R.A. Long basketball on the rise? Winners of 5 straight, the Lumberjacks 'got something rollin' (photos, highlights)

LONGVIEW — Jeray Key has seen R.A. Long’s steady ascension up close. He’s seen his team go from a last place league finish in his first year in the big chair, to now, tied for first place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League standings.

“We’ve been putting in a lot of time,” Key said. “Some of these guys took their lumps … now we’ve got something rollin’ around here.”

Two nights after beating crosstown rival Mark Morris, the Lumberjacks (5-1, 3-0) pulled away from a Kahlil Singleton-less Fort Vancouver (4-3, 1-2 2A Greater St. Helens League) on Friday night, 69-47, behind a hot perimeter shooting and a foot-on-the-gas fourth quarter, bringing their win streak to five.

Fort played without Singleton, an all-state-caliber 6-foot-2 scorer, who missed a fifth consecutive game. He scored 38 in a season-opening OT win over R.A. Long, but played most of the game on a fractured ankle, on which he handed the Lumberjacks’ their only loss of the season.

MORE: Injured Kahlil Singleton hoping to return

The Lumberjacks hit six of their 12 3-pointers in the first quarter. Fort guard Tre Cannon scored 12 of his 18 points in the first, too, to keep the Trappers within reach early.

With persistent double and triple teams sent at 6-foot-7 forward Aaron Ofstun — who had 28 points in the first meeting — R.A. Long took advantage of open shooter on the permitter, helping them pounce in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Trappers 23-8 to pull away.

“You’ve got to pick your poison,” Key said. “They went to triple-team him and we hit shots. We’ve got a lot of shooters around him, too.”

Ofstun was held to eight points, but the extra attention freed up space on the perimeter, and the Lumberjacks took advantage. Jamond Harris scored a game-high 20 points and all-league brothers Cameron and Cavin Holden added 16 and 12, respectively.

RA Long is trending up 📈

Lumberjacks beat Fort Vancouver (sans @thekingkahlil) tonight, 69-47, to move into first in the 2A GSHL.

6-7 junior Aaron Ofstun fought double, triple teams all night, but he got loose here ⤵️@SBLiveWA pic.twitter.com/KxvGtDZ9ju
— Andy Buhler (@AndyBuhler) May 22, 2021

But Fort Vancouver did hang around, keeping the game within single digits for the lion’s share of three quarters.

Cameron Holden drove and kicked to an open Sean Harris for a corner 3 to push the Lumberjacks’ lead to eight with under five minutes left. Cavin Holden added a 3 and Harris hit another to push the lead to 13 with under four minutes left and pull away.

Key’s first year at the helm in 2018-19, after two years as a co-head coach, was spent ingratiating a young group — including much of the core of today’s team — into the program.

Ofstun continues to grow, both in height and muscle, as he packed on around 15 pounds between his sophomore and junior seasons. With that, has brought lots more attention from opposing defenses. But it’s given the team another dimension, adding viable post option to already capable, proven guard in the Holden brothers.

In 2019-20, they went 14-10, 7-5 2A GSHL and fell game short of a state tournament appearance.

“We just want to win games,” Key said. “District is as far as we go, so we want to win a league title and a district title.”

Game highlights