State 2B, 1B basketball preview: Colfax boys, girls bring high-scoring attacks to Arena

Jordan Holmes is developing a bit of an identity crisis as the calendar flips from February to March.

“I told the girls that I still feel like a player right now,” the first-year Colfax girls coach said. “So I have that mindset that I haven’t necessarily disconnected myself as a player and I bring that attitude into the locker room and into the huddle.

“That’s when I remind my girls that we need to be playing our best basketball right now.”

If Friday’s 70-50 regional victory over Lake Roosevelt wasn’t the Bulldogs best basketball, it had to be close. Led by senior Asher Cai’s 36-point effort, third-seeded Colfax jumped out to a 25-3 first-quarter lead before putting away the sixth-seeded Raiders to earn a spot in the State 2B quarterfinals Thursday in the Arena.

Colfax (15-1) will face the winner of Wednesday’s loser-out game between fifth-seeded Raymond (18-2) and No. 12 seed Mabton (17-8).

“Our chemistry right now is probably the best I have seen it this season and in my time here,” Cai said. “We treat each other right in the locker room and fight for each other on the court. That’s the kind of mentality we need to have going into these final few games.”

The Colfax girls aren’t the only show in the town, though, as the boys team – led by Lewis-Clark State commit John Lustig – is also on a roll heading into the tournament.

The third-seeded Bulldogs (18-4) toppled Napavine 69-51 in the regional round to earn a spot in Thursday’s quarterfinals against either fifth-seeded Morton-White Pass (16-7) or 13th-seeded Northwest Christian (16-9).

“When you get to this level, you expect to be in close games,” 14th-year Colfax boys coach Reece Jenkin said. “It’s the time of the year where you think possession-by-possession on what you need to do to just try and find a way to win.”

Lustig, who had 21 points and six assists against the Tigers last Friday, said playing in a classification as deep and spread across the state as 2B forces the Bulldogs to look at the matchup in front of them, not across the bracket.

“We’ll be watching other games, but we can’t get caught looking down the bracket or we could get in trouble,” Lustig said. “Everyone is going to need to buy in, work hard, figure out their matchups, and if we succeed at the defensive end, we can get it done.”

Although Lustig and Cai – who will play next season at Central Washington University – top the scoring charts for their respective teams, what the Bulldogs hope sets them apart is their depth.

Freshman forward Brynn McGaughy has made an immediate impact under Holmes, adding a presence in the paint so teams can’t only focus on Cai. Alongside Lustig is Damian Demler, who hit eight 3-pointers in the regional win, and point guard Seth Lustig.

“My game really changes based on the defense they show us,” Demler said. “Some games I find myself driving a lot more, and some games I can just sit back and shoot. (Napavine) didn’t really adjust to me and I was able to knock down a lot of good looks.”

If either Colfax team advances to Friday’s semifinals, a familiar foe may be standing in the way of a shot at the state title.

Both the second-seeded Liberty boys and seventh-seeded Liberty girls advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals after regional wins and are placed on the same half of the bracket as the Bulldogs.

The Lancers boys (20-2), who topped seventh-seeded Adna 74-65 in regionals, face the winner of Wednesday’s loser-out game between Coupeville (16-1) and Lake Roosevelt (16-6), the eight and nine seeds, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Liberty girls (19-2) edged second-seeded Warden 62-60 last Friday and will face either eighth-seeded Chief Leschi (14-5) or ninth-seeded Adna (20-7). The Lancers are the defending 2B champions after defeating La Conner to win the 2020 title. No tournament was held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I love that we got to play Liberty three times already this season and beat them twice,” Holmes said. “I know it looks good that we beat them by almost 30 last time, but I don’t care. I know how good of a basketball team they are and that won’t ever happen again.

“They are so good, so well coached and I’m happy they are in the position they are in.”

Joining the Bulldogs and Lancers in the girls quarterfinals are top-seeded La Conner and fourth-seeded Okanogan.

On top of a looming Northeast 2B rematch, both the Liberty and Colfax boys know their roads to a title will likely go through one of five teams out of District 4. Top-seeded Kalama advanced to the quarterfinals with its regional win, while Adna, Morton-White Pass, Napavine and Toutle Lake all play in loser-out games.

“This tournament is completely wide open because there are so many good basketball teams, including the group from District 4,” Jenkin said. “We get into this time of year where all the teams play a different style and that’s something we all have to adjust to.

“But we also play in a very good district against tons of different styles, and I think that can really help us when we get in this situation.”

Four area teams into 1B quarterfinals

The top-seeded Almira/Coulee-Hartline boys, second-seeded Cusick boys, second-seeded Colton girls and fifth-seeded Garfield-Palouse girls all earned a spot in the State 1B quarterfinals Thursday at the Arena with regional victories last weekend.

Joining that quartet at the Arena in Wednesday’s loser-out games are the ninth-seeded Wellpinit boys along with the fourth-seeded Wilbur-Creston-Keller girls, seventh-seeded Wellpinit girls and 13th-seeded Cusick girls.

ACH (17-3) avoided a regional upset by DeSales with a 39-36 victory Saturday. Colton Seymour scored 25 points and Celias Holmes added 17 to help Cusick (19-1) defeat Lummi Nation.

The 10-time state champion Colton girls (19-2) were paced by Maggie Meyer and Lola Baerlocher’s 20-point efforts in a 68-37 regional victory over Wellpinit. Garfield-Palouse (17-5) topped Wilbur-Creston-Keller 52-39 to earn its quarterfinal spot.