Ilwaco junior guard Kyle Morris (2) saves a loose ball against Naselle.

ILWACO — A championship belt and bragging rights were on the line last Saturday in a showdown between two streaking Pacific County boys basketball teams, where the Ilwaco Fishermen emerged with a convincing 76-45 non-league victory over their nearby rival Naselle.

Rivalry renewed

Despite playing in different leagues and size classifications, a rivalry between Ilwaco and Naselle simply comes with the territory. With less than 20 miles separating the neighboring schools, the game has been known as the ‘Battle for Bear River,’ complete with a wrestling-style championship belt awarded to the winner. The rivalry has somewhat faded in recent years due to scheduling changes, but is poised to make a comeback.

“I remember seeing that phrase every time we played Naselle when I was in school,” said Ilwaco head coach Eric McMillan, part of Ilwaco’s 2014 class.

“It’s kind of died out since we stopped playing them in football. Our athletic director, AJ (Mooch) Smith, was at Naselle last year, so he knows both groups of kids and he wanted to give the kids a little something extra to play for. I like that we have it now, we don’t have many schools nearby and Naselle is really the only one I would consider a real rival. Many kids know each other, some of their kids live in Chinook after all, so adding a little fuel to the fire only brings out the best in both teams.”

Buoyed by recent success, each team entered the contest with confidence and fans from both sides filled the Ilwaco gymnasium. After some early season struggles, the Comets (5-8) came in on a three-game winning streak where they outscored their opponents by an average of more than 30 points. Following a single-digit setback to Chief Leschi last Thursday, Ilwaco (10-5) recovered by reeling off back-to-back dominating wins over North Beach and South Bend.

The game started as one would expect with two talented teams both well-known to one another, with each point being well-earned in a physical matchup. After only one bucket in the opening minute, the game quickly began to separate as Ilwaco got hot and Naselle struggled to find their range from the perimeter. The Fishermen quickly turned several Comet turnovers and missed shots into easy points, starting with Ilwaco junior guard Kyle Morris launching a long outlet pass to a streaking Beckett Turner who converted an easy layup giving the Fishermen a quick 16-6 lead that capped an 11-4 run that forced a Naselle timeout late in the first-quarter.

The Fishermen kept the Comets off balance as they continued to add to their first-quarter lead while Naselle struggled to convert from the field, ending with a commanding 25-8 lead for Ilwaco after eight minutes.

In the second quarter, Ilwaco maintained their hot-shooting streak as Naselle went ice cold, closing the first half with the Fishermen holding a 45-19 lead. Ilwaco was hot from behind the arc, particularly Alex West and Kyle Morris, who went a combined 7-11 from three-point range. Ilwaco maintained the defensive pressure in the second half, ending in a decisive 76-45 victory.

“Always good to beat a rival team,” McMillan summed following the win.

“Quite a few of these guys know each other and it was a very physical game from start to finish. We had to have three guys change jerseys due to blood getting on them, so it was definitely fun for our boys to work together to pull away and beat Naselle. Most importantly to me, we were able to limit our turnovers and continued to make great passes to guys for easy looks at the basket. Naselle plays extremely hard and never quits, so it was a great challenge for us tonight.”

McMillan was especially impressed with the play of his guards: West, a senior, and Morris, a junior. Morris finished with a game-high 25 points, including going 10-for-14 from the field and 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Both players seemed to alternate big shots in the first half, allowing Ilwaco to build an insurmountable halftime lead.

“Kyle Morris kept his hot hand going and scored 17 points in the first half while Alex West got back in rhythm scoring 11 points in the first half as well. Love to see those two get cooking!” McMillan said.

“Derrick Cutting did an excellent job on the defensive end as well, as Morris and West harassed Naselle’s guards all night and forced multiple turnovers. Beckett Turner did a good job inside against Naselle’s physicality and we were able to find Sam Needham throughout the game for good looks at the basket down on the block.”

Ilwaco limited Naselle to 45 points, including only 19 in the first half, among their lowest-scoring games this season.

“We were able to throw some different defensive looks at Naselle, switching between man and zone presses as well as in the half court. I could tell our boys were really locked in from the start and did a great job of executing our gameplan. Ethan Hopkins keeps giving us great effort on the defensive end and rebounding, Jacob Rogers continues to gain confidence on both ends of the floor, Logan Kuhn gave us some great minutes, and Dylan Pelas keeps being a defensive dynamo when in the game,” McMillan said.

Up next: Ilwaco (10-5) will host Raymond (8-7) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18.