The Columbia River Rapids lost a lead in the final seconds of regulation, then lost at the buzzer in overtime in the Class 2A boys basketball state semifinals on Friday; Evergreen girls will play in the fourth-place game in the Class 3A tournament
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
They just about had the victory … twice.
Instead, the Columbia River Rapids had to endure heartache Friday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Jalen Davis received a long pass then made it to the hoop just in time, scoring with no time left on the clock to give Bremerton a 55-54 overtime victory in the semifinals of the Class 2A boys high school basketball state tournament.
While the game was always close, Columbia River led for most of the fourth quarter. The Rapids had a lead for much of overtime, too.
But Davis had the answer … two times.
It was Davis who converted a three-point play in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to OT. Then it was Davis who was ruled to have put up his final shot before the horn, sending Bremerton to Saturday’s championship game and Columbia River to the third-place game.
(Several videos of the play were posted on social media. This reporter slowed and paused one video several times and never saw a frame that showed Davis did not get the shot off in time. Also, it should be noted, there is no video replay assist in Washington high school basketball. It was a bang-bang call, at the horn.)
Columbia River was that close to playing for a state championship.
Friday’s loss ended Columbia River’s hopes at a state championship, but the game, and this week’s run, will be remembered. Columbia River was the 11-seed going into this tournament. The Rapids then beat the 3-seed and the 4-seed to advance to the semifinals before facing top-seed Bremerton.
Then River gave Bremerton almost too much to handle.
Columbia River will play at 1 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game against No. 6 Anacortes.
Kellen Clary’s inside move and bucket with 1:40 to play in overtime gave Columbia River a 54-53 lead. That was River’s final points of the game.
Clary finished with 18 points. Luca Phillips scored 14, Josh Paxton had 11, and Alex Pont scored 10 points. Chase Fitzwilson had 16 rebounds for the Rapids.
Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds for Bremerton, the defending state champion.
There were 10 lead changes and eight ties in this epic semifinal.
Clark County will have two teams bringing home trophies from state tournaments.
The Evergreen girls will be playing for fourth place in the Tacoma Dome in the Class 3A tournament.
Three other teams — the Union girls (4A), the Seton Catholic girls (1A), and Columbia Adventist boys (1B) — lost in their consolation games Friday. Their seasons came to an end.
Here are highlights from those games:
Class 3A Girls
No. 7 Evergreen 51, No. 11 Lakeside 46 — Amaya Paschal had 16 points and five rebounds and Harmony Fallin added 15 points as the Plainsmen reached a trophy game for the first time in program history.
Lakeside jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Evergreen quickly got back in the game, closing the deficit to three points after the first quarter, and one point by halftime.
Kimora Ross added 10 points and five rebounds for Evergreen.
Fallin was 6 for 8 from the field. She also had a team-high four assists.
Evergreen will take on No. 12 White River at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the fourth-place/sixth-place game.
Class 4A girls
No. 4 Woodinville 64, No. 2 Union 55 — The Union Titans saw their season come to an end a day before trophy day at the state tournament.
Woodinville jumped out to an early lead, Union rallied to get back in it more than once, but Woodinville was the stronger team down the stretch.
Brooklynn Haywood’s high school career also came to an end. The Union senior scored 25 points Friday. She finishes second in most points scored in the state’s history, and the top scorer among athletes from big schools.
Myla Larry, a junior, had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Titans.
Class 1A girls
No. 6 Bellevue Christian 52, No. 7 Seton Catholic 37 — Riley Seymer had another strong performance in Yakima with a double-double, but it was not enough for Seton Catholic against Bellevue Christian.
Seymer had 12 points and 12 rebounds in Seton’s final game of the season.
Bellevue Christian took command in the third quarter, extending an eight-point lead to 19 points in this consolation elimination game.
Naomi Jackson had nine points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.
Class 1B boys
No. 5 Moses Lake/Covenant Christian 57, Columbia Adventist 43 — Evan Akrawi put on another show for Columbia Adventist in the Kodiaks’ final game of the season, with 26 points and seven rebounds.
Columbia Adventist led at the half, but ML/CC outscored the Kodiaks 25-9 in the third quarter.
Robert Russell had seven points and six rebounds for Columbia Adventist.
Even in defeat, the Kodiaks know they did something special this season, reaching the championship quarterfinals as a 17-seed.
Also read:
- High school state basketball: Columbia River suffers heartache in overtime loss in semifinals
Columbia River’s run to the Class 2A semifinals ended on a buzzer-beater in overtime, while Evergreen advanced to a trophy game and several other Clark County teams wrapped up their state tournament seasons. - Pro basketball: Vancouver Bears set to debut new name in new league
Vancouver’s professional basketball franchise has rebranded as the Vancouver Bears and will open its season in a new league March 7 at Hudson’s Bay High School. - State basketball quarterfinals: Columbia River Rapids keep dream alive, advance to final four
Columbia River defeated Pullman in the Class 2A state tournament quarterfinals in Yakima to reach the semifinals, while four other Clark County teams fell in their respective state quarterfinal games. - State high school basketball: Five local teams to play in quarterfinal games Thursday, March 5
Five Clark County basketball teams advanced to state quarterfinal games after Columbia River, Columbia Adventist, Evergreen, and Seton Catholic won Wednesday and Union had already secured its spot. - State high school basketball: Seven Clark County teams still playing in final week of tourneys
Union girls and Columbia River boys advanced Saturday, joining five other Clark County teams in the final week of state basketball tournaments.
