(Spokane, WA) The boys 2B Hardwood Classic at the Spokane Arena will be followed start to finish on this post. We will update daily the scores and short re-caps with links to the game replays, updated bracket and the WIAA’s Tournament Central.
The Columbia Coyotes are state Champs! Below is our coverage of the entire tournament from last year’s winners to the Regional scores and re-caps to our trophy day stories. All stories and re-caps written by Jamie Council, photos by Lane Mathews.
After finishing runner up last season and third two years ago, the Coyotes found themselves in a position to secure their first ever state championship in program history. Menwhile Freeman, now in the 2B classification, was also looking to make history for their first basketball state championship in program history, regardless of classification. On December 13th, the Coyotes beat Freeman 54-50 during regular season. This time around, a lot more was on the line for the two senior laden teams.
It was a six point Coyote lead after the first quarter. Freeman’s Tanner Goldsmith was responsible for seven of the nine Scottie first quarter points and that trend continued throughout the game. It didn’t take long for the Coyotes to get into foul trouble. Tristan Fridmodt, who fouled out late in the semifinal game, picked up his third personal with more than 5 minutes to play in half. Head coach Todd Schumacher used in sparingly until the second half.
Into the second half, both teams struggled to put points on the board. Freeman had open looks, but the basketball Gods didn’t seem to be in their favor. It was 34-27 in favor of Burbank after three quarters of play thanks to an
Crew Pariera and Quincy Scott had four personal fouls with more than three minutes to play in the fourth quarter but were able to stay within their means until the final seconds. With 4.8 seconds left, Freeman found themselves with the ball and down by two, 47-45. On the inbound, Pariera fouled out, leaving Freeman with an inbound from the baseline with 3.1 seconds. A miscommunication gave the Coyotes the ball right back, where they iced the last second of regulation. Burbank claimed the 2B state title 47-45 final over the Scotties.
Ross finished with a team high 17 points, Scott and Fridmodt contributed 12 and 10 points each, respectively. Goldsmith finished with a game high 23 points while Wells had a double double in his final game as a Scottie — The senior had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
8am 4th/6th Place Game (8) NW Christian (Colbert) 67, (11) Okanogan 57
Northwest Christian is heading home with a fourth place finish after defeating a physical Okanogan team by 10. Avi West dunked for his 30th point en route to an astounding 36 point performance as his court vision and ability to put up points was too much for the Bulldogs.
11:15am 3rd/5th Place Game
(3) Reardan 61, (4) Colfax 48
The defending state champion Bulldogs found themselves back in a trophy-securing position. However with a young roster, teams are already preparing to meet them next year. The inexperience showed against a tough Screaming Eagle squad. The Bulldogs struggled to get points in the third quarter, having trouble getting easy shots to fall.
Junior Adrik Jenkin and senior Jayce Kelly continued to be the go-to guys, tallying 24 and 17 points respectively.
Meanwhile, Jakari Singleton kept the momentum swinging in Reardan’s direction with his gravity defying dunks he showcased all tournament long. Singleton finished with a team-high 21 points while Fred Frolov shot 5/8 from the field for 12 points. Maveric Sobotta added 11 points and 11 rebounds to help Reardan secure third place.
Consolation Round (Loser Out) (11) Okanogan 60, (10) Liberty Bell 56
Okanogan had a 9 point lead at half but the Liberty Bell press put the Mountain Lions on top in the fourth quarter. Getting turnovers by biting the long pass and using ball movement to get away from size of Bulldogs gave them a fighting chance in their fifth ever and first trip to state since 2013.
However, the seemingly apathetic Bulldogs made a push at the end to extend their season, securing hardware with the four point win. Senior Ryan Clough knocked down a three to take the 57-56 lead with less than a minute to go and the Bulldogs took care of business from there.
The Bulldogs will face Northwest Christian in the 4th/6th place game.
The Crusaders and Jaguars fought to keep their season alive and it was unclear which way the scale would fall until the very end. Tied after the first quarter, Tri-Cities had a two point lead at the break and after the third frame.
Clayton Calderon had corner three that put the Jags up 47-44 with under four minutes to play. Despite their best efforts, Avi West wasn’t going down without a fight as he helped the Crusaders to the narrow win. West had 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.
NW Christian will gave Okanogan for 4th/ 6th place.
