State play-in roundup: Central Valley boys fall late to Prairie; sophomore Orland Axton scores 28 points
Central Valley’s Branson Olson heads to the basket as Prairie’s Carson Morningstar defends during Tuesday’s State 3A play-in game at CV. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
There will more good days ahead for a young Central Valley boys team. The Bears will most likely take the sting of a state play-in game loss as motivation going forward.
Carson Morningstar scored 28 points, 20 in the first half, and the visiting 17th-seeded Prairie Falcons of Vancouver edged the 16th-seeded Bears 76-72 in a State 3A play-in game on Tuesday.
The Falcons (17-8), of the Greater St. Helens League, face ninth-seeded Eastside Catholic in a loser-out, opening-round game on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Issaquah High School.
Morningstar, a 6-foot-7 junior, was the GSHL’s leading scorer this season and league MVP.
Central Valley won two games each of the past two seasons. It was CV’s first state game since a first-round loss in the 4A tournament in 2022.
“These young guys, they’re going to do big things in the next couple of years,” Central Valley coach TJ Milless said. “But, I love our seniors so much, and my heart just breaks for them to see them at this point.”
The Bears (12-11) had trouble containing Morningstar in the first half, as the forward scored against a variety of defenses and double teams. But CV buckled down on defense to erase double-digit leads in both halves to keep it close.
“(Morningstar) is probably the toughest big we’ve had to cover this season,” Milless said. “He is a heck of a player. We knew that coming in. We threw everything we had at him, and we got a little bit early foul trouble, which kind of affected us.”
Sophomore guard Orland Axton led CV with 28 points, 19 in the second half. Fellow sophomores Cameron Walls and Emerson Lippoldt added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
“We have a highly motivated player,” Milless said of Axton. “He definitely gives it all he has. He’s tremendously talented, and he’s growing a lot. He’s going to be real, real trouble for this league the next two years.”
Morningstar scored 12 points in the first quarter and Prairie led 24-16. The Falcons got the lead to double digits, but an 8-2 Bears run got the deficit to four. Axton went the distance for a layup and free throw, and the Falcons led 42-40 at halftime.
Axton hit a corner 3-pointer at the four-minute mark of the third quarter to give CV its first lead (50-49). But Prairie scored the next seven points, including Tavin Timperley’s 3-pointer. He hit another with 40 seconds left in the quarter and Prairie led 61-56 entering the fourth.
Walls made a contested layup, then a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter to make it a one-point game, then Axton hit back-to-back long 3-pointers to put CV up 68-63 with 3 minutes, 21 seconds to go. Prairie tied it at 72 with 1:15 left. Malachi Patton hit a floater and the Bears turned it over on the next possession.
Jamir Jones’ free throw with 9 seconds left made it a four-point game. CV’s last-ditch 3-pointer was short.
Boys
Gig Harbor 77, North Central 61: Michael Masini scored 33 points, including 5 of 6 at the line down the stretch, and the 15th-seeded Tides (18-11) eliminated the visiting 18th-seeded Wolfpack (18-8) in a State 3A play-in game. Gig Harbor plays 10th-seeded Monroe at Arlington HS in a loser-out on Friday. Trevelle Jones led NC with 18 points.
Riverside Christian 78, Inchelium 71: Haydn Edwards scored 25 points, Keaton Lee added 18 and the visiting 18-seeded Crusaders (15-10) eliminated the 15-seeded Hornets (17-5) in a State 1B play-in game. Derek Perez led Inchelium with 22 points. Riverside Christian faces 10th-seeded Muckleshoot Tribal at Auburn Mountainview HS in loser-out on Saturday.
Summit Classical 65, Wilbur-Creston-Keller 49: The 19th-seeded Archers (22-4) eliminated the 14th-seeded Wildcats (12-9) in a State 1B play-in game in Wilbur. Summit Classical plays 11th-seeded Wahkiakum in loser-out at Mark Morris HS on Friday.
Girls
Almira/Coulee-Hartline 58, Willapa Valley 22: The 14th-seeded Warriors (15-11) eliminated the 19-seeded Vikings (13-12) in a State 1B play-in game in Coulee City. ACH faces 11th-seeded Sunnyside Christian at AC Davis HS in Yakima in a loser-out on Saturday.
Wilbur-Creston-Keller 61, Summit Classical 15: The 13th-seeded Wildcats (16-6) beat the 20th-seeded Archers (12-13) in a State 1B play-in game in Wilbur. WCK faces 12th-seeded Crosspoint Christian in a loser-out at Mount Tahoma HS on Saturday.