YAKIMA – The Columbia River boys basketball team climbed out of a big hole, but couldn’t reach the summit against the state’s top 2A team.
No. 1-ranked Lynden beat No. 2 Columbia River 52-40 in the 2A state quarterfinals on Thursday at the SunDome.
Columbia River trailed 18-4 two minutes into the second quarter. But the Chieftains rallied to enter halftime with a 22-20 lead.
Lynden (24-1) controlled the second half, opening a 38-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
“At halftime we were all jacked in there,” senior forward Evan Dirksen said outside the Columbia River locker room. “We thought we could seal the deal. But it turns out we didn’t.”
Nate Snook scored 13 points and Dirksen added 12 for Columbia River (22-4).
Columbia River will face No. 6 Clarkston in the fourth-place semifinal Friday at 9 a.m.
The Chieftains had eight turnovers in the first quarter and were outscored 14-2.
“You can’t turn the ball over in the state tournament and expect to win,” Columbia River coach David Long said. “You can do that in the regular season from time to time. But in the state tournament the team that turns the ball over isn’t going to win.”
Columbia River trailed 18-4 with six minutes left in the first half. But five consecutive points by Dirksen ignited the Chieftains’ comeback. When Alex Miller drained a 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the half, River had come all the way back to tie the score at 18.
“That was a fun comeback in the first half,” Long said. “Our kids enjoyed that rally.”
The second half started with River ahead 22-20. Then Lynden, which shot 27 percent in the first half, got hot. Clayton Whitman scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in that quarter and the Lions shot 54 percent in the second half.
“We had a lot of momentum,” Dirksen said. “But credit to Lynden. They weathered the storm and made their own run.”
Snook scored five straight points to open the fourth quarter, pulling River within 38-34. But Lynden put the game away with a 14-3 run.
“They were extremely physical,” Long said. “Their coach and I talked after the game. That was their gameplan. He didn’t want us to run our stuff.”
Long said fatigue was also a factor in River’s second game in two days.
“We are really giving 100 percent every trip,” Long said. “I’m so pleased with the effort that our kids are putting out. But it has taken a toll. We’re not very deep.”
River was outrebounded 29-16, gave up 12 offensive rebounds and had 18 turnovers.
“We turned the ball over, we didn’t get enough rebounds to seal the deal and we didn’t make shots either,” Dirksen said. “That’s definitely not how you win games.”
LYNDEN 52, COLUMBIA RIVER 40
COLUMBIA RIVER (22-4) – Nate Snook 13, Alex Miller 6, Quincy Cartwright 0, Matt Asplund 0, Josh Kukula 3, Evan Dirksen 12, Caden Dezort 0, Cole Delich 0, Jack Armstrong 2, Marc Miranda 4, Dylan Valdez 0. Totals 15 (5) 5-7 40.
LYNDEN (24-1) – Kobe Eisner 2, Blake Silves 7, James Marsh 5, Clayton Whitman 22, Brock Heppner 0, Carson Bode 0, Eli HanderHaak 0, Dakota Baar 2, Carter Parcher 0, Christian Zamora 14, Liam Hanenburg 0. Totals 18 (2) 14-17 52.
Col.River 2 20 7 11—40
Lynden 14 6 18 14—52
