Columbia River shocks top seed in 2A boys tournament, and Camas gets some revenge against Auburn in 4A boys tournament, ensuring a trophy; four other Clark County teams see their seasons come to an end Friday
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
The Camas boys basketball team got some revenge in order to get a trophy at state.
The Columbia River boys basketball team had its biggest win in 16 years, and the Rapids are also going to bring home a trophy from their state tournament.
There were six teams from Clark County that played Friday in consolation bracket games in their respective tournaments. The Camas boys and River boys earned the right to play again on Saturday. The Camas girls, Columbia River girls, and the Seton Catholic boys and girls all lost, and their seasons came to an end.
Here is a roundup of Friday’s action featuring Clark County squads.
4A boys
No. 5 Camas 64, No. 2 Auburn 40: Ethan Harris had 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, leading the Camas to the fourth-place game in the Tacoma Dome.
Jace VanVoorhis had 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, an all-around performance to ensure a trophy for the Papermakers.
Camas avenged a loss to Auburn two weeks ago in the bi-district championship game. Now, it’s the Papermaking bringing home some hardware and Auburn falling a game short of a trophy.
Camas will get another postseason rematch in the trophy game. Camas topped Richland in the Opening Round of the state tournament last week. The two teams found each other again, with tip-off at 8 a.m. Saturday.
If the Papermakers win that game, they will be able to say they are the best team in program history. The 2023 Papermakers finished sixth.
Camas dominated Friday’s game from the very beginning, leading start to finish.
Cade Washington had nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists for the Papermakers.
Class 2A boys
No. 11 Columbia River 41, No. 1 Lynden 38: Ari Richardson was Mr. Clutch for Columbia River, making six free throws down the stretch to close out Columbia River’s win over top-seed Lynden in Yakima.
The Rapids are going to take a trophy home for the first time since placing sixth in 2018, but this victory likely is the biggest one for the program since a semifinal win in 2009. That year, Columbia River played for a state championship, finishing second.
This year, Columbia River beat the top-ranked team in order to advance to the trophy round.
Columbia River will face league rival Mark Morris in the fourth-place game at 8 a.m. Saturday. That means three teams from the 2A Greater St. Helens League will be among the top six placers at state. R.A. Long was set to play in the championship semifinals Friday evening.
Aaron Hoey led the Rapids with 15 points in Friday’s defensive battle with Lynden. He was 7 for 13 from the floor. Richardson finished with 13 points. John Reeded had a double-double for the Rapids with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Class 4A girls
No. 6 Auburn 58, No. 7 Camas 53: The defending state champions fell a win short of a trophy this season, after their fourth-quarter rally fell short, as well.
Sophie Buzzard finished her high school career by going 7 for 8 from the floor with 19 points. She was 3 for 4 from 3-point range. Keirra Thompson had 10 points and seven assists in her final game with the Papermakers.
Sophomore Lauren Hood had 16 points and five rebounds.
Auburn went 2-0 this season against Camas. Auburn also beat the Papermakers in the bi-district championship game two weeks ago.
Class 2A girls
No. 5 Archbishop Murphy 65, No. 7 Columbia River 35: The season came to an end for the Rapids, but they can say they made it back to the Yakima Valley SunDome and got a win at the state tournament.
Columbia River defeated Port Angeles on Wednesday in the round-of-12 to reach the elite eight. That was the second consecutive appearance for the Rapids in the quarterfinals and third year in a row that the program made it to state.
Class 1A boys
No. 7 Meridian 68, No. 6 Seton Catholic 48: Seton Catholic simply ran out of energy after back-to-back inspiring efforts in Yakima.
Seton Catholic trailed by 17 in the second half on Wednesday to win in the round-of-12, then rallied from a 21-point deficit in Thursday’s quarterfinal to tie the game, only to lose at the last second.
That took a lot out of the Cougars, and Merdian took advantage in Friday’s consolation bracket.
Class 1A girls
No. 8 Naches Valley 64, No. 6 Seton Catholic 61: This one is going to hurt Seton Catholic for the entire offseason.
Up 18 in the second half and 17 going into the fourth quarter, Seton Catholic struggled in the fourth quarter and fell one win short of earning a trophy for the first time in program history.
Still, the Cougars did get a win in the state tournament — a first for the program — and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time.
Maddy Jewett scored 34 points to key Naches Valley’s comeback victory.
Remy Jenniges had 21 points to pace Seton Catholic. Riley Seymer scored 15 points, and Madison Lee added 14 points.
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