Auburn Trojans basketball looks to continue dominance this season

By Benjamin Ray • November 22, 2022 10:15 am
Photo courtesy of Auburn High School basketball. The Auburn High School boys basketball team poses for a photo after winning the state championship game against Rainier Beach last season.
Photo courtesy of Auburn High School basketball. The Auburn High School boys basketball team poses for a photo after winning the state championship game against Rainier Beach last season.

Last season was historic for the boys basketball team at Auburn High School. The Trojans won their first state title in school history. They were the second team outside of the metro league to win the state title since 2011 (2019 Mt. Spokane).

Auburn was led by six seniors, and four of them received offers to play basketball at four year universities. In the regular season, Auburn had a 27-2 record, and went 12-0 in league. Their only loss in the postseason came in the regional game against Mt. Spokane. En route to their championship, the Trojans knocked off two blue blood programs in Garfield High School and Rainier Beach High School.

In the championship, they were victorious over Beach with the score of 58-48.

Auburn Mountainview’s boys basketball team had a good season as well. In the shadow of the Trojans, Mountainview went 11-10 and was 4-3 in league play.

In the district tournament, the Lions lost a tight contest to Evergreen (Van) 56-53. Similar to the Trojans, Mountainview also graduated six seniors after the 2022 season.

For Auburn Riverside, it was a season to forget. The Ravens went 0-17 on the season, their worst win percentage since 2011 when Riverside went 3-16 (.016). Riverside has their work cut out for them right from the start this season.

Their first game is on the road against Auburn, and their first home game is against Puyallup at 7 p.m. Dec. 3. For Mountainview, their first game of the season is at home against Bonney Lake at 7 p.m. Dec. 1.

Auburn High School’s first home basketball game is against crosstown rival Auburn Riverside as they look to defend their title starting on Dec. 2 with tip-off at 7 p.m.

Girls Basketball

Auburn High School’s girls basketball team was dominant last season.

The Trojans led the charge in the standings, finishing in second place at 17-7 and going 6-1 in league.

At the district tournament, Auburn cleaned up, coming in second place and locking in a spot at the state tournament. The Trojans were the 10th seed and beat West Seattle to advance to the Tacoma Dome. Auburn lost their first game to Stanwood, 53-39. Riverside had a solid season, finishing in third place in the NPSL 3A class. The Ravens’ record was 8-11 overall and 3-4 in league.

Riverside took the tenth seed in the district playoff round and took down Heritage, but lost to Peninsula, capping off the Ravens’ season.

Auburn Mountainview brought up the end of the three schools with a regular season record of 6-11 and went 2-6 in conference, putting them at fifth in the NPSL 3A. At the district tournament, the Lions went 1-2 in the bracket — the team they beat was Prairie, 51-30. After their loss to Bonney Lake, they had a chance to advance to regionals against Peninsula. The Hawks beat Mountainview, making the Lions the COVID alternate for the state tournament, but they never made an appearance.

The Lions take on 4A league champions on the road to start the season, but the first team coming to Mountainview is Rogers High School at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 10. Riverside takes on Enumclaw at home Dec. 3, with tip-off at 6 p.m. Auburn will look to defend their state appearance again this season facing Foss High School on Nov. 29.