No. 1 Auburn faces tough path to title after regional loss. Trojans have done it before

The banner, featuring a picture taken two years ago on the floor at the Tacoma Dome, hangs prominently on the east wall of the Auburn High School gymnasium. The gold ball trophy hoisted high above the 2022 Trojans boys basketball team says it all.

That team owns the only 3A state title in program history – perhaps until Saturday night. The 2024 edition of Auburn basketball enters the Tacoma Dome carrying the lofty No. 1 seed to the tournament this week.

But they don’t mind the comparisons being made between themselves and that No. 2-seeded team that beat Rainier Beach for the championship two years ago.

“Those guys kind of showed us the way, laid the groundwork,” Auburn coach Ryan Hansen said. “It was a successful formula, so we’re going to try to follow that the best we can.”

Though they might not have wanted to follow the blueprint quite as closely, the Trojans will have to do things almost exactly the same after losing their first game in the state of Washington all season in the Regional round – 60-54 to No. 8 North Central.

The loss forces Auburn to win four games at the Tacoma Dome, beginning with a Round of 12 contest at 9 a.m. against No. 17 Lincoln in a loser-out contest. Two years ago, it was another team from the Greater Spokane League, Mount Spokane, that beat the second-seeded Trojans in Regionals, 69-58.

The 2021-22 team overcame the setback. This group looks to duplicate the result.

“This has been two years in a row, three now, that we’ve done this,” Hansen said. “We’re very familiar with this path. We talked this year about cutting three nets. That’s been the goal for us all year. That third goal is still right there for us.”

This season’s group has a pair of ties to that state championship game and team.

Senior Luvens Valcin played and contributed in that game as a sophomore.

“This group, we’ve been here before,” Valcin said. “That’s how we won state in ’22. We’ve just got to come out, keep our heads high, have a chip on our shoulder. We’ve been here before and we want to win, to grind.”

Athletically gifted, Valcin plays bigger than his 6-foot-2 frame would suggest. At 218 pounds, the football running back is strong enough to defend much taller post players, and his ability to jump out of the gym means he can rebound with anybody.

He even won the opening tip against North Central, jumping against 6-11 Jacori Ervin.

It’s the other tie to 2022 that makes the Auburn offense hum, however. Junior Jaylen Petty was a freshman in that title game, just for the side at Rainier Beach. Petty transferred to Auburn before last season and proceeded to win the North Puget Sound League MVP award as a sophomore.

It’s a feat Petty repeated this season. The 5-11 guard scores in multiple ways, shooting from virtually anywhere on the floor, from the midcourt stripe in to pulling up for mid-range jumpers or exploding to the rim.

Petty actually prefers not to compare the two Auburn teams.

“I have brotherhoods at both places,” Petty said. “I would just say, I’m welcomed here and I am able to showcase what I can do. We never get our heads down. We always look to the next play. I feel like that’s what we’re going to do on Wednesday and come out and be ready to play.”

Playing the first day has become old hat for the Trojans, after all. Last Friday’s loss to the Wolfpack added a second blemish to the record, which previously had only a tournament loss in late December to the Ironwood Eagles out of Glendale, Arizona, on it.

“Yeah, we just have to make sure we aren’t having our heads down, none of that,” said Petty, who himself struggled through his worst shooting night of the season against North Central. “We’ve got to make sure we work hard in practice and be ready. Because it’s not done.”

Petty made just six of 21 shots in the Regional and was only one of 12 from behind the 3-point arc. Opponents at the Dome shouldn’t expect any such repeats from the league MVP.

But even if the Auburn offense struggles, the Trojans know they can stay in a game, again due to a commonality with that state title team.

“Our foundation is really built on our defense,” Hansen said. “We defend at a high level like that team did. We preach a lot about toughness and our kids really buy into that. Our kids play really tough and physical. What we lack in size, we have kids with really big hearts. I believe in that. I believe that toughness wins. It’s been a great formula for us over the years.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 5:00 AM.