had four three-pointers, impressive drives and midrange jumpers as well as some deadly passes to his teammates in transition. And Bigham flashed skills well beyond his sophomore status. He was the most creative shot maker for the Lions as he made a number of tough midrange shots and also had a step back three-pointer right in the face of tough defense.

Along with senior Tykiem Kearse, the Lions blew the doors off Astoria in the second half, winning it by 16 points. Waite led all scorers with 24, Kearse had 13 and Bigham had 12.

For Astoria, this game was more competitive than the score indicated. The Fishermen just ran into a team that shot the lights out of the ball. Though the Fishermen could have done a better job of closing out on the shooters, a lot of the shots were just executed at a high level.

Despite the loss, Astoria is well positioned to finish third in the Cowapa League and qualify for the state playoffs. Currently the boys sit at 5-3 in league play and No. 12 in 4A.

The Fishermen also had three players in double figures and they were led by Gohr’s 14. Mulu Starr-Hallow had 13 and Magnus Kryzanek scored 11.

Astoria girls can’t quite close

The nightcap featured the Astoria girls taking on St. Helens.

Coming off a big win against the Seagulls, it was clear the St. Helens team was a little flat earlier on. This allowed the Fishermen to hang tough for all four quarters.

With the girls being out of contention for the playoffs, coach Jordan Ax has said the goal for his team is to put four good quarters together. Friday night should qualify as a step in the right direction. After entering halftime down 10, the Fishermen ended up outscoring St. Helens by three points to lose 39-32.

Though the girls kept it under 10 points at the end, this game felt like one the Fishermen could have stolen. A defensive change by the Fishermen going into the fourth quarter pretty much turned the faucet off for the Lions. After playing a 2-3 zone the first three quarters, the Fishermen played something much closer to a 3-2 as they were trying to take away the wing shooting of the Lions.

This worked as the Fishermen gave up just three points in the fourth quarter, with all three coming at the free line. Multiple times the Fishermen were down and just couldn’t find a way to execute on offense to get the game closer.

Though this was another loss, the hope is this game will give the Fishermen valuable late game experience to build on for next season.

Seaside girls rebound

The Seaside girls basketball team rebounded against a tough Tillamook team.

Cheesemaker gym is always a difficult place to play, but the Seagulls grinded out a quality road win, 56-49, to get themselves back on track. The win helped them keep pace with St. Helens in the league race as both teams currently sit at 6-1.

A busy week is ahead for Seaside as they travel to Scappoose Tuesday, then will host Marist Catholic in an exciting top-five matchup on Friday afternoon. The Marist girls come in ranked No. 5 in 4A and look like a dark horse contender to raise the trophy in March, so this game will give both teams a chance to see where they stack up.

On the boys side, Seaside fell to Tillamook.

The Cheesemakers tied up the season series at one apiece as they answered the Seagulls win with their own, 66-51. Tillamook is now tied with Seaside for fourth place in league at 1-6.

The Seaside boys will also play Marist Catholic on Friday night in the final game of the evening at 7 p.m.

Warrenton boys come up big, girls fall short

The Warrenton boys needed a flurry to finish the season and they are in the midst of one now.

A big win against Yamhill-Carlton on Friday night moved Warrenton up to fourth place in league. They currently are even with Yamhill in the loss column, though the Warriors still have to play Banks to close out the season.

The victory moved Warrenton to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in league play.

The Warrenton girls put up a good fight, but it wasn’t quite enough as they fell to Yamhill-Carlton 54-50.

Though the girls fell short, this was one of their best offensive games of the season as they scored 50 points for just the fourth time this year. Also, the Warriors played a top 15 team in 3A competitively once again as they lost to Yamhill by just 10 in their first matchup.

Next up for the Warriors is another tough game against Rainier on Tuesday.

Knappa girls have good weekend

It was a good weekend for the Knappa girls as they kept pace in the league race after a 60-23 victory over Columbia Christian. Then the girls defeated 3A No. 17 Oregon Episcopal 32-29 on Saturday afternoon.

The victories moved Knappa to 13-10 on the year and up to No. 8 in 2A. Victories against Portland Christian and Clatskanie are standing in the way of another regular season title for the Loggers.

The boys cruised over Columbia Christian by a score of 80-53. The 80 points was the most scored by Knappa this season and has them rolling into their rematch with Portland Christian on Tuesday. With the Loggers trailing by one game, this one will be for the regular season league title. If the Loggers pull off an upset, the teams will tie for the regular season championship.