High school boys basketball roundup: Auburn leaves little doubt in their 3A District 3 Championship win

SATURDAY (FEB. 19)

NO. 3 AUBURN 84, NO. 1 TIMBERLINE 61

The Trojans not only claimed the 3A District 3/4 Championship for the first time in coach Ryan Hansen’s 20 year career at Auburn, but they also did it on their home floor.

There was no doubt that the Trojans came out hungry and locked in on cutting down their own nets, as they took an early 20-13 lead after the first quarter. Auburn would not look back.

In fact, they did not score below 20 points in any given quarter.

“It feels great to win. This has been something we have been working hard for all year long,” Hansen said. “Our goal was to cut down the nets and it was really fun to see them locked in on their goals. [Senior] Dae’Kwon Watson did an especially good job holding down [junior] Miles Gurske. He scored over 30 the other night, but tonight [Watson] forced 10 turnovers. Gurkse also scored 15, but he had to work for them.”

Offensively, the Trojans did what works best for their offense and shared the ball. When the right play presented itself, Auburn took advantage.

Leading all Trojan scored was senior Kaden Hansen with 22. Winning a district championship meant something a little extra for him because he got to share the moment with his father, coach Ryan Hansen.

Following Kaden’s big night was senior Tre Blassingame’s 20 points. Senior Maleek Arrington and junior Semaj Brown contributed 17 and 12 points respectively.

Following their win, Auburn now waits to see who they will be paired against for regionals.

BOX SCORE

A: 20-20-21-23--84

T: 13-20-13-15--61

Scoring: (A) Kaden Hansen 22, Tre Blassingame 20, Maleek Arrington 17, Semaj Brown 12

NO. 2 NORTH KITSAP 49, NO. 1 WHITE RIVER 38

The Rams’ offense was just too much for the Hornets to overcome in the 2A District 2/3 Championship.

Leading 21-17 at the half, North Kitsap found their offense through sophomore Cade Orness and senior Aiden Olmstead.

Orness led his team in scoring with 16 points and tacked on seven assists. Olmstead nabbed a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in their win.

Scoring: (NK) Cade Orness 16 (7 assists), Aiden Olmstead 15 (12 rebounds), Harrison Davies 7 (5 rebounds), Johnny Olmstead 6 (7 rebounds), Mason Chmielewski 5

FEB. 18

NO. 2 R.A. LONG 58, NO. 1 TUMWATER 50

The Thunderbird at one point held a seven-point lead over the Lumberjacks, but the R.A. Long squad just kept chipping away at the lead.

With about 3:30 left in the third quarter, the Lumberjacks tied the game at 28 points. From there, the momentum swung their way when the shots they missed in the first half started falling in the second.

“Defensively, they have guys who are good scorers like Cavin Holden, Jamond Harris and, Lonnie Brown, Jr,” said Tumwater coach Josh Wilson. “They did a good job at battling. Honestly, it was nothing that we did wrong, they just started to make their shots. Holden is hard to hold down the entire game and he just broke loose.”

Early in the game, the T-Birds’ junior Luke Brewer was a scoring machine. By the end of the first quarter, he scored 11 points. But again, things slowed down for Tumwater as Brewer saw more defense thrown his way. He would only score eight more points for a team-high of 19.

Entering the fourth quarter tied at 36, R.A. Long just kept making offensive plays. The momentum had completely shifted over to the Lumberjacks and they were able to complete their comeback. In the process, they handed Tumwater just their fourth loss of the season.

“If I had it my way, this loss would motivate them for the next round of basketball,” Wilson said. “Hopefully they learn from it and we figure out how to move on. Honestly, It wasn’t a big deal since we are locked for regionals. It would have been nice to cut down the nets, but we have bigger things ahead.”

Both the T-Birds and Lumberjacks clinched spots in regionals, and have yet to find out who they will be playing.

BOX SCORE

T: 18-6-12-14--50

RA: 11-8-13-22--58

Scoring: (T) Luke Brewer 19

FEB. 16

NO. 1 WHITE RIVER 74, NO. 8 BREMERTON 62

Top-seeded White River dug an early deficit, though a quick turnaround and red-hot third quarter propelled the Hornets to a 74-62 win over Bremerton.

The Hornets (18-2, 14-0 2A SPSL) entered the District 2/3 2A tournament with an unblemished league record. They’ll aim for that title on Friday and Saturday, but one thing is certain -- White River is on to state.

