TACOMA — Before they took the floor for their 4A bi-district semifinal against Sumner, the Union Titans already knew one league opponent had reached.
The Titans joined the party, too, making it an all-4 Greater St. Helens League showdown for the bi-district title Saturday after Wednesday’s 83-65 win over the Spartans at Mount Tahoma High School.
It’s no surprise, Titans guard Ty McCullum said, of who their opponent is — the Battle Ground Tigers — given the strength and competitiveness of the 4A GSHL. All three playoff-bound teams — Battle Ground, Skyview and Union — have qualified for regionals.
“(This league) is really good,” McCullum said. “We knew our league was hard from the beginning and we knew we had to work.”
Wednesday, Kaden Horn scored 35 points on 8 of 14 shooting from 3-point range, Tanner Toolson added a double-double of 22 and 14 rebounds to help the Titans advance to Saturday’s showdown with the Tigers. Union shot 50 percent from the field and had its first 30-point lead at 60-30. Sumner poured in 30 fourth-quarter points to cut the deficit to 17 late.
Saturday’s Battle Ground-Union bi-district title game has a “95 percent” chance to be moved to Vancouver, Union athletic director Rory Rosenbach said Wednesday night. A game time and location is expected to be finalized Thursday.
For a program that has Class 4A and 3A state titles, Union has never won a 4A bi-district title. It’s only bi-district title came in .3AS in 2009. That could change Saturday against a league opponent its swept during the regular-season, albeit a 73-72 narrow road win their second meeting Jan. 28. Battle Ground comes into Saturday’s game winners of its last two bi-district games by overtime, including Wednesday’s 63-59 victory over Kentwood.
For Union, which moves to 23-0 and still No. 1 in the latest 4A state RPI rankings, playing for — and possibly winning — a bi-district title is a step to where the Titans want to be as their playoff run deepens
“That would mean a lot,” McCullum said. “That would give us a lot of confidence. It’d mean a lot to go down in the record books.”
—
UNION 83, SUMNER 65
SUMNER — Truman Young 9, Champ Spencer 14, Lamar Campbell 14, Nathan Voliva 8, Josh Lear 14, Kaden Lewis 3, Connor Chalich 3.
UNION — Aiden Liss 0, Ty McCullum 8, Tanner Toolson 22, Mason Hill 8, Izaiah Vongnath 0, Ariya Briscoe 5, Josh Reznick 0, Kaden Horn 35, Connor Flannigan 4.
Sumner: 9 9 17 30 — 65
Union: 18 23 21 21 — 83
