Titans roll past Camas 63-45 to clinch 4A state regionals
By Paul Valencia, Columbian
High School Sports Reporter
Published: February 20, 2015, 12:00am
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Union's Micah Paulson drives to the basket against Camas. Paulson scored 19 points as Union beat Camas 63-45 on Thursday to win the 4A District championship and berth to the state regional round.
The Union Titans did not even realize just how good they were Thursday night.
“Oh my God,” Riley Hawken said when he was told the Titans had a 20-0 run in the second quarter.
He and the Titans had no idea it was that big of a run.
But they all certainly enjoyed the big rush because of that run.
Union, the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state, roughed up Camas 63-45 in the 4A District 4 boys basketball championship game at Union High School.
A 16-14 game was quickly 36-14, and it was all over.
Union (21-1), winners of 20 games in a row, clinched a trip to the Class 4A state tournament’s round of 16 as the No. 1 seed from Southwest Washington.
Camas, meanwhile, will host Battle Ground at 8 p.m. Friday in a winner-to-state, loser-done, second-place game.
Micah Paulson, the 4A Greater St. Helens League’s player of the year, scored 19 points to lead the Titans. Hawken finished with 16.
“We’ve been planning this every step of the way. We have a couple of goals. This was one of our main goals,” Paulson said of the district title. “It’s great to see it happen.”
The Titans cut down a net and celebrated with their huge student section. But they hope this is not their last celebration.
“I think we’re just starting to get rolling in the playoffs,” Paulson said. “It’s exciting, but we’re not done yet.”
Paulson made two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the decisive spurt in the second quarter. He also had back-to-back assists to Thomas Lampkin Jr.
“It all starts with defense,” Paulson said. “We stop them, we go down and convert, and then we have to stop them again.
“We have to be one on defense. When we’re playing our best, it’s when we play as one on defense.”
Defense also gets the crowd involved.
“It is the craziest feeling ever. You hear them yelling after a steal, and after a lay-up. The crowd we have here is the best.”
Hawken, in fact, believes the crowd gave him the power to complete a dunk in the first quarter after a steal and breakaway. He jumped a little too soon.
“I’ve never jumped from that far away. I thought I was going to get rim-checked and fall to the floor on my back,” he said. “The crowd was going wild. They gave me the extra boost of energy.”
Camas’ Jordan Anderson and Trevor Jasinsky each scored 16 points.
The Papermakers scored the last eight points of the second quarter to cut the Union lead to 14.
Both defenses prevailed in the third quarter, as both teams combined for 10 points.
That’s another reason Union is ranked No. 1 — that defense.
A lineup of Cole Weatherspoon, Nico Bricker, Lampkin, Carson Brucher, and Cameron Cranston never stopped working, getting a shot-clock violation in the third quarter of a blowout game.
That is the commitment to defense Paulson was talking about for the Titans.
Now the Titans can prepare for the round of 16. They are one win away from making it to the Tacoma Dome.
“It means a lot more than just cutting down the net,” Hawken said of this win. “It sets us up for the rest of the season and what we want to accomplish.”
UNION 63, CAMAS 45
CAMAS — Jake Hansel 4, Trevor Jasinsky 16, Jordan Anderson 16, Andre De Los Rios 3, James Price 3, Kantas Zalpys 0, Ethan Unger 3, Jayce Allen 0, Bryan Nguyen 0. Totals 15-40 (5-17) 10-12 45.
UNION — Keithen Shepard 0, Brennan Paulson 0, Cole Weatherspoon 6, Micah Paulson 19, Carson Brucher 0, Nico Bricker 2, Nick Simkins 0, Thomas Lampkin Jr. 8, Cameron Cranston 10, Riley Hawken 16, Denis Kirichenko 0, Stephan Ammentorp 2. Totals 26-61 (5-23) 6-6 63.
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