One day can change a lot in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.
Wednesday shook up the boys basketball race.
Prairie got its first win in league play with a 69-50 victory over Fort Vancouver. And halfway through the schedule, the Falcons are a game out of first place.
What? Huh?
One win? One game out of first place? Midway through the league schedule?
Of course. Because also on Wednesday, the first-place team — Columbia River — lost.
Just like that, one game separates the four-team, six-game league.
Palmer Goecke scored 17 points, leading four Falcons in double figures on Wednesday as Prairie rolled over Fort Vancouver.
Seth Hall had 14 points and was key in the pivotal third quarter, and Dwayne Stewart had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds for Prairie.
The Falcons were desperate — and they played like it, too.
“If you start the league 0-3, it’s hard to come back from that,” Hall said. “It was a must-win game for us, and we got it done.”
“Coach was saying our backs were against the walls,” Stewart said. “Practice is what started it going for us, and then we brought it to the game.”
With Wednesday’s results, the four-team league is a four-team race again. Kelso beat Columbia River, leaving both of those teams at 2-1 in GSHL play. Prairie and Fort are now 1-2.
Fort Vancouver coach James Ensley said “it showed” that Prairie wanted this one more than his team.
The numbers back him up, too.
Prairie grabbed 47 rebounds against the Trappers. Fort Vancouver had 23 rebounds.
Ensley said as long as this effort does not carry over into practice Thursday, he does not even plan on going over this game.
“Flush it,” he said. “We’re not even going to talk about it again.”
The Falcons won’t mind talking about it a little bit more. After all, they felt like they saved their season.
“Coach was telling us it gets the train rolling,” Hall said. “Once the train gets rolling, it’s hard to stop.”
The Falcons used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to take the lead for good.
“We just wanted to win a league game and give ourselves an opportunity,” Prairie coach Kyle Brooks said. “With six games, every game is a playoff game.”
The Trappers cut it to a four-point game at the half. Then Prairie scored the first nine points of the second half.
Hall had seven of his points in the third quarter, His last field goal of the period gave Prairie a 15-point lead at 49-34.
Fort Vancouver’s Jordan Suell, who led the Trappers with 18 points, scored the next seven points of the game, but Michael Stockbridge and Goecke ended the third with Prairie points to make it a 12-point game. The Falcons held Fort to nine points in the fourth quarter.
Stockbridge scored 13 points, going 4 for 6 from the floor.
Two plays stood out that told this game’s story: Prairie had a four-shot possession in the second quarter with Greg Bernash, Goecke, and Ethan Rouse getting offensive bounds, leading to a 3-pointer from Stockbridge. Then in the third quarter, Stewart had a three-point play the real hard way, making a free throw, missing the second, but racing in to grab the offensive rebound for the put-back basket.
“We usually don’t get rebounds like that. We did good,” Stewart said. “We executed on offense and got it done on defense.”
Just like that, everything has changed in the 3A GSHL.
PRAIRIE 69, FORT VANCOUVER 50
FORT VANCOUVER — Will Doty 13, Jorge Regalado 2, Jacob Brugman 4, David Bishop 9, Jordan Suell 18, Kyron Lowe-Ash 0, Ronald Hayes 0, Nathan Harris 2, Javier Lara 0, Billy Henderson 0, Ryan Clinton 2, Marco Jimenez 0. Totals 18-53 (3-20) 11-18 50.
PRAIRIE — Palmer Goecke 17, Michael Stockbridge 13, Seth Hall 14, Dwayne Stewart 11, Greg Bernash 8, Ethan Rouse 0, Jacob Donaldson 4, Brandon Crosby 0, Walker Hausherr 0, Koy Osborn 2. Totals 21-55 (4-19) 23-27 69.
Ft. Vanc. 12 17 12 9—50
Prairie 19 14 20 16—69
