YAKIMA —Selah overpowered Olympic 83-57 March 3 in the semifinal of the 2A Boys State Basketball Tournament, in the Yakima SunDome.
Olympic now faces Lynden at 11:15 a.m. today (March 4) in a bid for third. North Kitsap faces Anacortes at 8 a.m. in a bid for fourth.
Despite losing their title bids, today’s games cap remarkable seasons for the Trojans (20-7) and the Vikings (21-6), the top teams in the Olympic League. At the end of the day, Kitsap County will have two of the top six, and possibly top four, 2A boys basketball teams in the Evergreen State.
The teams proved as scrappy in post season as they did in regular season.
In the quarterfinal March 2, Prosser pushed and prodded Olympic into overtime before yielding to the Trojans 59-54. Jaiden Mosley, who topped team scorers with 16 points, powered the Trojans in the second half with two three-point bombs to put them ahead 32-28 to start the fourth quarter.
Despite sitting because of fouls, Olympic’s Tyler Yost returned in the fourth to bury baskets that were critical toward propelling the team into overtime.
Prosser was led by postman Scott Blakney’s 25 points and forward Nate Brown’s 17. The pair was particularly effective down the stretch for the Mustangs. Blakney and Brown also launched successful three-pointers to put their team into a 4-point lead with just two minutes remaining.
Overtime was all Olympic. Evan Turnquist, who scored 15 for the Trojans, started off the decisive extra period with a bucket. In the end, OT turned out to a calmer affair for Olympic as they outscored their opponent 10-5.
Olympic was on a post-season win streak, winning its opener against Lynden 56-47 on Feb. 25, then eking out the overtime quarterfinal win against Prosser.
Olympic returned to the state semifinals after a long absence. The Trojans’ experience then, in 1983, was memorable as they advanced to the championship game and won their only state title to date. Selah’s absence has been more pronounced — this was its first return to the semifinals since 1960.
North Kitsap, the Olympic League champion, lost handily to Pullman at regionals, 81-57 on Feb. 25, then rebounded with a narrow 34-30 win over Mountlake Terrace on March 1. North Kitsap lost to Selah 62-54 the next day, setting up a bid for fourth against Anacortes.
In the 2A State Girls Basketball Tournament, North Kitsap got knocked out of state contention on Feb. 24, losing to East Valley of Yakima 52-41 at regionals. Olympic defeated Renton 45-36 at regionals, but was ousted from the state tournament March 1 with a 56-29 loss to Lynden.
