Local school hosts five regional games; plus results from all nine county teams

BATTLE GROUND — The Prairie Falcons certainly did not mind playing on Battle Ground’s home court Saturday afternoon.

The Washougal Panthers enjoyed playing close to home, too.

Union and Skyview would have preferred different results in their games, but they both will carry on to play another day.

The rest of the games this season for those four teams will be in domes. They will be joining seven other teams from Clark County that have advanced to the final destinations in their respective classifications. (More on those other squads below.)

Saturday, though, was a goodbye to all high school basketball played in the county this season, and Battle Ground High School was proud to host an extravaganza of hoops.

The school, the city, hosted five state regional games, starting at noon with Kelso taking down Timberline. The next four games all featured Clark County squads.

The “home” teams won the two elimination games. The “road” teams conquered in the two seeding games.

As far as Matt Stanfill is concerned, his school was a big winner, too. The athletic director at Battle Ground credited his school’s staff.

“They do a great job,” he said. “They do amazing work to make it all happen.”

He said it is a “pleasure” to host these games.

“Just glad Battle Ground can help,” he added.

Who’s left?

Clark County had 12 teams total in regional games Friday and Saturday. The teams in elimination games went 5-1, while those in seeding games went 0-6.

That means 11 teams are still alive, but all 11 will be playing Wednesday elimination games at state tournament sites: Class 4A and 3A boys and girls are in the Tacoma Dome. Class 2A and 1A boys and girls are in the Yakima Valley SunDome. And the B schools are in the Spokane Arena.

The Union girls, Prairie boys, Washougal girls, King’s Way Christian boys, and Columbia Adventist girls all won elimination games this weekend.

The Union boys, Skyview boys, Camas girls, Prairie girls, Columbia River boys, and La Center girls all lost but those were seeding games to fill out the brackets for the final 12 teams.

The Battle Ground regionals

Prairie boys heading to the Tacoma Dome:

Kameron Osborn scored 29 points, leading the Prairie Falcons to a 65-54 win over Arlington in a Class 3A state regional elimination game.

The victory sends the Falcons to the Tacoma Dome for a round-of-12 game at 2 p.m. Wednesday against Wilson.

“You want to treat it like any other game, but it is a trip to the dome. This was probably the most important game of my high school career,” Osborn said. “To come out and play like that is huge.”

“The pinnacle for coaches in Washington is to go to the dome,” Prairie coach Kyle Brooks said. “Just feels great.”

It is the first time Brooks has coached Prairie to the dome since 2008. These Falcons did it the hard way, too.

“This is our third loser-out game we survived,” Brooks said. “We just wanted to win and advance. Nothing comes easy, but it just feels really good.”

Osborn scored 21 of his points in the first half. He scored 11 in a row for his team in the first quarter, when Prairie took the lead for good.

Dante Heitschmidt made three 3-pointers, including one at the end of the first quarter and then back-to-back to finish the third quarter, giving the Falcons a 12-point lead.

Senior Logan Reed had rebounds, a steal, an assist, and a blocked shot, doing the little things to add up to a big night for the Falcons.

“It’s awesome we’re going to state,” Reed said. “Been dreaming of playing in the dome since freshman year. We made it.”

Reed also enjoyed playing just a few miles from home.

“No three-hour bus ride. That helped a lot,” he said.

Washougal girls get to pack for Yakima

The Washougal Panthers improved to 4-0 in elimination games this postseason and have made it back to the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Tiana Barnett, a super sub who often comes off the bench to give new life for the Panthers, led her squad with 16 points as the Panthers topped Fife 55-38.

Beyonce Bea added 14 points, Skyler Bea had 13 and the Panthers rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to advance. Washougal will play Lynden at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in another elimination game.

“It’s amazing. I’m really proud of the team,” Beyonce Bea said. “Nice to accomplish our goal. This is what we’ve been working for all year long.”

Alexis Maniscalco came off the bench to provide the spark for the Panthers when they trailed 22-12. Washougal went on a 19-2 run to end the first half. Maniscalco had three assists and two rebounds in that stretch.

“I really wanted to get to the dome,” she said. “It’s my last year. We worked really hard, and I gave it all I had.”

The Panthers had trouble against the Fife press defense early in the game. Nothing to worry about, Beyonce Bea said.

“Once we figured out how to handle it, we were able to score and do what we needed to do,” she said.

She also described the game as “fun” when all of the Panthers are working together, sharing the scoring responsibilities and getting huge contributions from everybody.

Washougal won three consecutive games in the consolation bracket of the district tournament to reach state regionals. Now this.

“It’s so cool,” Washougal coach Britney Knotts said. “They deserve it.”