Down six after the opening period, the Hornets wound up with a halftime lead, albeit a slim three-point advantage. An explosion by their offense in the third quarter — 26 points, to be exact — pushed White River’s lead to 12.

Hornets guard Dane Goudy led the game with 24 points, and drained a trio of three-pointers in the third. Carson Voellger, White River’s six-foot-seven senior forward, added 21.

“(Bremerton) started really hot,” Hornets coach Zach Johnson told The News Tribune. “We just finally relaxed, settled in, and played inside out. We took advantage of our height.

“We took care of their shooters, handled the pressure, relaxed, and we just ran away with it.”

The Hornets meet No. 4 Port Angeles in the district semifinals on Friday. Both have qualified for the state tournament, but they’ll play for a trip to the Saturday’s district final.

Bremerton’s Ruppe Wilson led the Knights with 19 points. Trevon Pietz and Kanye Taylor added 17 apiece.

BOX SCORE

B: 20-8-17-17--62

WR: 14-17-26-17--74

Scoring: (WR) Dane Goudy 24, Caron Voellger 21; (B) Ruppe Wilson 19, Trevon Pietz 17, Kanye Taylor 17

NO. 9 SAMMAMISH 85, NO. 14 STEILACOOM 65

Steilacoom kept every quarter competitive, but never found the momentum to push beyond Sammamish.

The Sentinels dropped an opening-round meeting with Sammamish, 85-65, effectively ending their hopes of a 2A state tournament berth.

Jaydus Green led Steilacoom with 16 points; Stephon Brown and Vincent Foster added 14 apiece.

They’re a young team, with state tournament aspirations in 2023. Coach Eric Overgaard expects seven returnees next season — two freshmen, two sophomores, and a trio of juniors.

“We’re very young,” Overgaard said. “We kept fighting.

“And next year, we’re going to be very good.”

BOX SCORE

SAM: 23-17-23-22--85

ST: 19-13-19-14--65

NO. 4 PORT ANGELES 68, NO. 5 FRANKLIN PIERCE 51

A trio of Cardinals put together double-digit scoring performances, but Franklin Pierce’s 19-point halftime lead proved insurmountable on Wednesday night.

Wyatt Dunning’s 28 points led the way for Port Angeles, and the Roughriders booked their ticket to the 2A state tournament after a 68-51 win.

“It’s playoff basketball,” Franklin Pierce coach John Barbee said. “(They’re) a quality team... we were down double digits early, and it’s just really hard to come back from that.”

Aside from Dunning’s game-high 28, Port Angeles’ John Vaara chipped in with 12 and used his six-foot-nine frame to stifle the Cardinal offense.

“It was their size, inside with (Vaara),” Barbee said. “He’s a force inside. I don’t know that he blocked that many shots, but he did a great job of altering a lot of shots. We never got clean looks.”

Mason Thomas scored a team-high 19 points for Franklin Pierce. John John Barbee added 17, and freshman Javon Barbee scored 10.

There’s still a path for the Cardinals to reach the state tournament, but they’ll need consecutive wins on Friday and Saturday to stay alive.

Scoring: (PA) Wyatt Dunning 28, John Vaara 12; (FP) Mason Thomas 19, John John Barbee 17, Javon Barbee 10

NO. 11 TOUTLE LAKE 60, NO. 4 CHIEF LESCHI 40

By halftime, Toutle Lake led by 15 and never looked back.

The Ducks (14-7, 5-5 2B Central) only built on their lead, and kept their season alive with a 60-40 win over Chief Leschi in a District 4 2B elimination game.

Sophomore guard Zach Swanson led the game with 27 points, Ryan Peerboom of The Daily News reported.

“We fell short tonight... we were really banged up coming out of those first three rounds,” Chief Leschi coach Scott Halasz told The News Tribune. “We got everybody coming back (though) and gained some valuable experience going into next year.”

Chief Leschi’s state tournament hopes are over, but their core remains the same come 2023. Fred Lewis and Justin James, the team’s top scorers, have one more year with the Warriors. Sharpshooter Michael Spino is a sophomore. Brendon Brown, another starter, has a year left on the team, too.

Chief Leschi’s girls basketball team beat Wahkiakum on Tuesday night, and will play Raymond for the District 4 title on Saturday. Win or loss, they’ve already booked their ticket to the 2B state tournament.

