Carson Morningstar (20) and Malachi Patton (4) are two of the young stars for the Prairie Falcons boys basketball team. After struggling for a few years, the program is back on top of the 3A GSHL and with Wednesday’s playoff win, one step closer to reaching the state tournament. Photo by Paul Valencia

Carson Morningstar and teammates won a league title and opened the postseason with a victory Wednesday, and the Falcons are looking to make it to the state tournament for the first time this decade

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

There were some old-timers in the stands, former teachers, coaches, and administrators, watching their school.

There was a loud and energized student section, cheering on their classmates.

It was a playoff game at Prairie High School.

And for a night, it was the 2000s or 2010s again.

The Prairie boys basketball team is back.

Back on top of the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League. Back hosting playoff games. And back to winning.

The Falcons, who won the league title last week, are one step closer to reaching the state tournament after defeating Lakes 66-61 on Wednesday in the opening round of the 3A bi-district tournament.

It has been quite the journey for the program since coach Jimmy Tuominen became the head coach prior to the 2021-22 season.

“When I took over, we kind of had to retool a little bit. Now we’re seeing some fruits of those labors,” Tuominen said. “This year, we took a huge step.”

From team leader Carson Morningstar to the reserves on the bench, all doing their part — together — to return Prairie to its winning ways.

“We’ve had good players throughout the past years, but definitely this year we’re more of a team, not to throw shade at anyone,” Morningstar said. “I feel like we play together and harmonize as a team, on the defensive end, and the offensive end. Everyone working hard in practice is making everyone better.”

In the case of Morningstar, the best in the league.

While the all-league team has not officially been released, Morningstar learned from another coach in the league that he was voted player of the year.

“There’s a lot of great players in our league. It’s an honor,” said Morningstar, a junior who is averaging better than 25 points per game this season. “I want to thank my family and everyone who has supported me. But I wouldn’t be player of the year without my teammates. It starts with my guards, the coaching, everybody.”

The player of the year played exactly as expected Wednesday night, scoring the first seven points of the game for his team to set the tone against Lakes. Prairie lost to Lakes earlier in the season, but the Falcons never trailed after the opening minutes of this playoff game.

It was never a blowout. Lakes kept it close and even had a bit of a run in the fourth quarter, but Prairie never lost the lead.

“We made sure to stay disciplined,” sophomore guard Malachi Patton said. “We stuck to the game plan.”

Morningstar finished with 27 points, including the basket with 25 seconds left to give the Falcons a two-possession lead — pretty much securing the victory. Patton, meanwhile, had 19 points.

Next up for Prairie is a matchup with Federal Way in the quarterfinals. The winner of the game will qualify for state. The loser will fall into the consolation bracket and still have an opportunity to get to state.

Tuominen noted that this year’s team is united. It started in the weight room, and then all of the players just wanted to hang out together.

“These guys have worked really, really hard to get to this point, and they are really tight as a group,” Tuominen said. “It took that extra piece for us to excel.”

That has led to this point in the season, with an opportunity for the program to return to state for the first time since 2019.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we did all that stuff, and now we’re seeing the success,” Tuominen said.

“We talk about dreaming it and then achieving it,” the coach said. “When you dream about it, think about it, it’s a lot easier to achieve it. It’s right there in front of you.”

The Falcons also enjoyed having a home playoff game for the first time in years.

“It was an out-of-body experience,” Patton said. “It was so fun to be out there on the court.”

Oh yes, this Prairie team only has two seniors on the squad, one starter. So this could be the beginning of quite a run for the Falcons.

“To see how excited the guys are … it’s really cool,” Tuominen said.

Playoff basketball: The next scheduled games for the 3A bi-district boys tournament are Friday. However, with the winter storm hitting the region Thursday and expected to carry over into Friday, it is more than likely that those games will be postponed. One administrator told Clark County Today that all postponed games are likely to be rescheduled for the first available date. For Prairie boys, for example, that might mean Saturday. …

Also Wednesday, the 8-seed Mountain View boys prevailed in the opener of the 3A bi-district, topping No. 9 White River. Mountain View will take on No. 1 Auburn Mountainview when the tournament resumes. Evergreen, the 13-seed, lost to Bellarmine and is now in the consolation bracket.

In the 4A bi-district boys basketball opener, No. 1 Camas had no trouble with No. 16 Graham-Kapowsin, winning 66-48. Camas will face No. 8 Sumner in the quarterfinals. Sumner beat Skyview 54-40. Union fell to Emerald Ridge. Skyview and Union are now in the consolation bracket.

In the 4A bi-district girls tournament, No. 4 Camas beat Kentwood 67-57. This game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but administrators moved the game to Wednesday due to the expected snow storm on Thursday.

The Washougal girls and boys basketball teams each won in the pigtail games of the 2A district tournaments on Wednesday.