Auburn’s early lead fades in 4A state regional loss to Mount Si

Mount Si stormed back from a 15-0 deficit to knock off Auburn, 56-50, on the Trojans’ home floor in state Class 4A regional boys basketball action Saturday.

Auburn fell silent for just over 11 minutes from the field after jumping out to its early big advantage, including a scoreless second quarter.

“We just got caught standing around too much,” said Trojans head coach Ryan Hansen of the scoring drought. “It’s tough to win this time of year when you don’t score for one entire period. It’s playoff time and Mount Si is a good team.”

“I was shocked when someone told me we held them scoreless in the second quarter,” said victorious Wildcats head coach Jason Griffith.

The loss dumps Auburn into a Wednesday loser-out opening round game at the Tacoma Dome.

The Trojans carry a 24-2 overall record into the game.

“They are a well coached team and play hard,” said coach Hansen of the Bears. “They are a physical group so they will be a huge challenge for us.”

Mount Si, which improved to 20-7 overall with Saturday’s win, advances directly into a 2 p.m. Thursday state quarterfinal at the dome.

The Wildcats will face the winner of a Wednesday game between Puyallup and Woodinville or Davis.

“We were just focused on trying to compete with Auburn tonight,” Griffith said. “Puyallup lost a close one to Gonzaga Prep.”

Saturday the Trojans jumped out to their 15-0 lead with a 3-point basket by Elijah Jones capping off the early surge with 2:50 to play in the first quarter.

Mount Si cut the lead to 16-8 by the end of the initial period, holding Auburn to only a Carter Hansen free throw at the 38.8 second mark.

The Wildcats came out and dominated the second quarter to lead 23-16 at the half, and the Trojans did not score again until the 7:45 mark of the second quarter when Daniel Johnson iced a 3-point shot to close the gap to 23-19.

The game was still close as late as the final minute of play, with Jones burying a 3-point shot to make it 52-50 Mount Si with 52 seconds to go.

The Wildcats were called for traveling with 27.2 seconds to go to give Auburn a chance, but the Trojans lost the ball on a pass out of bounds with 14.5 ticks left.

Brady Hennig of Mount Si drew a quick foul and made two free throws on a one-and-one opportunity to make it 54-50 with 12.5 seconds left.

Johnson of the Trojans came up empty on a 3-point try and Hennig got the ball again and was fouled with 3.2 seconds to play. He once again hit two shots on a one-and-one for the 56-50 final score.

Auburn’s Johnson led all scorers with 17 points. Jones added 12 and Isaiah Englund hit 11. Miles Henry scored seven and Hansen three.

Hennig and Drenden Knaevelsrud paced the Wildcats with 16 each. Chase Mentink and Hudson Moscrip added eight each for the team from North Bend.

This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 10:39 PM.