MORE SCORES

DISTRICT 2/3 2A TOURNAMENT

No. 2 North Kitsap 81, No. 7 Clover Park 72

No. 6 Enumclaw 57, No. 3 Renton 50

No. 11 Washington 71, No. 15 Foster 65

FEB. 12

NO. 9 SUMNER 52, NO. 15 SKYVIEW 41

When the buzzer signaled halftime, Sumner’s defense had allowed just 10 first-half points — by far a season-best.

The Spartans wound up with a 52-41 over Skyview, and kept their 4A state title hopes alive with a first-round win in the District 3/4 tournament.

It didn’t hurt to have five practice days in preparation for one game, Sumner coach Jake Jackson admitted. In his words, the first quarter was like Christmas; using a half-court press, Sumner swarmed their Skyivew opponents. The Storm succumbed to shot clock violations, travels, and out-of-bounds turnovers. After eight minutes, they had scored just one basket.

“They’re a solid team,” Jackson told The News Tribune. “All of those teams down south in Vancouver... they play hard. They’re high IQ. They’re physical. They’re big.

“I’m proud of our guys, man.”

Senior guard Ethan Canion led the Spartans with 15 points, all of which were scored via three-pointer. Ty Edwards scored 12 points for Sumner, and Connor Chalich added 10.

Skyview’s Colton Looney led his team and co-led the game with 15 points.

The Storm scored more than half of their points in the final quarter -- and benefited from missed free throws by Sumner in the waning minutes -- but a 19-point deficit proved insurmountable. Their 4A state tournament hopes are over.

Sumner’s win in Saturday’s loser-out game puts them two wins away from a state tournament berth.

BOX SCORE

SV: 2-8-10-21--41

S: 15-9-15-13--52

Scoring: (S) Ethan Canion 15, Ty Edwards 12; (SV) Colton Looney 15

NO. 2 MOUNT TAHOMA 79, NO. 7 CAPITAL 49

What a game for senior Asjon Anderson.

Although his shots weren’t falling in the first half, the senior finished his night with a triple-double consisting of 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Anderson was also perfect from the free-throw line, going 10-for-10.

But it wasn’t all just Anderson as he is just one of the cogs in the T-Birds’ offensive machine.

“The main reason our offense was so good tonight was that we were sharing the ball very well,” said coach Jason Townsend. “Capital’s defense was boxing in on Asjon. That’s when we started to hit three-pointers. Then they got out of that defense, and we responded by swinging the ball in the open court. We controlled the rebounds and beat them up and down the court.”

Because there was such a focus on Anderson, other players like seniors Ezekial Clark and DJ Laffitte were able to put together solid performances. Clark had the more productive night points-wise by scoring 21, while Laffitte had a double-double with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

Defensively, the T-Birds started to slow down on their rotations in the second quarter. That led to a 19-point period for the Cougars and a conversation at halftime between Townsend and his players.

“My message at the half was that we want to keep our opponents to 10 or 11 points per quarter,” Townsend said. “It wasn’t necessarily the Cougars’ offense that lit us up, we were just slow on our rotations. We needed to step it up, and I told them if they were not going to play then there were five others that would be subbed in for them. Out of halftime, my guys got three straight turnovers.”

The length and quickness the T-Birds had over the Cougars caused them problems all game and earned Mount Tahoma a rematch with Auburn in the district semifinals.

Although they already suffered a 47-80 loss to the Trojans, Townsend thinks this time will be different. Anderson and senior Ryan Tran won’t be banged up, and their defense will play smarter.

The Cougars’ leading scorers were sophomore Cooper Carlson with 15 points and junior Carl Schreck with 14.

BOX SCORE

MT: 18-18-17-26--79

C: 9-19-11-10--49

Scoring: (MT) Asjon Anderson 30 (12 rebounds, 12 assists), Ezekial Clark 21, DJ Laffitte 11 (18 rebounds); (C) Cooper Carlson 15, Carl Schreck 14

NO. 11 LINCOLN 75, NO. 14 KENT-MERIDIAN 55

The plan for the Abes was to protect the rim, and that’s exactly what they did in their win over the Royals in the District 3 3A District Tournament.

Whenever they were on defense, Lincoln’s players were putting heavy pressure on the ball handlers. Their goal was to keep any opposing Royal away from the inside and shoot contested shots from the outside.

The plan worked as Kent-Merdian was only able to shoot 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.

“A lot of times defense sparks our offense. We made them take outside jump shots, and when we came down with the ball, we found our open guy in the half-court to created easy buckets,” said coach Ryan Rogers. “We got killed at the free-throw line, though. They went 15-for-18 and that kept them in the game.”