Semifinals (Winner to Championship, Loser to 3rd place game) (1) Columbia 59, (4) Colfax 56
Two words. Quincy. Scott. With 17 points in the first half, Scott didn’t slow down as a man on a mission. Burbank loss to Colfax in the championship last year and placed third two seasons ago.
It was a shootout in the first half between Scott and Bulldog Jayce Kelly who finished with 30 points. The Coyotes led by a pair at half.
Scott added 18 points in the second half to finish with 35 points. The senior’s body of work is finally coming to fruition when it matters most. However, the starting five for the Coyotes are seniors and work hard on defense to get chances on offense. The quiet defensive presence of Brandon Leahy, blue collar work and secondary shooter Tristan Fridmodt, and quickness and smart play of Crew Pariera and Caden Ross makes Burbank prove time and time again why they are ranked atop the 2B and their eyes on wha would be the first state championship for the program.
The Coyotes will face Freeman in the 2B state championship Saturday at 9:00 PM. Colfax will face Rearden for 3rd/ 5th place.
Freeman comes into the tournament as the #2 seed behind Burbank. After almost being knocked into the consolation bracket in the quarterfinals, the overtime win against NW Christian served as a wake up call to the Scotties.
It was all Freeman to start with a 19-2 run, their longest of the game. That gave them enough momentum to ride it out despite an 18 point performance by Jakari Singleton in the low scoring affair. Colton Wells led the Scottie charge, recording a double double with 26 points and 13 rebounds (11 defensive).
It will be a #1 verses #2 in the 2B Championship: Burbank vs. Freeman
Thursday, March 6 (Winner to Semifinals, Loser to Consolation)
(4) Colfax 58, (11) Okanogan 50
A battle tested Okanogan kept things close with the defending state champions in the Colfax Bulldogs. The first half saw a lot of missed opportunities in a tense and physical style of play.
Colfax settled into the second half including a momentum swinging dunk by 6’5″ junior Adrik Jensen. Jensen lead Colfax with 26 points including six from distance. Both teams served as punching bags, so we’ll see if that comes into play down the stretch.
Colfax moves onto the semifinals in a rematch of last years state championship game, facing Burbank. Okanogan will see Liberty Bell in the consolation bracket.
The state runner ups and top-ranked Columbia Burbank had their first action in the Spokane Arena since their loss in championship a year ago.
The Coyotes took advantage of the size mismatch in the paint, outscoring the Mountain Lions 42-28 in the key. They shot an impressive 61.8% from the 2-pt range. Meanwhile, Liberty Bell defense was disruptive but couldn’t capitalize on offense. Tristan Frimodt, Quincy Scott, and Crew Pariera caused some disruption of their own, guarding the perimeter. Liberty Bell was looking for the outside ball all game, but they couldn’t seem to find it, going 1/18 from distance.
Scott paced the scoring with a game high 19 points and added 9 rebounds and 5 steals.
Burbank will face Colfax in the semis while Liberty Bell with face off with Okanogan in the consolation bracket.
After a big upset in the opening round, Tri-Cities Prep couldn’t find their footing in the quarterfinals. The Eagles took a 10 point lead at the end of the first quarter and came ready to play with a complete team effort.
Reardan shot the 3-ball well, sinking 11 shots from distance; dominated the boards, out-rebounding TCP 40-22; and turned defense into offense, converting 28 points off turnovers. Justin Vaugn (14 points) and Evan Krupke (12 points) each went 4/8 beyond the perimeter while Maverick Zabotta and Jakari Singleton recorded a double double. Zabotta tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, and added four assists while Singleton had 13 points, 17 rebounds and added six assists.
Bryson Wilde had a game high 16 points in the loss for the Jaguars.
The Eagles will face Freeman in the semis while Prep will see NW Christian (Colbert) in the consolation bracket.
The battle between Freeman and NW Christian is exactly what you would expect for a state match-up. After seven lead changes, the eight point win by Freeman in overtime was their largest lead of the game.
The rebounding game made the difference for the Scotties. Freeman was +24 on the boards and +15 in second chance points. A trio of Scotties secured double double performances: Vance Coyner (17 pts, 10 reb); Tanner Goldsmith (13 pts, 11 reb); Colton Wells (11 pts, 13 reb).
Freeman sees Reardan in the semis while the Eagles will face Tri-Cities Prep in the consolation bracket.
