Boys basketball: Columbia River 49, Ridgefield 39

The Ridgefield boys basketball team shut down Columbia River star Jacob Hjort.

But the Spudders couldn’t contain Hjort’s teammates. Others stepped up as River opened 2A Greater St. Helens League play with a 49-39 win Monday at Ridgefield.

Hjort, who averaged 18 points a game last season, scored two points and didn’t have a field goal Monday.

Nasseen Gutierrez scored 14 points while Jack Armstrong and Nate Snook each added 13 points. The was enough offense for the Chieftains (4-2, 1-0).

“He’s such a good player; he makes his teammates better,” Ridgefield coach Jason Buffum said. “He was the decoy on a lot of plays.”

Ridgefield used a box-and-one defense, which is often used to defend teams with one dominant scorer. Tim Radosevich did his job, keeping Hjort in check.

But River pulled away in the third quarter, largely thanks to Gutierrez. The 6-foot-6 forward drew several fouls, scoring eight points from the free throw line in the quarter.

Kellen Bringhurst scored 11 points to lead Ridgefield (4-2, 0-1).

COLUMBIA RIVER 49, RIDGEFIELD 39

COLUMBIA RIVER (4-2, 1-0) — Nate Snook 13, Damitre Wells 0, David Anderson 0, Mason Waite 3, Jacob Hjort 2, Evan Dirksen 4, Caden Dezort 0, Kiran Brar 0, Jack Armstrong 13, Brenden Geist 0, Nasseen Gutierrez 14, Kyle Gomez 0, Matt Asplund 0. Totals 19 (4) 7-15 49.

RIDGEFIELD (4-2, 0-1) — Tim Radosevich 6, Carter Pankow 0, Matt Gama 6, Kade Ramey 4, Cameron Short 4, Kellen Bringhurst 11, Matthew Armstrong 6, Joe Lindbo 0, Wyatt Layman 0. Totals 10 (4) 7-10 39.

Col.River 12 14 18 5–49

Ridgefield 8 13 8 10–39

JV — River 62-25.

C — River won.