Despite the Royals sticking around longer than the Abes wanted them to, there was still plenty of offense from the Lincoln Squad. Senior Parker Androy scored a game-high 22 points. Junior Gabarri Johnson scored 12 and Treshon Ports Jackson scored 11.

The Royals were led by junior Dane Lewis’ 20 points.

The win for the Abes will pit them against Gig Harbor in the next round of districts. The Tides lost to Auburn in the opening round, but Rogers is expecting a disciplined team in their match-up.

BOX SCORE

L: 17-19-15-24--75

KM: 8-11-14-22--55

Scoring: (L) Parker Androy 22, Gabarri Johnson 12, Treshon Ports Jackson 11; (KM) Dane Lewis 20

NO. 13 SILAS 73, NO. 12 CENTRAL KITSAP 48

The Rams’ win over the Cougars was not as easy as the score may suggest. Even with the 25 point victory, the game was relatively close at the half.

However, big performances from junior Keon Dewalt and sophomore Tre Walker ensured that the Rams will play another game in the District 3 3A District Tournament.

“Our guards were extra aggressive tonight. [Dewalt and Walker] had really big games, we saw some really solid play from them,” said coach Mike Cocké. “We did a great job in the second half defensively, as well. Our guys rebounded well and got good transition baskets.”

Dewalt and Walker combined for 41 points for the Rams, with Dewalt scoring 22 and Walker earning the other 19. Both players were emblematic of Cocké’s philosophy of giving everything they have on the court.

Silas advances in the lower bracket of the district tournament where they will meet up against league rival Spanaway Lake. The Rams and Sentinels split their regular-season meetings.

The third game will have more at stake for the familiar squads, as the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.

BOX SCORE

S: 21-6-24-22--73

CK: 12-10-15-11--48

Scoring (S) Keon Dewalt 22, Tre Walker 19

NO. 4 KELSO 70, NO. 5 SPANAWAY LAKE 47

The three-headed monster of senior Michael Foust, junior Ethan Mitchell and sophomore Payton Stewart proved to be too much for the Sentinels to overcome.

Although the Hilanders jumped out to a big lead early in the game, Spanaway Lake clawed their way to within two points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

However, that’s when Kelso had their best offensive quarter, outscoring the Sentinels 27-6. Foust led all scored with 27 points. Mitchell added 14 and Stewart had 12.

Although seniors Tray Sullivan and Tino Liulevaega scored 15 and 11 for Spanaway Lake, it wasn’t enough in the end.

BOX SCORE

SL: 11-13-17-6--47

K: 23-8-12-27--70

Scoring: (K) Michael Foust 27, Ethan Mitchell 14, Payton Stewart 12; (SL) Tray Sullivan 15, Tino Liulevaega 11

NO. 5 TAHOMA 56, NO. 3 OLYMPIA 49

Tahoma trailed at halftime, but exploded for 25 third-quarter points and beat Olympia to clinch their spot in the 4A state tournament.

Behind a game-high 17 points from sophomore guard Adam Davis — and another 16 from Carson Talbert — the Bears recovered from a slow first half to grab Saturday night’s 56-49 win in the opening round of the District 3/4 4A tournament.

Olympia’s Andreas Engholm and Parker Gerrits, both junior guards, co-led the game with 17 of their own.

The Bears aren’t eliminated from state contention quite yet — with a pair of wins on Wednesday and Friday, Olympia would earn qualification. They’ll host Emerald Ridge on Feb. 16, needing a victory to stay alive.

BOX SCORE

T: 5-13-25-13--56

O: 8-12-13-16--49

Scoring: (T) Adam Davis 17, Carson Talbert 16; (O) Andreas Engholm 17, Parker Gerrits 17

MORE SCORES

DISTRICT 3/4 4A TOURNAMENT

No. 2 Federal Way 67, No. 7 Rogers 30

No. 4 Union 66, No. 6 Graham-Kapowsin 61

No. 10 Camas 105, No. 16 South Kitsap 61

No. 12 Bellarmine 59, No. 14 Kentridge 56

No. 13 Emerald Ridge 59, No. 11 Mount Rainier 52

DISTRICT 3/4 3A TOURNAMENT

No. 9 Mountain View 47, No. 16 Yelm 45

No. 15 Evergreen (Vancouver) 56, No. 10 Auburn Mountainview 53

This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 8:20 PM.