The Cougars couldn’t miss in the first half, and the Kodiaks rallied in Spokane

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

A couple of private schools are making school history at state basketball tournaments.

The Seton Catholic Cougars are going to the quarterfinals for the first time, and the Columbia Adventist Academy Kodiaks have won three games in the same state tournament for the first time.

Meanwhile, the Columbia River boys basketball team saw its season come to an end Wednesday in the round-of-12 at the 2A tournament in Yakima.

Here are how the boys teams from Clark County small schools fared Wednesday.

Class 1A Boys

No. 7 Seton Catholic 72, No. 10 Meridian 60

Someone forgot to tell the Seton Catholic Cougars about the risks of shooting 3-pointers in domes.

These Cougars had no fears. 

After the shooting display they put on, they have no worries.

For years, coaches around the state have noted how difficult it can be for high school teams to shoot from long range in the domes, at state tournament sites. The depth perception is so different from typical high school gymnasiums. 

Seton Catholic didn’t get the message.

Brady Angelo was 5 for 6 from 3-point range in the first half, the Cougars were 60-percent from beyond the arc in that half, and they built a huge lead, cruising to a 72-60 victory over Meridian in the round-of-12 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Seton Catholic will take on No. 1 Zillah in a quarterfinal game at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. This is the first time the Cougars have reached the elite eight.

Angelo ended up with 25 points on 9 for 10 shooting against Meridian. He also had five assists.

Kaiden Wilson, using his physical style, got to the line 16 times, covering 12 free throws and finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Rico George added 13 points and four assists for the Cougars.

Seton Catholic scored 43 points in the first half and built its largest lead of the game to 21 points in the third quarter. 

Meridian got it going in the fourth quarter, but by then, the Cougar could have been thinking about Thursday. 

Class 1B Boys

No. 16 Columbia Adventist Academy 54, No. 8 Naselle 51

Columbia Adventist Academy has made it to the quarterfinals in its past, but no Columbia Adventist Academy team ever accomplished so much in one tournament as this year’s team.

Due to changes in the tournament format, these Kodiaks had to win two state tournament games just to reach the round of 12, and a third game to get to the quarterfinals.

Guess what? The 16-seed Kodiaks are 3-0 this year in the Class 1B boys basketball state tournament.

Wednesday, the Kodiaks rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to stun No. 8 Nasellle 54-51 at the Spokane Arena.

Collin Delaney was clutch in the final seconds. His basket with 40 seconds left gave the Kodiaks a 52-51 lead – the seventh lead change of the fourth quarter – and then he got a steal and made two free throws with 24 seconds left for some breathing room.

Columbia Adventist Academy will face No. 2 Wellpinit at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Delaney finished with 18 points, making 7 of 11 shots from the field. He also had six rebounds. Tristan White had 15 points and six boards for the Kodiaks. 

Columbia Adventist shot 61 percent from the field in the second half, outscoring the Comets 33-19 in the final two quarters.

The Kodiaks defense got the rally started. They forced 23 turnovers, and Columbia Adventist had a 19-5 advantage on points off of turnovers.

Class 2A Boys

No. 5 Anacortes 69, No. 12 Columbia River 56

The Columbia River Rapids have to feel good about reaching the round of 12, and they also made quite a few memories in this state tournament.

Yes, their run is over now after faltering in the fourth quarter Wednesday night in Yakima, but it was still a successful season.

Ari Richardson will always get to say he hit a game-winner in the state tournament – he did that Saturday, sending the Rapids to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the round of 12.

And then he had a crazy surge of points in the second quarter, giving the Rapids lead at the half. Richardson scored 12 points in a row for Columbia River as the Rapids led 30-26 at the break.

Jake Andrew had an answer for Anacortes, though. He made four consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half.

Columbia River kept it close for a while, though. It was a one-point game early in the fourth quarter. Anacortes, though, was too strong for River in the final five minutes. 

Richardson finished with 18 points. Aaron Hoey added 16 for the Rapids.