Camas boys fall in quarterfinals; still hoping to place at state

The Camas boys basketball team, shown here in the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, lost in the state quarterfinals on Thursday morning but hopes to win Friday in the consolation round to earn a trophy at the state tournament. Photo courtesy Heather Tianen

Curtis, the No. 1 seed, topped the Papermakers 73-46 in the Tacoma Dome

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

TACOMA — The Camas boys basketball team still has a chance for the best finish in program history this season.

That’s what making it the Elite Eight means, even after a tough performance in the quarterfinals.

Curtis, the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament, had no trouble with the Papermakers on Thursday morning, cruising to a 73-46 victory.

Camas fell into the consolation bracket and will face Skyline at 9 a.m. Friday in the fourth-place semifinals. If Camas wins that game, it will be playing in the fourth-place game on Saturday and will be guaranteed to bring home a trophy.

In fact, the best trophy in program history.

The 1962 Papermakers finished eighth in state.

The 2023 Papermakers, well, it remains to be seen. But no matter what happens Friday, this was the first Camas team to win its way into the championship quarterfinals.

“It means everything,” said senior Theo McMillan, who led the Papermakers with 14 points in Thursday’s game against Curtis. “This is what we wanted to do from the start of the season. To get here. To be here. We get to play in front of all these people, under the lights. It’s an amazing experience.”

“Last year, we fell a little short,” added sophomore Jace VanVoorhis, who had 10 points Thursday. “It feels good to make up for it. It’s a blessing to come up here and play in the quarterfinals. We came up short, but we still have got another game to play.”

And maybe two.

The season will be over Saturday or Friday, depending on Friday’s result. For McMillan, he will leave the program knowing it has improved under his watch. VanVoorhis has two more years with the Papermakers. Both players noted young star Beckett Currie and up-and-coming players, as well.

“The future’s so bright in the next couple of years,” VanVoorhis said.
“They’re going to do well, for sure,” McMillan added.

The Camas boys are scheduled to play March 3 and could make it to the final day of the season on March 4.

The last time Camas basketball played in March? That would be 1964.

Gotta go deep in history to put some present-day perspective on this achievement, with an eye to the future, as well.