The Wildcats turned up the defensive heat in the second half to run away from the visiting Bruins.
La Center forced White Salmon into 21 turnovers after halftime and 33 for the game. That defense fueled a 17-5 third quarter, which put La Center up 11 points.
“We keep talking about how defense fuels the offense, and that was a pretty good display of how it’s supposed to work,” La Center coach Jon Schroeder said.
La Center (12-7, 11-6) is tied with Woodland for third place in the Trico League.
Wyatt Aguirre led La Center with 22 points and AJ Myers scored 11.
Matt Braaten had seven rebounds and three steals, and Jeremiah Arn also made three steals for the Wildcats.
LA CENTER 64, WHITE SALMON 42
WHITE SALMON — Gross 2, Garwood 3, Guzman 0, Lockman 10, Austin Rabinowitz 10, Storie 8, Bond 4, Child 1, Walker 1, McLean 3. Totals 13 (2) 14-20 42.
LA CENTER — Wyatt Aguirre 22, Dylan King 1, Connor Wonderly 7, Matt Braaten 8, Jamison Benitez 0, Jonathan Griffee 3, Jeremiah Arn 2, Zach Brown 6, AJ Myers 11, Levi Van Tol 4. Totals 26 (10) 2-11 64.
White Salmon 17 9 5 11–42
La Center 14 11 17 22–64
JV — La Center won (18-0 record). C — La Center 76, Ridgefield 55.
