HS Boys Basketball: WF West Post Dominance Catalyst to First EvCo Win Over Aberdeen

1/14/25

WF West 81, Aberdeen 60

(Chehalis, WA) Two teams that were on opposite ends of the Evergreen 2A Conference standings met for a Tuesday night showdown as the Aberdeen Bobcats looked to move to 3-0 in league play after wins over Centralia and Shelton last week. Meanwhile, the WF West Bearcats looked to snap a three-game losing streak with all losses coming by single digits as they searched for their first league win. With little room for error for the Bearcats, they looked to jumpstart their league title defense against a surging Bobcats squad.

Immediately, WF West started attacking the paint and used their size advantage to build a lead. After Weston Potter scored the first basket of the game, Grady Westlund took over and rattled off a quick six points. However, he picked up some fouls and Aberdeen’s offense got going. Tarren Lewis started to knock down shots to get the Bobcats going. Ryker Scott and Jhacob Quezada also got involved to give Aberdeen a lead at one point. Hayden Rooney off the bench however would consistently get to the free throw line and cashed in on his opportunities to give WF West an 18-16 lead after a quarter.

Early in the 2nd, Aberdeen lost leading scorer Tarren Lewis to an injury and without their quarterback on offense, things began to unravel. Turnovers and the emergence of Carlos Vallejo had the Bearcats rolling as they continued to dominate down low. After hitting a three in the opening quarter, Vallejo used excellent foot work along with his size to dominate down low. The senior tallied 12 points in the 2nd quarter alone as WF West began to pull away. A late three for Potter put an exclamation point on a dominant 2nd in which WF West outscored Aberdeen 21-6 to take a 39-22 lead into halftime.

Aberdeen’s offense looked a lot better in the second half as other guys began to step up. Isaac Garcia started knocking down every shot in sight. Whether it was off the dribble or a catch and shoot, Garcia caught fire as Aberdeen would not allow WF West to pull away. The problem for the Bobcats was that they couldn’t string stops together. WF West continued to score on offense as Vallejo and Westlund were too much of a problem in the paint for Aberdeen. With one quarter to go it was a 53-37 lead for WF West.

Saving the best quarter for last, Aberdeen did find a way to put up 23 points in the final quarter of the game. While Garcia continued to roll, both Ryker Scott and Jhacob Quezada got their three pointers to start falling. Xanto Raya also knocked down a couple of threes in the final eight minutes. With Vallejo out of the game, Grady Westlund would end up putting the finishing touches on this one. As Ross Kelley continued to feed his posts, Westlund continued to score off both set plays for him and offensive putbacks. The post duo for WF West was just too much as Vallejo and Westlund combined for 44 points, leading the Bearcats to an 81-60 win over Aberdeen.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Carlos Vallejo for WF West. The Bearcat senior post started the game with a three before taking over in the paint in the 2nd quarter. 12 of his 24 points came in the 2nd when he had to step up with Grady Westlund in foul trouble. As Aberdeen even tried to foul Vallejo to send him to the line, his free throw shooting improved as well while Vallejo also controlled the boards and played strong defense. Desperate for a win, WF West got a monster performance from Carlos Vallejo to net the win.

WF West moves to 5-8 overall and 1-2 in EvCo play after their first league win. The Bearcats will continue league play on Thursday when they visit Shelton. Aberdeen drops to 3-6 on the season and 2-1 in league play after they suffered their first EvCo defeat. Aberdeen will look to bounce back on Thursday with a trip to Tumwater to take on the T-Birds. Both games tip-off at 7pm.

Scoring

Aberdeen: Ryker Scott 16, Jhacob Quezada 14, Isaac Garcia 12, Tarren Lewis 7, Xanto Raya 6, Jayden Gladson 3, Luke Martin 2

WF West: Carlos Vallejo 24, Grady Westlund 20, Weston Potter 12, Hayden Rooney 10, Ross Kelley 4, Wyatt Hoffman 4, Luke McMillan 3, Gage Brumfield 2, Alex Stafford 2

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show