RIDGEFIELD — Ty Snider picked a fine time to hit his first 3-pointer of the season.
“I’ve only attempted four,” Snider said. “I’m more of a finisher.”
Well, Snyder’s basket helped finish off Washougal as the Ridgefield Spudders won 65-57 on Tuesday to advance to the 2A boys basketball district semifinals.
Ridgefield will play at W.F. West in Chehalis on Wednesday.
Washougal had just cut a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit down to 52-48, and the shot clock was winding down on the Spudders.
Snyder got a pass in the corner and buried a 3-pointer. It was one of three late 3s by the Spudders as they fended off the Panthers’ late surge.
“When I put it up, I was like ‘that kind of looks pretty good,’ ” Snider said. “Then when I made it, it was a big weight off my shoulders.”
Ridgefield used a 17-6 run to open a 44-30 lead after three quarters.
Henry Hughes’ drive pushed it to 46-30 early in the fourth.
That’s when Washougal’s Ionnasis Fassilis heated up, on his way to a 25-point night — 21 of which came in the second half. The sophomore hit four 3-pointers in the fourth to get the Panthers within 50-46.
“He made tough shots,” Ridgefield coach Jason Buffum said. “Three or four threes from 25 feet, tough finishes at the rim. He’s a really good player.”
Warren scored a team-high 18 points for the Spudders, hitting a trio of 3-pointers, the last of which gave Ridgefield a 61-52 lead with about a minute to play.
“I felt like I had more energy coming into this game, more confidence,” Warren said. “My past games, I haven’t shot that well. But like Ty said, it was my best shooting game so far. … After I made the first one, I kind of felt like it was going on. So if they get me the ball again, I was going to keep shooting.”
Washougal snapped Ridgefield’s five-game winning streak with a 65-60 win over the Spudders on Saturday.
But Ridgefield coach Jason Buffum credited the turnaround Tuesday to the shooting of Hughes and Warren, the defense of Snider, Zach Warren hit four late free throws and Carson Knight had a strong rebounding game inside.
“A really good team effort,” Buffum said. “The whole unit together kind of working and playing together. I’m just really proud of them for stepping up because we were really disappointed with Saturday.”
Buffum said the Spudders are “right where we want to be” — reaching the district semifinals for the first time in eight years after returning just one varsity player from last year.
“We’re trying to set the stone and lay our foundation for next year,” Snyder said.
RIDGEFIELD 65, WASHOUGAL 57
WASHOUGAL — Holden Bea 2, Tristan Farrell 0, Gavin Tyacke 0, Gabe Kent 6, Brig Griffin 8, Ionnasis Fassilis 25, Samuel Evers 9, Johny Sidwell 0, Aaron Ackman 7. Totals 20 (8) 9-14 57.
RIDGEFIELD — Carson Knight 9, Juelz Mendoza 18, Zachary Warren 7, Ty Snider 9, Easton Ortega 2, Henry Hughes 12, Nathan Semlick 6, Sidhartha Bryant 2. Totals 23 (6) 13-17 65.
Washougal 12 9 9 27—57
Ridgefield 13 12 19 21—65
