Camas boys basketball team wins Wednesday and will play in state quarterfinal Thursday morning, and Camas girls are in the quarterfinals Thursday night

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

The Camas boys basketball team keeps making program history.

And they are joining the girls basketball team in making school history.

For the first time, the Camas boys and girls teams are playing in the championship quarterfinals in the same season.

For the boys, in fact, it is the first appearance in the elite eight.

The Papermakers came up clutch in the final minutes Wednesday morning to beat Tahoma 62-57 in a round-of-12 elimination game in the Class 4A boys basketball tournament in the Tacoma Dome.

Beckett Currie hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch, Theo McMillan was scoring all game, and Jace VanVoorhis had a steal and lay-up to secure the deal. Tahoma had taken the lead in the fourth quarter after Camas led most of the contest.

This is the first traditional, final-site state tournament victory for the boys program since 1962. And that victory, according to WIAA archives, was in the consolation round. Camas’ victory last week in the state regional round was the first win for the program in the championship bracket. This win is the first for the program at the final site in the championship bracket.

The other three Clark County teams that played Wednesday lost in their elimination games. Union (4A boys), Seton Catholic (1A boys) and King’s Way Christian (1A boys) saw their seasons come to an end.

That leaves Clark County with two teams remaining this high school basketball season: Camas and Camas.

The Camas boys, seeded 10th in this tournament, face No. 1 Curtis at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

The Camas girls, seeded second, did not play Wednesday. The Papermakers qualified directly to the quarterfinals with their win on Friday in the state regionals. The Camas girls take on No. 1 Woodinville at 9 p.m. Thursday.

(Yes, No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the quarterfinals. Woodinville was stunned on Saturday in the state regional seeding game. That meant the No. 1 seed fell into the round-of-12. Woodlinville won Wednesday, but the way the bracket works, that slot plays the No. 2 team.)

In 4A boys, McMillan scored four points in a row to give Camas the lead for good at 57-53. McMillan finished with 24 points on 12-for-19 shooting. He also had six rebounds and three assists.

Beckett Currie hit a 3-pointer to make it 50-45 with 1:20 left in the game. Currie finished with 18 points and three steals.

Tahoma scored to make it a three-point game, then got a stop and had a chance to tie. But Jace VanVoorhis had other plans. He stole the ball, then made a contested lay-up for a five-point lead in the closing seconds, securing a trip to the quarterfinals for the Papermakers. 

On Thursday afternoon, a 14-2 run in the third quarter by Richland was enough for the Bombers to pull away in a close game against Union. The Titans led at halftime, but Richland would record the 55-43 victory.

Josiah Badassare made four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 16 points for the Titans. Yanni Fassilis, in his final game for Union, had 13 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and six steals, plus three blocked shots.

Union’s season ended with a 19-7 record. The Titans won 12 in a row prior to Wednesday’s loss, a streak that kept an incredible run going for the program. The Titans have made it to the Tacoma Dome in each of the last eight tournaments. Yes, the Titans have been in the final 12 or better eight tournaments in a row.

In Yakima, Seton Catholic made it to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the first time in program history. The stay was short, but the Cougars made it.

Seton Catholic stuck with Toppenish for a half, but the Wildcats got it done in the second half, topping the Cougars 62-42.

Lance Lee and Brady Angelo each scored 11 points for Seton Catholic. Jack Jennigs added eight points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots for the Cougars. Seton finished the season 18-8.

And on Wednesday night, King’s Way Christian’s boys basketball season came to an end. The Knights, like the Union Titans in 4A, are a constant in the 1A tournament. This is their eighth consecutive appearance in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

King’s pulled away with a dominating second half for a 72-49 victory over King’s Way Christian. 

Gio Evanson concluded his brilliant high school career with 22 points for the Knights. He also had nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Ryan Tyler added 11 points for the Knights, who finished the season 16-9.