LONGVIEW — It wasn’t so much a celebration as a collective exhale when the R.A. Long boys basketball team clinched a Class 2A state tournament berth Tuesday.
The Lumberjacks (21-1) fought off a slow first half against visiting Columbia River in the 2A District 4 semifinals at home, flipping momentum in a decisive third quarter to claim an eventual 63-58 win.
The 2A Greater St. Helens League champions will face cross-town rival Mark Morris in Friday’s district championship game at Kelso High School at 8 p.m.
“It feels like a relief,” R.A. Long junior Josh Crane said. “We’ve been practicing all week for this … it felt good to see a win.”
“We’ve been working for this all season, we’ve been trying to make it this far, and we’re just gonna keep pushing,” R.A. Long junior Cam Newsome added.
Crane and Newsome led the Lumberjacks’ charge back from a first-half deficit by scoring 23 points and 20 points, respectively.
Crane scored five straight points to open the third quarter, giving R.A. Long its first lead since the first quarter. Newsome hit two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth to extend the Lumberjacks’ lead to eight.
But perhaps the biggest difference-maker in the second half was the Lumberjacks’ defense, a topic of conversation in the locker room at halftime.
After the Rapids led by as many as seven points in the second quarter, the Lumberjacks returned to the court and held the Rapids scoreless for a three-and-a-half minute stretch. R.A. Long outscored River 14-8 in the quarter.
“In my head all I was thinking was, it’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish,” Crane said. “(We) just kept the foot on the pedal.”
Ari Richardson led Columbia River with 21 points, getting the Rapids as close as 45-42 after converting a three-point play less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
The Rapids (17-5), who finished third in the 2A GSHL, handed the Lumberjacks their only loss of the season in a one-point win in December, but the Lumberjacks won both rematches in Longview. River will face W.F. West in a winner-to-state, loser-out game at Woodland High School on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“It’s been a tough battle all seasons, I mean, they’re a good team,” Crane said. “They can move the ball, all five of them can score with the best of them.”
R.A. Long clinched its fourth consecutive state berth and will be playing for its third district championship in four years Friday.
Under head coach Jeray Key, the Lumberjacks have continued the program’s state playoff tradition. This latest run includes new faces like Crane and Newsome, both of whom transferred to R.A. Long from 3A Prairie this season and immediately stepped into key roles.
“It’s been a great run. I love it,” Newsome said. “I’m glad to be a part of it with these guys and we’re just gonna keep pushing forward.”
Payton Thill added seven points and TraMayne Jenkins collected six points for R.A. Long.
R.A. LONG 63, COLUMBIA RIVER 58
COLUMBIA RIVER (17-5) — Alex Pont 0, Ari Richardson 21, Kellen Clary 0, Javen Fletch 9, John Reeder 6, Tyer Miles 3, Luca Phillips 13, Aaron Hoey 6. Totals 25 (4) 4-7 58.
R.A. LONG (21-1) — Payton Thill 7, Cameron Newsome 20, Jeffrey Rooklidge 1, TraMayne Jenkins 6, Joshua Crane 23, Landon Irwin 1, Rhet Young 5. Totals 24 (8) 7-11 63.
Col. River 16 13 8 21—58
R.A. Long 14 14 14 21—63
