PUYALLUP — The Camas comeback just missed.
Just missed a chance to extend the season. Just missed a trip to the Tacoma Dome.
Instead, these Papermakers will have to settle for being the first boys basketball team from Camas to reach the state tournament in 51 years.
Kentwood held off Camas 55-53 in a Class 4A state regional playoff at Puyallup High School to advance to the state quarterfinals in the dome. Camas’ season came to an end with a record of 17-7 and one big accomplishment.
“It was truly memorable,” said Camas senior Trevor Jasinsky, who scored 22 points in his final high school game.
Camas coach Skyler Gillispie said those memories will last.
“They love each other. They care about each other,” Gillispie said. “And there’s only one team that goes home with a better feeling at the end of the year.”
The Papermakers were hoping to keep that winning feeling for at least another week. But they never made it all the way back after trailing by 13 at halftime.
Marcus Lubom scored 12 points to lead a balanced Kentwood attack. He made two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, giving Kentwood a 52-44 advantage.
Camas, meanwhile, kept getting closer. A free throw from Jasinsky, plus two more from James Price, followed by a 3-pointer from Ethan Unger made it 52-50 with a minute to play. An exchange of free throws made it 53-52 Kentwood when chaos occurred.
Camas was called for a foul, but Kentwood was assessed a technical with 5.7 seconds left. The Conquerors made both of their free throws; the Papermakers missed both.
With Camas down three, Kentwood fouled on the inbound. Camas made one free throw. Kentwood missed two free throws on the other end, but Camas never got a shot off to tie or win.
“We almost had it,” Jasinsky said. “It was right there. We could feel the dome.”
His thoughts turned to the program’s future.
“I’m just glad we could pave the way for the younger players,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence they can do extraordinary things, just like we did.”
KENTWOOD 55, CAMAS 53
CAMAS — Jake Hansel 12, Andre De Los Rios 0, Jordan Anderson 12, Trevor Jasinsky 22, James Price 4, Ethan Unger 3, Bryan Nguyen 0, Kantas Zalpys 0, Totals 17-40 (7-22) 12-18 53.
KENTWOOD — Preston White 8, Rayvaughn Bolton 8, Malik Sanchez 10, Josiah Bronson 4, Darius Lubom 10, Marcus Lubom 12, Davonte Sanchez 3, Brandon Stribling 0. Totals 20-62 (9-23) 6-14 55.
Camas 11 11 17 14—53
Kentwood 16 19 10 10—55
