WOODLAND — This time last year, the Ridgefield boys basketball team left a quiet locker room at Woodland High School still stinging from a season-ending defeat. On Thursday, the Spudders sprinted to center court in the same gym to celebrate their biggest win of the season.
The contrast of those two moments made Ridgefield’s 51-50 win over Tumwater in a Class 2A District 4 winner-to-state game all the more satisfying.
While playoff success eluded Ridgefield last year with a season-ending loss to R.A. Long one win short of state, the Spudders clinched their second state berth in three seasons Thursday in dramatic fashion.
Leading by one with four seconds left, Ridgefield missed two free throws and watched as Tumwater grabbed a rebound, lobbed a pass down the floor in open space before the Thunderbirds lost control of the ball as the buzzer sounded. Then, the celebration was on for the Spudders and their student section as they stormed the court.
“After that loss last year, I think we were all just heartbroken. (We) just used it as fuel to motivate ourselves in the offseason to get here and get this win,” Ridgefield junior Jamison McCann said.
“Being able to come back here and win where we lost last year means a lot, and it just really motivated us to work hard,” Ridgefield senior Jack Hughes added.
Ridgefield took its bumps and bruises during a hard-fought, 71-57 loss to Mark Morris on Tuesday in the district semifinals, and Wednesday’s practice was kept relatively light to give players extra recovery time, Ridgefield coach Jason Buffum said.
Yet by Thursday’s tipoff, the Spudders showed no lingering effects. They led for the majority of the first half, closing on a 6-0 run with 3-pointers from Isaiah Ashenfelter and McCann to take a four-point lead to the break.
That lead grew as big as 10 points in the third quarter kickstarted by two baskets from Hughes (15 points) and McCann pouring in eight of his game-high 26 points.
“They’re a very physical team,” McCann said, “so I just think being scrappy and matching their mentality helped us get those baskets and carry over.”
The final eight minutes were a battle of attrition. Aside from a Hughes basket giving Ridgefield a 45-40 lead with five minutes left, neither team had a made field goal until under three minutes remained. The Spudders turned to their calling card on defense.
“At this point, I feel like you’ve got to trust your defense,” Buffum said. “We were slowly getting there this year. We were scoring a lot of points early in the year, so you give up more points with that, but I feel like now we’re kind of grinding away again in (the) playoffs. You’ve gotta play great defense.”
Ridgefield maintained a two-possession lead inside the final minute when Drew Krsul split a pair of free throws on consecutive trips to the line.
Then, the Thunderbirds cut the lead to one on Beckett Wall’s 3-pointer with eight seconds left. The Spudders survived two missed free throws on the other end and kept the Thunderbirds from getting off a potential game-winning shot as time expired.
“It’s a great feeling, especially when the students rushed the court, it’s just a great feeling to get a win like that,” McCann said. “It just means so much to the school (and) the rest of the team as well.”
“That felt amazing,” Hughes said. “With last year being so quick and then having that, I’m just ready for the next game.”
Players like Hughes, Krsul and McCann were swing players on Ridgefield’s 2023 team that reached the 2A state opening round, which marked the program’s first state appearance since 2012.
Buffum, Ridgefield’s coach since 2016, knows the road to state through District 4 is never easy, especially with 2A Greater St. Helens League foes R.A. Long, Mark Morris and Columbia River all bound for state. The Spudders earned every bit of this accomplishment, and they won’t take it for granted.
“We talked about that pre-game and post-game — what that felt like last year for the seniors that had grinded away,” Buffum said. “This group, the main guys had felt that, and they were ready to get that feeling of what it felt like to win the next game.”
RIDGEFIELD 51, TUMWATER 50
RIDGEFIELD — Talon Sosky 2, Jamison McCann 26, Drew Krsul 2, Jack Hughes 15, Henry Wikstrom 3, Isaiah Ashenfelter 3. Totals 20 (6) 5-11 51.
TUMWATER — Bryce Morgan 6, Sahara Anthony III 18, Josh Schlect 2, Beckett Wall 13, Julian Balsley 2, Luke Overbay 0, Landon Anchors 5, Braeden Konrad 0, Jake Dillon 4. Totals 21 (5) 3-3 50.
Ridgefield 18 14 11 8—51
Tumwater 14 14 12 10—50
