Alex Hegel scored 22 points, Alex Bailey added 17 and Mountain View rallied for a season-opening win.
Mountain View opened the fourth quarter on a 16-5 run to lead 71-62 with 2:44 to play. Hegel, a 6-foot-3 post, had 10 points in the final quarter.
Washougal pulled within 75-72 and had the ball with 24 seconds to play. But Makai Anderson’s block denied Washougal’s attempt to get a quick two-point shot.
Washougal jumped to a 20-10 lead, with Moses McEwen scoring 17 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter.
But Mountain View clawed withing 33-30 at halftime behind its swarming defense, something new coach JC Alexander wants to be his team’s hallmark.
“In high school basketball, if you can apply defensive pressure you can usually cause some turnovers and make something happen,” he said.
Carter Murray added 24 points for Washougal, which also has a new coach in AJ Labree.
Labree spent the last eight years of his 14-year coaching career at Sehome, where he went 121-77 and finished fourth place at the 2A state tournament in 2015.
“They’re going to fight hard,” Labree said. “They want to be coached, they want to hustle, they want to learn how to win. I think as the season progresses, you’re going to see these guys come around.”
MOUNTAIN VIEW 77, WASHOUGAL 72
WASHOUGAL (0-1) — Alex Orr 2, Carter Murray 24, Ben Gutkind 2, Moses McEwen 25, Ryan Bausch 5, Kade Coons 0, John Miner 4, Tanner Coltrane 0, Troy Prince-Butterfield 5, Nick Oakes 5. Totals 25 (8) 14-25 72.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (1-0) — Michael Bolds 0, Makai Anderson 9, Philip Earnhardt 6, Jordan Cook 2, Alex Hegel 22, Trevor Green 0, Sam Frosch 10, Will Prescott 4, Alex Bailey 17, Rodolfo Montiel 5. Totals 30 (4) 13-22 77.
Washougal 20 13 24 15–72
Mtn.View 10 20 25 22–77
JV — Mountain View 77-56
