TACOMA — The Columbia River Chieftains went undefeated in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League for the second year in a row. They won another district title, too.
Those things might matter more to them later, but right now the Chieftains are hurting.
Their season came to an end Friday night after squandering a 10-point second-half lead.
Drake Rademacher scored 14 of his team’s 15 fourth-quarter points, leading Enumclaw to a 56-54 victory over Columbia River in a 3A bi-district boys basketball consolation matchup at Washington High School.
The Hornets (21-4) will play Saturday for a shot to get to regionals.
Columbia River completes its season with a 17-5 record.
Rademacher scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Hornets. His back-to-back 3-pointers turned a four-point deficit into a two-point Enumclaw lead with two minutes to play. Neither team scored again.
The Chieftains would go 0 for 2 from the floor with two turnovers in those closing minutes.
Enumclaw smartly used their fouls to give as River tried to set up a play for a tie or the win. The last foul came with 7 seconds left. River inbounded the play but did not get an easy look. A contested shot fell short just before the horn.
Cody Wolfe came off the bench to score 12 points to go with three assists and two steals for River. He made two 3-pointers. Andrew Vickers connected on four 3-pointers to also score 12 points for the Chieftains. Torey Jones added 11 points.
Wolfe, one of six seniors on the roster, said playing for Columbia River has been special. He said it’s not just the season that has been fun, but all the times together with the team in offseason preparation.
“It’s been a lot of good memories,” Wolfe said. “It’s a great program. It will probably be my best high school memories.”
Wolfe and Vickers connected on three 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the first half to give the Chieftains a three-point lead. Vickers’ 3-pointer with 2:32 left in the third quarter made it 45-35 for River.
Enumclaw would score the final six points of the quarter, though. Then Rademacher took over to close out River’s season.
ENUMCLAW 56, COLUMBIA RIVER 54
COLUMBIA RIVER — Nathan Hawthorne 7, Andrew Vickers 12, Sam Walker 0, Torey Jones 11, Chad Pedigo 4, Spencer Long 5, Alex Hansen 0, Cody Wolfe 12, Joey Bean 3. Totals 21-53 (9-26) 3-4 54.
ENUMCLAW — Zac Webb 10, Bryce Peterson 14, Drake Rademacher 25, Scott Garvin 0, Josh Erickson 4, Jorge Espinoza 0, Erik Van Hulse 0, King Rainwater 3, Trey Rodarte 0. Totals 19-39 (4-10) 14-18 56.
Columbia River 13 18 14 9–54
Enumclaw 16 12 13 15–56
