Cougars Get Past Tigers for 3rd in 2A District Tourney

Cougar sophomore Carter Langum

The 2A Boys District 1 Tournament has always been the utmost of challenges to squeak through the mass of quality talent and competitive teams, but this year there was an extra element added.

The days of sending three or four teams to state ended in the 2023-24 season when the district’s number of teams fell over the years from twelve teams to ten, then finally to the current count of nine teams in the 2A classification in District 1. 

The competitiveness of the group did not fall off, even though the total number of teams did.  But when you have fewer teams in your district for a classification, you get fewer allocations to send to the dome.  This year, a rotation started for “one-half” of a berth, if you will, that gives District 1 another opportunity for a state qualifier, but there is a challenge involved.

I think I can say, on behalf of the Lakewood Cougars, that they accept that challenge.

The Cougars solidified themselves as the #3 team from the 2A District 1 Tournament by defeating the Burlington-Edison Tigers, 63-56, Wednesday night, at Mount Vernon High School.  It was the second victory by the Cougars over the Tigers in this tournament, and their third win over the Tigers on the season.

With that win, the Cougars face one more challenge before they receive an invite to state.  They now travel to Eastern Washington on Saturday and will play either Ellensburg or Prosser in a winner to state game.  Those two teams square off in their third-place game, Thursday, at 600pm, at Prosser.

The Tigers have seemingly battled back from early deficits all season long to win games, including trailing Sehome 7-0 on Monday.  They were down 9-2 to the Cougars, less than three minutes into this game.

The Tigers recovered from that, but took their only lead of the game on a put back from reserve senior forward Ben Belisle, with 1:10 left in the first half.  The lead was short lived, as the Cougars senior go-to guy, Caleb Greenland, answered that with a 3-pointer from the top at the halftime buzzer, giving the Cougars the lead at halftime, 34-32.

Tiger senior Logan Heigert

Tiger senior forward Logan Heigert scored 19 of his teams 32 first-half points as he slid through the Cougars familiar 2-3 zone defense, but “drew” extra attention in the second half.

The Cougars switched to more of a box-and-one in the second half, as 5-11 junior guard Drew Egger, shadowed the 6-6 Heigert over the final two quarters, limiting him to seven second half points.  The Tigers had many chances at relatively easy scores throughout, but had trouble getting the “chippies” to fall.

Even with all that, the Tigers still made runs at the Cougars, getting to within two points with 5:30 left in the final quarter on a 3-pointer by Heigert, which were his only points in the final frame.  But, much like at the end of the first half, Greenland had the immediate answer with a 3-point shot of his own on the Cougars next possession.  The Tigers never got the score down to a single possession the rest of the way.

Heigert finished with 26 points, but was the only Tiger in double-figures.  The Cougars perimeter defenders were quick enough to close out quickly on the Tiger shooters, limiting them to four made 3-pointers, three of which came in the fourth quarter.

Cougar senior Caleb Greenland

Greenland finished with 17 points, which is seven points below his average, but the Cougars balanced attack was difficult to defend.  Junior Derek Willson also scored 17 points, and sophomore Carter Langum had 15.  The Cougars hit 11 3-point shots in the game. 

Justin Nyamache, a 5-9 sophomore who has been in the starting lineup recently, scored eight points for the Cougars, and was responsible for a couple of big momentum shots.  He had five points in the Cougars initial 9-2 run to start the game, hitting a 3-point shot from the right corner that forced a Tiger timeout.  In the third quarter, Nyamache hit a 3-pointer in transition from the right wing that gave the Cougars a 42-34 lead.

The Tigers end the season with a record of 16-8, and with the competitiveness of the top five teams, you could reshuffle the deck and play this tournament several times, each with different outcomes. 

The Cougars (16-7) will play on.  They will get a chance for their fourth state tournament appearance since 2020. 

Thursday at 600pm in the District 5 (CWAC) Tournament, it will be Ellensburg (10-14) at Prosser (11-13), in a game that will be streamed on the NFHS Network.  Prosser has two wins over Ellensburg this season, by one and by three points.  The Cougars will travel to the winner’s home on Saturday.  The winner of Saturday’s game gets a spot in the regional round of the state tournament. 

~ Ted House