Isaiah Smith took care of the scoring.
Mack Stromme took care of the boards.
Devin Bolds and Chad Love took care of the defense on the perimeter.
All that allowed Columbia River to take care of Mountain View in a matchup of league unbeatens.
Smith scored 30 points, and the Chieftains used a 21-0 run en route to a 55-35 boys basketball victory over the Thunder to take over sole possession of first place in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League.
“This is a really big accomplishment,” said Smith, who was 11 of 21 from the floor. “It gives us more confidence down the road. We’re still going to work hard and play hard like we do. Hopefully, we’ll win out.”
Columbia River (10-2 overall) improved to 4-0 in league play. Mountain View (7-3) dropped to 2-1.
Columbia River coach David Long said it was a combination of his team playing strong defense and a Thunder team that struggled on offense.
“They’re a much better shooting team than you witnessed tonight,” Long said. “Part of that was our effort, though. It was more than just an off night for them. Our kids put them in some uncomfortable situations.”
Or one long uncomfortable situation.
Mountain View jumped out to an 8-2 lead with 3:40 left in the first quarter. The Thunder would go 8 minutes and 46 seconds before they would score again.
Columbia River took advantage, scoring the next 21 points for a 23-8 advantage.
Rian Bassett came off the bench and threw down a dunk to start the second quarter for the first of his 10 points. That made it a 12-0 spurt, and it seemed to make the Chieftains want even more big plays.
“It gave us a lot of momentum,” Bassett said. “And then we just kept fighting until the end.”
“I don’t even remember going on that run,” said Bolds, who had his typical all-around game with six points, seven assists, and four steals. “I just remember everyone getting excited, them calling a timeout, and when they came back, we kept putting it on them.”
That would be defensive pressure. Bolds and Love harassed the Mountain View guards, while Stromme, Smith, and Bassett each blocked shots in the key. Stromme also led the Chieftains with 11 rebounds.
The lead was as high as 16 before Mountain View’s Luke DuChesne made a 3-pointer to make it a 13-point game at the half. The Thunder went 10 minutes, 42 seconds between field goals and were 4 of 24 at that point.
“We just tried to win the third and fourth quarters,” Smith said. “We tried to not let them come back.”
The Thunder had a couple of here-they-come moments in the second half but never really got back into the contest. Zach Torson, who led Mountain View with 11 points, had five points in a row in the third quarter. Grayson Anderson had back-to-back scores early in the fourth to make it 39-29. However, Bolds responded with a score and Smith, the 6-7 post, buried a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 15.
“That was a big game for us,” Bolds said. “We came into their house and we won.”
Still, there are eight league games remaining so the Chieftains were not about to say anything more than it was a good win for them.
“I told them to celebrate tonight, then we come back to work tomorrow,” Long said. “It’s too early to pat yourself on the back.”
Long also does not expect another game like this the second time the Chieftains face the Thunder.
“I was hoping we could pull of a win, but I didn’t expect it to be by this margin,” he said. “This was a real special night for us.”
COLUMBIA RIVER 55, MOUNTAIN VIEW 35
COLUMBIA RIVER — Devin Bolds 6, Eli Evenson 1, Michael Barnes 0, Lance Voorhees 2, Rian Bassett 10, John Hanberg 0, Chad Love 4, Curtis Shuck 2, Austin Cloyd 0, Mack Stromme 0, Isaiah Smith 30. Totals 23 (1) 8-18 55.
MOUNTAIN VIEW — Akash Sanghera 0, Zach Torson 11, Taylor Drey 4, Ryan Johnson 4, Grayson Anderson 4, Luke DuChesne 5, Rico Bolivar 7, Sean McCauley 0, Shane McCauley 0. Totals 14 (3) 4-9 35.
Columbia River 12 15 12 16—55
Mountain View 8 6 9 12—35
JV — Columbia River won. C — Columbia River won.
