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Class 2A/1A boys roundup: Somebody wasn't in the sharing mood between West Sound rivals

Jonas La Tour scores 25 points, and defending 2A champion North Kitsap eliminates 2A Olympic League foe Port Angeles from the state winner's bracket at the SunDome

YAKIMA – For three weeks, the top-ranked North Kitsap boys basketball team had something to stew on: co-champs.

The undesirable became reality for the defending Class 2A state champions when Port Angeles handed the Vikings a 17-point drubbing Feb. 10 to split the Olympic League regular season title.

North Kitsap wasn’t sharing a thing Thursday night.

The Vikings rode a 25-point, highlight-filled performance by Jonas La Tour and a defense that forced 21 turnovers to a 75-58 quarterfinal victory in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

"Now you can look after getting a win and see how we came out and how motivated we were," North Kitsap coach Scott Orness said. "I was talking to our coaches last night and if we had won both of those games, I think it would’ve been a little different."

North Kitsap gave up a season-worst 80 points in the last meeting between the teams. This time around the Vikings held the Roughriders to under 60 points for just the fifth time in 26 contests.

"We knew we had to knuckle down on defense and in our final two games we finally started to do that," Orness said noting Aidan Olmstead’s defense on Roughrider post John Vaara. "Instead of gambling and going for steals, we worked on contesting and staying in front."

North Kitsap vs. Port Angeles, 2A quarterfinals

Jonas La Tour and his North Kitsap teammates celebrate a hard-earned state quarterfinal win over Port Angeles.

Although the Vikings never trailed, they also could never shake Port Angeles – until the second half.

La Tour, who had a pair of thunderous dunks in the first half, scored 15 of his points after the intermission., while Cade Orness netted 12 of his 19 and Olmstead capped his 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

"We really like to get out and run and I felt we wore them down a little bit," Orness said.

The Vikings (23-3) meet fourth-seeded Pullman on Friday night at 7:15. The winner of that advances to Saturday’s championship matinee at 3.

"We have two more games, we’re far from done," La Tour said. "We’re going to stay locked in and keep our routine going - go game by game and play by play and go get that championship."

Xander Maestas led Port Angeles with 19 points while Wyatt Dunning tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Roughriders (19-7) face Prosser at 12:15 Friday afternoon for a spot in Saturday’s trophy round.

No. 4 Pullman 78, No. 14 Prosser 48: The Mustangs’ unforgettable late-season push hit a most forgettable stretch Thursday afternoon against the Greyhounds.

Pullman outscored Prosser 27-3 in the third quarter to blow open what was a relatively tight contest at halftime and cruise into the semifinals where top-ranked and defending champion North Kitsap awaits for a 7:15 tip-off Friday night.

Jaedyn Brown scored a game-high 24 points, 17 in the second half, Payton Rogers had 18 and Grayson Hunt chipped in 14 for the Greyhounds (22-2), who advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three tournaments. Pullman finished fifth in 2019.

Prosser (15-11) was a longshot to make state three weeks ago but the Mustangs ripped off seven straight victories to prolong their season.

Koby McClure had 13 points for Prosser, which meets seventh-seeded Port Angeles at 12:15 p.m. Friday. JJ Reyes and AJ Gonzalez added nine points apiece.

No. 4 R.A. Long 61, No. 5 Tumwater 54: The Lumberjacks advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in nearly 70 years by outlasting the Thunderbirds.

Calvin Holden scored a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds for R.A. Long while Aaron Ofstun and Stephen Rooklidge added a dozen points apiece.

The Lumberjacks (21-2) will play in Friday night’s 9 o’clock semifinal against second-seeded Lynden. It’s the first semi berth for R.A. Long since it took sixth place in 1953.

Andrew Collins had 18 points and Luke Brewer had 17 for the Tumeater (20-6), which will meet No. 8 Sehome with a spot in Saturday’s trophy round.

No. 2 Lynden 72, No. 8 Sehome 60: The Lions won the matchup of Northwest League rivals and earned a shot at their third berth in the championship game in the past four years. Lynden claimed back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.

Anthony Canales poured in a game-high 29 points, including 20 in the first half for Lynden (20-2). Coston Parcher added 12 points and Dawson Adams chipped in 11 points.

The Lions will meet third-seeded R.A. Long in the 9 o’clock nightcap Friday.

The loss was the third to Lynden this season for the Mariners, who were led by Grant Kepley’s 15 points while Mathew Storms and Dane Dominguez added 14 points apiece.

Sehome (16-8) meets Tumwater at 2 p.m. Friday with the winner earning a trophy.

CLASS 1A BOYS

No. 1 King’s 61, No. 7 Annie Wright 44: The two programs who are miles apart in state basketball history were tight as could be on the court early in Thursday’s quarterfinal.

In fact, the Gators, who are making their state debut in just the second year of a varsity program, led by five points midway through the second quarter. The Knight’s, though, would take a five-point edge into halftime and cruise from there.

Idaho State signee Jordan Hansen shrugged off a first half in which he scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting and poured in 19 second-half points to finish with a game-high 21 points. Cam Hiatt added 20 points for the Knights, 15 before the intermission.

The defending champions will meet fifth-seeded Toppenish in Friday’s semifinals at 3:45 p.m. Thursday’s victory assured King’s (23-2) its 26th state trophy as it guns for a sixth state championship.

Annie Wright was led by Martin Kaupanger’s 14 points and 10 from Hunter Carter. The Gators (19-6) face No. 6 Zillah at 9 a.m. Friday for a spot in the trophy round.

No. 3 Life Christian 53, No. No. 4 Freeman 52: Bradley Swillie scored a game-high 20 points, including the game-winning free throw with four seconds remaining as the Eagles rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to advance to the state semifinals for the second straight tournament.

Life Christian took its first lead with 7:00 remaining in the contest and extended the advantage to 48-41 in just more than a minute of action.

The Scotties, though, battled back and tied the score 52-52 when Boen Phelps drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds left.

Swillie, who scored 13 of his points in the second half, was fouled driving to the basket. He made the first attempt.

Phelps missed a shot at the buzzer after Freeman rebounded the miss on Swillie’s second free throw.

Chae Hayes totaled 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Eagles (21-1), who’ll meet second-seeded Lynden Christian at 5:30 p.m. Friday for a spot in the title game. The Eagles fell to Brewster 58-57 in the 2020 2B championship.

Freeman (22-3) takes on No. 8 Quincy at 10:30 a.m. with the winner advancing to the medal round.

Taylor Wells scored 18 points for the Scotties before fouling out and Phelps had 15.

No. 2 Lynden Christian 67, No. 8 Quincy 44: The second-seeded Lyncs led wire-to-wire in moving a step closer to a seventh state championship.

Lynden Christian, which led by as many as 25 points, senior Andrew Hommes racked up 24 points and 14 rebounds while Tyler Sipma added 21 points and eight boards.

The Lyncs (20-1), runners-up in 2020, face No. 3 Life Christian in Friday’s semifinals.

The Jackrabbits, making their first trip to state in 13 years, were led by Aidan Heikes’ team-high 11 points and the nine points and 14 rebounds of Aidan Bews.

Quincy (21-5) plays fourth-seeded Freeman at 10:30 a.m. for a spot in the game for fourth and sixth place.