There was a loud roar long before Auburn boys basketball coach Ryan Hansen emerged from the locker room.
In a different outfit.
“They dumped water on me and tackled me in there,” said Hansen, who earned his 200th career win with a 65-52 victory Tuesday night in a South Puget Sound League 3A contest at Auburn Riverside. “I don’t normally come out changed, but I was soaking wet.”
Hansen, who wore a gray polo and khaki pants during the game, emerged in a white fleece sweatshirt, black workout pants and socks.
“I’m sure I look really good right now,” he said with a laugh.
Not that Hansen is complaining.
“I’m glad it wasn’t Gatorade,” Hansen said. “I can handle water.”
It was the culmination of a night of fun for the Trojans, who maintained a double-figure lead throughout most of the game. Auburn (8-5 overall, 3-4 league) had not enjoyed much of that in the days proceeding as the Trojans lost their first two games since New Year’s Day, including a setback against last-place Bonney Lake.
“We just talked about getting back to the basics, playing with a lot of joy and having fun,” Hansen said.
He also made an adjustment, moving 6-foot-4 senior wing Devan Minch into the starting lineup in place of 6-foot sophomore guard Pa’Treon Lee. Hansen said he made the change because Minch provides his smaller squad – Minch is the second tallest player on the team – with more size to address Auburn’s rebounding issues. Hansen, who noted that he likes Lee’s ability to come off the bench and provide offense, said he anticipates sticking with the lineup change.
Minch, who scored a game-high 18 points, provided a significant boost during the fourth quarter on the offensive end, too. With seven minutes remaining, junior guard Julian Gulchuk split a pair of free throws to reduce the Ravens’ deficit to 51-42. But that is as close as Auburn Riverside (8-5, 4-3) would get. That is because the Trojans went on a run behind Minch, who hit a jumper and then stole the ball and scored on a layup. That gave the Trojans a 56-42 lead with 5:11 remaining.
Senior guards Tyler Pray (13) and Malik Williams (10) also scored in double figures for Auburn.
“In games like this, you want to depend on your seniors,” Hansen said. “They did a great job stepping up for us.”
That, Williams said, is a byproduct of several Trojans having played together for many years. Ten of 13 players listed on Auburn’s roster are seniors.
“We just have great chemistry and we’re unselfish,” Williams said. “We try and pass the ball around and get everyone touches.”
With seven regular season games left to go, both teams are in the league’s playoff picture. Auburn is in fifth place, while the Ravens are in third. The top six teams in SPSL 3A advance to the postseason. Both programs host teams Friday, with Auburn Riverside playing Sumner at 7 p.m. and the Trojans tipping off 30 minutes later against Auburn Mountainview.
“What I want to get out of the kids is that we don’t play this way because it’s a rivalry game,” Hansen said. “We play this way because it’s the next game on the schedule.”
Elsewhere
Auburn Mountainview 80, at Enumclaw 53: The Lions rebounded from their first league loss with a dominant win in an SPSL 3A contest. No other details were provided for the Lions (11-1, 6-1).
