BATTLE GROUND – After a snowy week, Prairie boys basketball coach Kyle Brooks found himself caught in a downpour on Saturday afternoon.
It occurred in the locker room at Battle Ground High School.
After Prairie secured its first trip to the Tacoma Dome in a decade with a 65-54 win over Arlington in the 3A regionals Saturday, the Falcons patiently waited in the locker room for Brooks to wander in.
Then they soaked their coach with their water bottles.
“I haven’t had one of those since I’ve been here my freshman year,” junior Kameron Osborn said of the post-game celebration, “so that’s what you play for.”
Osborn scored 21 of his game-high 29 points to spark Prairie (20-6) to a 35-27 halftime lead. Then the Falcons used their defense and rebounding to keep the Eagles at arm’s length the rest of the way.
“(Osborn) did a really job of getting in there, getting the lane and made some tough baskets,” Brooks said. “…And then in the second half, we were able to hit some big shots because of Kam’s getting in the lane in the first half.”
Osborn said: “I only scored eight in the second half. But like I’ve said in the past, if I get going early, it gives room for Braiden (Broadbent) and Dante (Heitschmidt) getting in there on the backside.”
Heitschmidt hit back-to-back 3-pointers to end the third quarter and extend Prairie’s lead to 49-37.
Brooks credited the rebounding of Logan Reed and Matthew Kogler with helping Prairie finish off the victory.
“Defense and rebounding, that’s been our motto for Day One,” Heitschmidt said.
Anthony Whitis led Arlington with 23 points.
Saturday’s win was the fourth in a row for the Falcons, including three loser-out games. Prairie will face another loser-out game Wednesday when the Falcons face the loser of Garfield and Wilson at 2 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome. Prairie beat Wilson 49-40 in the fifth-place game at the bi-district tournament on Feb. 17.
“We’re ecstatic,” Heitschmidt said. “When we started out 0-3, I wasn’t sure we would ever get to the Dome. But we kept working, battling, and I couldn’t be happier.”
As Heitschmidt said, there are no slouches among the top 12 teams left in the state, but Brooks said his Falcons will be ready.
“We’ve been playing really good defense and I think that’s a strength of ours,” Brooks said. “Regardless of who we play, we know we’ll have to play really good defense to beat them.”
Then the coach looked down on his water-logged shirt.
“And I’ll need to get a new tie,” he said.
PRAIRIE 65, ARLINGTON 54
ARLINGTON – Griffen Gardoski 7, Anthony Whitis 23, Campbell Hudson 2, Jaren Cary 3, Ayodele Aribibola 2, Caden Smith 3, Josh Gutierrez 14. Totals 20 (10) 4-10 54.
PRAIRIE – Dante Heitschmidt 9, Kameron Osborn 29, Braiden Broadbent 8, Zeke Dixson 9, AJ Dixson 3, Logan Reed 7, Matthew Kogler 7. Totals 25 (5) 10-16 65.
Arlington 11 16 10 17—54
Prairie 16 19 14 16–65
