State 2A/1A: Rogers struggles in second quarter, falls to Sammamish in Yakima 69-61

YAKIMA – Amid the disappointment of a season-ending loss in the State 2A tournament Wednesday at the Yakima Valley SunDome, Rogers boys basketball team could realize just how far it has come.

The Pirates definitely got a healthy look at how far they still have to go.

Just two years removed from a one-win season, the Pirates played its first game at a state site in more than 20 years.

A rough first half, in particular a second quarter in which Rogers struggled on both ends of the court, left the Pirates in such a deep hole, even the most furious comeback couldn’t help them advance.

Seventh-seeded Rogers fell to 10th-seeded Sammamish 69-61 after trimming a 26-point deficit to a few as five in the game’s final minutes.

“The second quarter definitely shot us in the foot,” Rogers assistant coach Zach Nelson said. “It’s devastating to know that they can’t continue through the weekend because they’re all hurting.”

The Pirates started slowly but still only trailed by five after the opening quarter.

The Redhawks outscored Rogers 23-9 in the second quarter, though, and the lead ballooned to 19 at halftime.

Sammamish continued to roll and its lead grew to 60-34.

Then the Pirates showed they belonged at state, rapidly hacking away at the deficit.

Brady Krebs twice hit 3-pointers to trim the lead to five points, but Rogers got no closer.

Aaron Kinsey led the Pirates with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Krebs and Hartman Warrick scored 15 points apiece.

The Pirates finished the season 16-7, winning the District 8 2A title en route to a state berth.

“Just from the moment these guys came in as freshmen until now, they had goals to do something Rogers hasn’t done in a long time and they held up on their and they worked hard to get here,” Nelson said. “This team did a lot of things we haven’t done in a long time.”

The Redhawks improved to 19-8 and advanced to the quarterfinals top face top-seeded and two-time defending champion Lynden at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Prosser 65, Pullman 60: Koby McClure scored 22 points, including a twisting contested layup at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime, and the eighth-seeded Mustangs (17-9) eliminated the ninth-seeded Greyhounds (17-6).

Pullman was led by Austin Hunt with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

Girls

Clarkston 62, Enumclaw 32: The fifth-seeded Bantams raced to a 16-point lead after the first quarter and cruised into the quarterfinals.

Ten players scored for Clarkston, which bounced back from its first loss of the season to improve to 24-1.

Lexi Villavicencio led the Bantams with 13 points and Eloise Teasley added 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Bantams will play sixth-seeded Archbishop Murphy at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

W.F. West 61, West Valley 40: The third-seeded Bearcats opened a nine-point halftime lead and pulled away to oust the 14th-seeded Eagles.

Senior point guard Chloe DeHaro scored a game-best 20 points and connected on all 11 of her free throws for West Valley, which finished the season 14-10.

The Eagles won five of six games prior to Wednesday to earn the trip to Yakima.

1A

Boys

Freeman 65, Sultan 31: Tanner Goldsmith scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the fourth-seeded Scotties into the quarterfinals for the third straight tournament.

Freeman shot 48% from the field in the first half to open a 22-point lead. The 13th-seeded Turks made just two baskets and shot 10.5% from the field before halftime.

Colton Wells totaled 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Caleb Grant added 11 points for the Scotties (21-3), who will play third-seeded Annie Wright at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

Riverside 55, Royal 40: The Rams’ postseason push sent them into the quarterfinals.

Riverside, seeded 11th, overcame a scoreless second quarter with a 37-21 advantage in the second half to win its fourth straight postseason game and improve to 18-6.

Northeast League MVP Jake Graham scored a game-high 19 points and Daniel Schneider totaled 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Rams, who will face fifth-seeded Seattle Academy at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Girls

Lakeside 59, Montesano 35: Avery Haff scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and the Eagles opened a 20-point lead after the first quarter, cruising into the quarterfinals.

Ayanna Tobeck added 14 points for Lakeside, which forced 24 turnovers.

The Eagles face fifth-seeded Wapato at 3:45 p.m.