Mountaineers fall to Spartans in OT in first round

The Rainier boys basketball team’s postseason overcame a seven-point deficit to force overtime on Saturday against Forks, but it was the Spartans who came out on top in the extra frame 72-66 to earn a victory in the first round of the 2B District 4 Tournament.

The two teams went back-and-forth the entire game, ending the first quarter tied before Rainier (13-8, 8-5 C2BL) took a slim lead at halftime.

The third quarter was all Forks, as the Spartans scored 21 points to take a seven-point lead into the fourth.

The Mountaineers responded with 21 points of their own in the fourth, good enough to tie the game at 61 to force overtime, where the Spartans outscored Rainier 11-6.

Jake Meldrum had a phenomenal game, scoring 36 points to lead the Mountaineers. Aidan Salazar was just as impressive for the Spartans, scoring 32 points to lead them.

With the loss, Rainier drops to a loser-out game against the loser of the Adna-Ilwaco quarterfinal on Friday at Castle Rock.