1A district boys basketball roundup: Dominant finish leads La Center to first state berth since 2020

On the verge of clinching a Class 1A state playoff berth, the La Center boys basketball team made a dominant final push to capture a 62-47 win against Elma on Saturday.

Trailing by three points entering the fourth quarter of a 1A District 4 winner-to-state, loser-out game at Centralia High School, the Wildcats (15-8) outscored the Eagles 24-6 in the final quarter, clinching the program’s first 1A state tournament berth since 2020.

Jayce Grotte led La Center with a game-high 19 points, which included three 3-pointers.

Logan Rainey poured in 15 points, Peyton Larkin added 11 points and Parker McKinney added 10 points for the Wildcats (15-8), who defeated Tenino to open the district playoffs before falling to Seton Catholic, placing them in Saturday’s elimination game.

Currently ranked No. 15 in the WIAA’s 1A boys basketball RPI rankings, La Center will learn of its seeding for the 1A state tournament when brackets are released Sunday.

TENINO 56, KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 53 (OT) — Tenino overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and grab the final 1A state tournament berth out of District 4.

King’s Way (15-10), which was outscored 13-9 in the fourth, missed a game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation. The Knights trailed for the duration of overtime after Austin Gonia scored a go-ahead basket 30 seconds into the extra period.

Gonia scored a game-high 32 points, including six points in OT for Tenino (10-13).

Jackson Lovato and Patrick Carney each scored 14 points to lead the Knights, who won five of their final seven regular-season games to finish fourth in the Trico League and reach the district playoffs.