Wednesday, March 5 (Winner to Quarterfinals, Loser Out)
There were some large victory margins in the 2B boys tournament, but it was by the underdogs in the loser-out round. The 2B Boys tournament is a head scratcher that has people doubting the seeding committee or if there’s something in the water. Three of the four matchups were big upsets.
(11) Okanogan 87, (6) Toledo 54 Okanogan took off from the very beginning of the game, out scoring Toledo 21-14 and 26-12 in the first two quarters to go into halftime with a large lead.
The Bulldogs defense held the Riverhawks to just 7 points in the third quarter with 11 total steals in the game.
On offense, Okanogan was paced by Wadyn Brown off the bench. Brown shot 90% from the floor including 3/3 from distance.
The Bulldogs face defending state champions #4 Colfax in the quarterfinals.
Liberty Bell out scored Adna in all four quarters in an impressive defensive performance. Their constant ball pressure paid dividends. The Mountain Lions tallied 30 points off turnovers with an impressive 6 steals coming from Remington Paz.
Paz had 12 points and 9 rebounds, but four Liberty Bell players had double digit performances. Bodie Thomson paced the team with 14 points while Greyden Paz and Mac Surface each contributed 13 points.
Liberty Bell faces top ranked Columbia Burbank Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Tri-Cities Prep is possibly the most overlooked team in the tournament, currently holding a 22-5 record. Being in the same league as top-ranked Columbia Burbank, the Jaguars only losses were to the Coyotes (2) and the defending state champion Colfax until some late season eyebrow raising losses — One of two late season skids coming from a 69-54 loss to La Salle on February 5th who TCP had beaten 72-46 just a month earlier.
With consistency in question, it’s tough to tell how Prep might perform the remainder of the tournament. If their dominating performances continue, like against Lake Roosevelt, they are a team no one wants to see on their schedule despite being a 12 seed.
Head coach Isaac Nelson says he’s not surprised by the upset. “This team has worked so hard and bought into our identity,” said Nelson. “Knowing that everyone is playing for the guy next to him brings a lot of confidence and trust in our process. “
TCP defense created 18 points off turnovers while their offense only gave up 2 turnover points against the Raiders. Four Jaguars put up double digit performances including Bryson Wilde with a game high 21 points, followed by 12 from Layne McClure, 10 from William Balcom, and 10 points from Landen Levy off the bench.
Wilde recorded a double double, securing 11 rebounds to complement his 21 points. Wilde paced the Jags in assists with 4.
Tri-Cities Prep faces #3 Reardan Thursday in the quarterfinals.
The opening game between Napavine and NW Christian was a shootout with plenty of drama.
A Karsen Denault Tiger dunk loosened a bolt on the scoreboard leading to a delay of game. However, that didn’t stop the Crusader momentum as NW Christian outscored Napavine in each of the four quarters.
Individual plays contributed to that team-wide accomplishment including an Avi West drive and drawing foul as West finished with 20 points. He was second in scoring only to Caleb Grant who finished with 22 tallies (9/12 TFG). Jonah Pope shot 6/6 from two point range and 8/14 from the field to an 18 point performance. Ben Slade added 10 boards to the 15 point victory.
Colbert will face #2 Freeman in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Winner to Quarterfinals, Loser to Round of 12 (1) Columbia 89, (8) NW Christian 75 (2) Freeman 81, (7) Adna 45 (3) Reardan 73, (6) Toledo 35 (4) Colfax 70, (5) Lake Roosevelt 49
Winner to Quarterfinals, Loser Out (9) Napavine 69, (16) La Conner 51 (10) Liberty Bell 60, (15) Mount Vernon Chr 44 (11) Okanogan 72, (14) La Salle 70 (12) Tri-Cities Prep 48, (13) Rainier 38
Last Year’s Trophy Winners
Champions Colfax 2nd Columbia 3rd Lake Roosevelt 4th Adna 5th Napavine 6th NW Christian (Colbert)
(Spokane, WA) The boys 2B Hardwood Classic at the Spokane Arena will be followed start to finish on this post. We will update daily the scores and short re-caps with links to the game replays, updated bracket and the WIAA’s Tournament Central.
Tri-Cities Prep is possibly the most overlooked team in the tournament, currently holding a 22-5 record. Being in the same league as top-ranked Columbia Burbank, the Jaguars only losses were to the Coyotes (2) and the defending state champion Colfax until some late season eyebrow raising losses — One of two late season skids coming from a 69-54 loss to La Salle on February 5th who TCP had beaten 72-46 just a month earlier.
