The Auburn Riverside boys basketball team were unable to overcome a 34-19 halftime deficit against Todd Beamer this past Friday, losing 73-65 in the South Puget Sound League 4A tourney at Jefferson High School.
The Ravens (8-8 league, 11-10 overall) scored just seven points in the first quarter, and allowed the Titans (9-7, 11-10) 22 points in the second quarter.
Auburn Riverside found themselves down as much as 17 points in the third quarter, before staging a comeback keyed by senior Mitch Hagerty and junior Ryan Rogers. The Ravens managed to pull to within seven points in the fourth quarter, before Hagerty picked up his fifth foul with less than three minutes left in the game and was forced to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
“I thought I could have had them a little better prepared, especially in the first half,” Auburn Riverside coach Tom Adams said. “They got out in the second half and started creating turnovers and generating offense. The energy was good in the first half, they just didn’t execute.”
“They were a little to hyper,” Adams said. “It certainly looked like [playoff jitters], which is strange because I’ve got kids with 12 games of postseason experience.”
Rogers finished the game with 21 points, with Roman Tymchuk adding 12 points and Hagerty chipping in with 11 points.
Beamer was led by Kevin Davis, who had 21 points.
The loss gives the Ravens the No. 10 seed into the West Central District tourney and sets up a showdown with No. 1 seed Federal Way (14-2, 20-2) this Thursday at Federal Way High School. The Eagles, ranked the No. 1 4A team in the state, were victorious in both of the teams’ regular season meetings this season.
ALSO: The Auburn (10-6, 13-6) boys hoop team defeated Puyallup (11-5, 14-7) 84-75 to earn the No. 7 seed into the West Central District tourney. The Trojans were led by Jay Payne’s game high 26 points. Jeff Gouveia added 16 points and Kevin Henderson chimed in with 12 points. The Trojans will travel to Kentwood to take on the Conquerors (14-2, 17-5) this Thursday.
