Saturday playoff highlights

There were some 1A and 3A teams jockeying for the final spots to state, some winning district titles and some heading home to turn in their gear. And in the even numbered classifications they were just trying to stay alive and advance in Saturday playoffs.

Mount Vernon advanced to the WesCo District championship game with a 56-49 win over Edmonds-Woodway. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead and led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. They had extended their lead to 26-16 by half time and took it as high as 14 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter on a Brady Miller bucket.

But the Warriors were not ready to fold the tents and cut the lead to 5 points at 48-43 on a Jason Hopkins basket inside with 1:07 to play. Justin Burns, Miller and Jake Moore all hit a pair of free throws Shane Gibbon added another to push it back to 12 points at 55-43 with 20.2 showing. A Houston Conti trey at the buzzer made the final closer than it really was.

Miller, a 6-4 junior forward, finished with 16 points while Moore added 14 and Burns 13. Conti had 15 to lead the Warriors, who now head to the losers bracket.

Mountlake Terrace moved to the championship game, beating Snohomish 76-64. The Hawks came out in a hurry and led 26-9 at the end of the first quarter. Snohomish never got closer than 8 points, cutting the Hawk lead to 63-55 with four and a half minutes remaining. But a quick 6-0 run put it on ice. Junior guard Luke Hammond (pictured) scored 22 while Adrian Blake and Leigh Swanson had 14 each. Jon Brockman scored 33 and grabbed 17 rebounds in the loss. Terrace plays Mount Vernon Friday night at Jackson for a berth to state. The loser of that game must play Saturday against whoever survives the remainder of the loser’s bracket.

In the opener Mariner fell behind 12-4 before running off a 10-2 run to tie it at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. It was knotted at 35-35 at the half. 6-8 junior Tommy Craddock opened the second half with a pair from the line after being fouled going hard to the basket. He followed that with a put-back bucket and added another put-back for his own 6-0 run to propel the Marauders to a 41-35 lead. Later after Lake Stevens had taken a 54-52 lead Craddock again came up big, scoring inside then grabbing a defensive board on one end and getting a tip-in for two on the other to put Mariner on top at 56-54. They would never trail again, gaining a 73-57 win.

Mariner closed out with a 21-3 run over the final 3:33 and hit 14 of 16 from the line down the stretch as the Vikings got into shoot, miss, foul situation. Senior guard Delvaughn Tinned (pictured) led the scoring with 22 including hitting 11 of 12 from the charity stripe. Craddock added 16 points to go with 19 “Rodmans.” Craddock was 6-of-7 from the field and hit 4 of his 5 freebies. Mariner shot 26 of 31 from the line. Junior guard Aaron Cartwright chipped in with 13 points. 6-2 senior guard Matt Stevens had 21 and 6-5 senior wing Tyler Long 19 in the season-ending loss.

Stanwood eliminated Kamiak 83-65. Junior guard Daes Kaufman scored 31 and Chris Sains added 20. The Spartans meet Edmonds-Woodway Tuesday in another loser-out affair.

Richland won the Big Nine District title, topping Walla Walla 58-40. Senior guard James York (pictured) scored 22 and Tim Bussman added 17, hitting 4 treys. The 19-4 Bombers host Gonzaga Prep in the regional opener. Walla Walla will host Central Valley in their opening round regional game.

Davis beat Pasco 60-59 for third in the Big Nine. Umberto Perez scored 17 and Eddie Pola added 16. Jerome Houf had 16 in the loss. The Pirates head to Spokane to play North Central in a first-round regional game. Pasco travels to face GSL top seed Ferris.

Mercer Island topped Cleveland 77-58 to get the third seed in the SeaKing 3A District. Noah Blakney scored 24 while Philip Kaestle and Kahlil Mathews added 12 each. Daryl Haskins had 16 in the loss.

Two-time defending 3A state champion Rainier Beach avenged their loss in the Metro League championship game and beat Metro rival O'Dea 45-39 to win the Sea-King 3A District title. 6-3 sophomore shooting guard Ryan Anderson (pictured) scored 14. Junior guard Mitch Johnson had 16 in the loss.

Renton beat White River 67-56 to claim the 3A West Central District championship. Senior guard Steffond Brown scored 15 while Marcel Wilson added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Gran had 12 in the loss.

Mount Rainier earned the WCD 3A district’s third and final berth to state with a 73-47 thumping of Evergreen. Brian Manaway scored 32. Jamaal Collins had 26 in the loss.

Squalicum won the rubber match and the Northwest District championship, beating cross-town rival Bellingham 77-71. Junior guard Dustin Jones (pictured) scored 31 while Aaron Dickson and Josh Ellingson added 15 each and Austin Wilcox chipped in with 13. Senior guard Tim Sellereit had 21 and fellow senior Brandon Foote 20 in the loss. Mark Morris won the Southwest District championship, edging Timberline 47-45. Junior guard Mickey Polis scored 19. Nate Menefee had 11 in the loss. Columbia River got the third and final berth from the Southwest, beating R.A. Long 54-44.

20-3 Clarkston won their first Eastern Regional championship, edging 22-2 West Valley (Yakima) 41-40. 6-10 senior Josh Heytvelt scored 22 and got the d-d with 15 rebounds. 6-8 senior Andrew Strait had 19 points and got his d-d with 10 boards. Clarkston gets the top seed, WV spot-2 to state.

20-3 Selah got the third berth top state from the East, beating Hanford 57-40. Senior guard Erik Bell scored 20 and got the d-d with 12 rebounds while Travis Pendleton added 15 points.

Defending 2A state champ Nooksack Valley is heading back to the SunDome after beating South Whidbey 43-31 in the Northwest 2A District semifinals. Kyle Mitchell scored 14 and Ty Willemsen added 12. Kyle McGillen had 12 in the loss.

The Pioneers will meet Blaine, a 64-59 winner over Meridian, for the district title. Jake Gilmore scored 23 and Ryan Anderson added 18. Cameron Gilmore scored 22 and Jeff Devries added 19 in the loss.

Defending 1A state champion Brewster picked up another district championship, ending Northwest Christian’s 15-game winning streak 78-52. Future Zag David Pendergraft (pictured) scored 27. Robert Lippman scored 22 in the loss. Freeman beat Roosevelt 73-60 for the third berth to state. Jon Dresback scored 28 and Malcolm Soelberg added 20. Nick Barnaby had 20 and Steve Breeze 15 in the season-ending loss.