NEAH BAY — After a slow first quarter against an energetic Neah Bay squad, the Forks boys basketball team rallied to come from behind and win on the road 63-56 against the Red Devils.
Forks coach Keith Weekes said the game was tied with about 1:30 left to play, but the Spartans were able to pull away down the stretch.
The Red Devils got up 15-9 on the Spartans after the first quarter.
“They took it to us. They outworked us,” Weekes said. After the slow start, the Spartans scored 54 points over the final three quarters and outscored Neah Bay 38-26 in the second half. Weekes said it was nice to see his team battle back after getting punched in the mouth early by the Red Devils.
“We had five guys who were willing to buckle down,” Weekes said. “The boys put up a fight.”
Weekes said he put in a new lineup that responded. He said Aidan Salazar, Kyle Lohrengel, Bubba Hernandez and Landin Davis played well in the game.
Salazar led the Spartans with 25 points, while Hernandez, just a freshman, had one of his best games so far in his career with nine points and seven rebounds. Davis had six points and seven rebounds, while Brody Lausche had eight points and six rebounds. Lohrengel had six assists to lead the team.
The Red Devils had good balance with Mathias Greene hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 15 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Tyler Swan had a big game with 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Makyah Chambers had 14 points. He made a pair of 3-pointers. Seactis Woodruff added eight points.
After this tough win, the Spartans (2-0, 5-2) have a monster game coming up at home at 7 p.m. today against Ilwaco (2-0, 4-2) Ilwaco and Forks are tied for first place atop the Pacific 2B League standings.
“We’re going to find out where we are and what kind of team we really have,” Weekes said.
Neah Bay (1-1), which played just its second game after a long football season (The Red Devils went to the state semifinals in football), played Monday after press deadline against Clallam Bay and will play a home game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Port Angeles.
Forks 63, Neah Bay 56
Forks 9 16 19 19 — 63
NB 15 15 13 13 — 56
Forks (63) — Salazar 25, Hernandez 9, Lausche 8, Davis 6, Micheau 5, Lohrengel 4, Olson 3, Davila-Castro 3.
Neah Bay (56) — Greene 15, Swan 15, Chambers 14, Woodruff 8, Jimmicum 2, Cumming 2.
