HS Boys Basketball: Cedarcrest Defense Shuts Down WF West

1/3/26

Cedarcrest 48, WF West 41

(Chehalis, WA) The holiday season gave many teams around the state a break before 2026 came around in which league play would get going. Both Cedarcrest and WF West would begin the new year with another non-league matchup as the two looked to work out some kinks in a 2A clash. Cedarcrest entered the new year with just one loss to a 2A foe, falling by three to Lindbergh but began the new year with a win on Friday night over Sultan. WF West meanwhile would hope for a turnaround as they began 2026 on a two-game skid.

Neither offense looked comfortable in the opening minutes of this one as it was a turnover heavy opening quarter. Tyler Hall got the scoring going as he hit a couple of threes to get the Red Wolves off to a good start. Cody Schwarz found success in the paint for WF West but would get a breather in the final few minutes and that stalled out the Bearcat offense. Neither side could capitalize on the turnover heavy 1st and after a quarter of play it was just a 9-6 lead for Cedarcrest.

Things began to pick up in the 2nd quarter as both teams found a bit of a groove on offense. Tyler Hall continued to be the go-to guy for Cedarcrest but help came from Brandon Pena Preciado and Samuel Emery. Colton Pipe played good minutes off the Red Wolves bench on both ends, but WF West had their own surge offensively. Fox Rogerson began to knock down some open shots, starting with a three that gave WF West their first lead of the game. Turnovers continued to stall out the Bearcats as Cedarcrest had a two-point lead with the shot clock turned off when the Red Wolves forced a steal. Hall was fouled in the final second of the half and hit both free throws to give Cedarcrest a 26-22 lead at the half.

It was a quiet first half for 6’9 senior Thomas Davenport but his defense and rebounding was a major key for Cedarcrest. WF West could not find success driving to the basket with Davenport blocking everything in sight. Preciado was injured early in the 3rd, but still played strong minutes while the defense continued to lead the way for Cedarcrest. Hayden Rooney ended the 3rd with a big time surge on offense to prevent Cedarcrest from pulling away but the Red Wolves led 38-33 heading to the 4th.

There still was not much offense to speak of from either side but the Red Wolves cut down on their turnovers and really controlled time of possession. Tyler Hall led the offense late but just when Cedarcrest started to pull away, WF West stormed back. Cody Schwarz found more late success in the paint while Rogerson hit another big three to cut it to a one-possession game. Samuel Emery played hero with a massive jumper from the corner before also hitting two free throws to seal the deal. Defense led the way to Cedarcrest as they moved to 2-0 in 2026 with a 48-41 win over WF West.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Tyler Hall for Cedarcrest. The senior got the Red Wolves scoring going with a couple of threes right out of the gate on his way to a game-high 17 points. Adding in his defense to his fantastic shot creation and Hall was the catalyst for the big non-league win for Cedarcrest.

The win moves Cedarcrest to 6-3 on the season as they make it back-to-back wins. The Red Wolves will look to make it three wins in a row on Tuesday at 7:15pm when they visit Eastlake. WF West falls to 3-6 with their third consecutive loss but the Bearcats will hope to turn things around in their EvCo 2A opener on Tuesday at 7pm at Tumwater.

Scoring

Cedarcrest: Tyler Hall 17, Samuel Emery 9, Brandon Pena Preciado 7, Colton Pipe 6, Thomas Davenport 3, Colt Foster 2, Zack Mueller 2, Josh Moore 2

WF West: Cody Schwarz 14, Hayden Rooney 11, Fox Rogerson 8, Race Rockey 4, Wyatt Hoffman 2, Gage Grisham 2

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)