Class 2A/1A boys tournament: No snags for second-year Annie Wright in first trip to state championships

YAKIMA – In its first trip to the state tournament with nary a senior on the roster of the second-year varsity program, the stage wasn’t too big for the seventh-seeded Annie Wright boys basketball team.

In fact, the Gators looked old hat at this state thing.

Annie Wright broke away from No. 10 Seattle Academy after being deadlocked heading into the fourth quarter for a 66-55 victory Wednesday morning in the Yakima Valley SunDome and a spot in the Class 1A quarterfinals.

The Gators will next try to tackle top-seeded King’s at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

"We stayed connected, for a young team that’s the most important thing is to stay connected and fight through those mistakes," Annie Wright coach Dave Alwert said. “We’re a bunch of freshmen and sophomores mixed in with a couple juniors -- I just don’t think these kids know better to be phased.”

The Gators shot a blistering 62% in the second half – including 6 of 9 from 3-point range – to overcome a five-point deficit at the intermission.

The final quarter was all Annie Wright as it built a 13-point lead in winning its state debut.

“The fourth quarter they couldn’t match our energy and our defensive tenacity took over,” Alwert said.

Hunter Carter scored a team-high 23 points (17 in the second half) and Martin Kaupanger added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Gators, who improved to 19-5, with three of their losses to third-seeded Life Christian and another to perennial state power Lynden Christian.

Thursday they’ll face the tournament’s tallest task in the Knights.

“They can make a statement if they stay together and we knock down some shots down,” Alwert said.

Seattle Academy’s Logan Britt scored a game-high 26 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, including three in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals tried to mount a comeback.

“Our group is super young and relatively inexperienced and for us to get to this point for all the stuff we went through this season is special,” Seattle Academy coach Shaun Burl said of his team that features just two seniors. “It would have been awesome to win the game but to finish our season here is the ideal situation.”

Although the Cardinals’ stay wasn’t as long as it was in 2020 when they captured third-place trophy after being the top seed, the team still saw plenty of Yakima.

The bus carrying Seattle Academy’s boys and girls to a shootaround Tuesday night broke down at Davis High School, leaving the players and coaches to hoof it to make a reservation at a downtown restaurant.

The party of nearly three dozen made it just before closing.

NO. 6 ZILLAH 68, NO. 11 CASTLE ROCK 56: Ashton Waldman scored a game-high 27 points and Clay Delp added 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Leopards ousted Castle Rock in Wednesday morning’s first game. The Leopards (17-3) advance to play league rival Toppenish at 9 a.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal. The Wildcats have won two of three meetings between the teams this season. Landon Gardney had 16 points for the Rockets, who finished the season 15-9.

NO. 4 FREEMAN 58, NO. 12 KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 41: Taylor Wells scored a game-high 13 points to four Scotties (22-2) in double figures as they outscored the Knights 22-9 in the fourth quarter en route to a quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 Life Christian at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. Boen Phillips and Ryan Russell each had 12 points for Freeman. Giovanny Evanson scored a game-high 28 points for King’s Way Christian, which finished the season 16-6.

NO. 8 QUINCY 69, NO. 9 BLAINE 51: TreyVaughn Bierlink poured in a game-high 31 points on 10-for-17 shooting and the Jackrabbits outscored the Borderites 40-18 in the second half to earn a spot in the quarterfinals, where they’ll meet No. 2 Lynden Christian at 2 p.m. Thursday. Jalen Spence added 19 points and Saul Alvarez chipped in 10 for Quincy (22-5). Blaine, which finished the season 14-7, were led by Cole Thomas’ 20 points.

CLASS 2A

NO. 14 PROSSER 72, NO. 6 WHITE RIVER 67: JJ Reyes tallied a game-high 20 points and Kory McClure and Koby McClure added 15 and 14 points, respectively, and the Mustangs (15-10) outlasted the Hornets to advance a quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 Pullman at 3:45 p.m. Dane Goudy and Carson Voelger each had 19 points for White River, which finished the season 19-6.

NO. 7 PORT ANGELES 63, NO. 10 FRANKLIN PIERCE 53: Wyatt Dunning made five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 28 points for the Roughriders, who advanced a quarterfinal matchup with top-ranked North Kitsap at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Michael Soule added 10 points for Port Angeles (19-6). Mason Thomas had 20 points and John John John Barbee added 16 in the season-ender for the Cardinals (16-6).

NO. 5 TUMWATER 66, NO. 12 GRANDVIEW 46: Andrew Collins had a game-high 17 points and 13 rebounds, Ryan Otton has 12 points and 13 rebounds and Luke Brewer had 16 points as the Thunderbird powered past the CWAC champions. Tumwater (20-5) faces No. 3 R.A. Long in a quarterfinal at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Julian Garza totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds and Levi Dorsett chipped in 10 points for Grandview, which finished the season 18-7.

NO. 8 SEHOME 42, NO. 9 LAKEWOOD 40: Mathew Storms scored 14 points, Grey Garrison added 13 as the Mariners (16-7) held off the Cougars to advance to a quarterfinal against No. 2 Lynden at 9 p.m. The Cougars, who finished the season 15-8, were led by Blake Conyers’ game-high 25 points.