The Wildcats battled back from eight points down in the final two minutes to have a shot to tie at the end, but a game-tying 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer.
La Center will face Montesano at 6:30 p.m. at Tuesday at King’s Way Christian in a loser-out game.
Brody Seter led the Wildcats with 20 points as La Center hit 11 3-pointers.
The Wildcats led by 32-25 at halftime, but second-chance shots allowed Hoquiam to rally back and take the lead in the second half.
Dalton Morgan added 16 points for La Center and Jake Wise had seven points and nine rebounds.
