River Ridge rallies to place fourth at 2A state tournament

The Class 2A state tournament ended better than it started for the River Ridge High School boys basketball team.

After dropping in an opening-round upset loss to Shorecrest on Thursday, the top-ranked Hawks rallied for back-to-back wins.

Their win over No. 10 Wapato, 67-62, on Saturday at the Yakima Valley SunDome earned them a fourth-place trophy.

“Just a great game,” River Ridge coach John Barbee said. “Two teams that are very similar. They’re so quick and athletic. It’s been a long couple of days for us, so just proud of the way we battled the whole game.”

Issiah Scott whipped in five quick points in the first minute to give River Ridge an early lead, but Wapato led for most of the game.

Jordan Blodgett hit a long two-point jumper 30 seconds into the second quarter to give the Wolves a 20-19 lead. River Ridge didn’t regain the lead for the next 22 minutes.

“We had to pick up the slack,” senior Jaden White said. “We had a couple of players like (LaBrandon Price) and Kolton (Knox). A lot of people stepped up. We just got it done.”

Price scored a team-high 19 points for the Hawks, while Scott and senior point guard Kobe Key each added 10. Hunter Jacob scored a game-high 28 points for Wapato, while Blodgett had 21.

The Hawks tied it up four times after Blodgett’s bucket, and took the lead when Kolton Knox drained a 3-pointer with 1:37 to play to make it 61-59.

Wapato tied it again on the following possession on a Noah Patterson layup, but then Knox scored the dagger. He took a dump pass from Kelle Sanders and tossed up a two-foot jumper with 59 seconds to go.

Knox said he’s played about 30-40 minutes of game time on varsity during the entire season.

Not a bad way for the junior to make an entrance.

“I’m just here to help,” Knox said. “It’s fun, though. The atmosphere is amazing, it’s what we live for.”

This is the second straight season, and fourth time in the school’s history, that River Ridge has placed at the state tournament. It has placed third three times, including last season.

“It hurts to lose the first game, but I’m happy with fourth over sixth place, that’s for dang sure,” senior Price said. “I got to play with these guys one last time. It was a good game.”

All five River Ridge starters — Key, Price, Scott, White and Mac Armstrong — graduate this year.

This season was the first time in program history that River Ridge rose to a No. 1 ranking in the state.

“It’s a great achievement,” Barbee said. “That one game the other night wasn’t going to define our season. These guys have created a great legacy the last four years. Third place last year, fourth place this year? That’s pretty special.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "River Ridge rallies to place fourth at 2A state tournament."