Skyview boys fall to Enumclaw

Peter Erickson scored 16 points and Kaden Anderson had nine of his 13 points in the second half, leading Enumclaw to a 51-44 win over Skyview.

Enumclaw will move straight to the state quarterfinals.

Skyview remains alive in the state tournament, but will now play an elimination game in the round of 12 at the Tacoma Dome. The Storm will face Glacier Peak at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Skyview led the entire first half against Enumclaw but struggled on offense for much of the night.

“Not going to win too many games shooting 19 percent from 3-point range and 35 percent overall,” Skyview coach Matt Gruhler said.

Samaad Hector led Skyview with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Alex Schumacher scored 14 points.

Hector’s 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave Skyview a one-point lead, but Enumclaw scored eight of the next 10 points to take command.

“I think our guys learned what it’s like to play in a (state) playoff game,” Gruhler said.

The Storm have plenty of postseason experience this season, just getting to the state regional round. But this was Skyview’s first state playoff game in program history.

“We see teams like this. We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” the coach said.

Through the loss, perhaps the Storm can gain some confidence. They did not shoot well, yet still had a lead in the fourth quarter.

“We were right there with them,” Gruhler said. “We know we can compete with these guys.”

Union boys get closer, but still lose to Federal Way

The Union Titans rallied from six points down with two minutes to play in regulation to force overtime, but the Federal Way Eagles got the best of the Titans in the extra session for a 75-65 victory.

Marcus Austin scored six of his 11 points in overtime, and the Eagles scored the final 10 points of the game to advance directly to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

Union is still alive, but will play an elimination game at the Tacoma Dome. The Titans will take on Kamiak at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Jaden McDaniels led Federal Way with 22 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Zach Reznick put the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with five seconds to play in regulation. Ethan Smith led Union with 19 points. Tyler Combs added 13.

Alishawuan Taylor grabbed 14 rebounds for the Titans, including an offensive board that kept the game-tying possession alive.

“I’m so proud of our players and how hard they fought,” Union coach Blake Conley said. “Kind of ran out of gas in overtime, but not for a lack of effort.”

Federal Way beat Union by 20 points in the bi-district tournament earlier this month. This time, the Titans and Eagles took turns with the lead throughout the game. There were nine lead changes in the second half.

“We put ourselves in really good position,” Conley said. “I thought we had them. Couple plays here, a couple plays there.”

Still, he was thrilled with the performance, especially after that last time the two teams played.

“We learned how tough our guys are,” Conley said. “After losing like that our last time, I knew we’d come out and battle.”

Other Saturday regionals

4A Girls

Central Valley 54, Camas 17

The top-seed in the tournament, Central Valley, certainly looked it at a regional seeding game.

The Papermakers are still alive, though, and they have a shot at making the state quarterfinals if they can beat Union one more time this season.

That’s right. Camas and Union, 4A Greater St. Helens League rivals, will play each other in Wednesday’s elimination round at the Tacoma Dome. Tip-off is 2 p.m.

Jillian Webb hit two first-quarter 3-pointers for Camas against Central Valley, according to The Spokesman Review. The Papermakers jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Then it was all Bears.

2A Boys

Selah 75, Columbia River 69

Three Selah players combined to score 70 points to advance to the 2A state quarterfinals with this win in a regional seeding game.

Zak Donato had 24 points, and Noah Pepper and Elijah Pepper each scored 23.

Jacob Hjort led Columbia River with 19 points. Evan Dirksen added 15 points.

River remains alive, and will head to the Yakima Valley SunDome. The Chieftains will face Fife at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in an elimination game.

1A Boys

King’s Way Christian 71, Wahluke 67, OT

Khalfani Cason scored 35 points, and the Knights are going to Yakima for the fourth consecutive season.

King’s Way Christian finished second in the Trico League, and then second at district. But the Knights are the only team from the Trico to make it to Yakima, as one of the final 12 teams at state.

King’s Way Christian will face Cascade Christian at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in an elimination game.

1A Girls

La Salle 47, La Center 32

It was a struggle on offense Saturday for the Wildcats in this one, but they will have a chance to regroup next week in Yakima.

Taylor Stephens scored 12 points and Taylor Mills had 11 for La Center, which saw its 15-game win streak come to an end.

La Center will play Freeman at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday in an elimination game.

1B Girls

Columbia Adventist 52, Clallum Bay 43

The small school from Battle Ground has some big travel plans. Columbia Adventist is going to Spokane for the state tournament.

Columbia Adventist held Clallum Bay to 11 points in the second half, according to the Peninsula Daily News.

Columbia Adventist will take on Mount Vernon Christian in an elimination game at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Spokane Arena.

For a round-up of Friday’s games, click here: