Washington high school (WIAA) 2A/ 1A state semifinal roundup: Two No. 1s remain as the tourney heads to Saturday

Star junior Kaleo Anderson sinks last-second 3-pointer to lift Knights past Lynden Christian into final where Bellevue Christian awaits; 10th-seeded Mustangs rallies past CWAC rival and into the title game, and will play Bremerton

Prosser's Koby McClure (1) celebrates late in Friday's victory against Selah in a 2A semifinal at the Yakima Valley SunDome. / Evan Abell, Yakima Herald-Republic

YAKIMA, Wash. - Two of the fields had already seen the defending champion eliminated. Naches Valley ousted Nooksack Valley in the 1A girls, and Prosser ended top-seeded Lynden's three-year run in 2A boys., and

Here's a recap of Friday's action:

2A BOYS (Bracket breakdown and predictions)

No. 10 Prosser 67, No. 5 Selah 61

Prosser coach Toby Cox said his Mustangs owed CWAC rival Selah one after losing to Vikings three times.

Well, consider this the receipt.

Two-time CWAC player of the year Koby McClure, Landon Bailey and Trent Russell each scored 16 points, and the Mustangs (23-7) rallied from eight down in the third quarter to advance to the state championship for the first time since winning the Class A championship in 1967.

The 6-foot-5 Bailey, who spent much of Thursday upset of top-seeded Lynden defending Lions star Brant Heppner, guarded Selah sharp-shooter Jackson Pepper a good chunk of Friday.

"Landon is that athlete that's versatile and he can guard a guard or guard post," Cox said. "You don't have to worry about the matchups."

And Prosser had Russell, who quietly added nine rebounds for The Mustangs.

McClure, who was 8 for 14 from the field, chipped in eight rebounds

Pepper had 17 points, but couldn't find his mark, going 4 of 16 from 3-point range. He added seven assists in final high school game.

"I was just trying to keep my hands up the whole time," said Bailey, noting guarding Heppner and Jackson is a hanful. "It's hard, they're both great players."

Dalin Cortes had 10 points and a pair of assists for Mustangs, and was in the third rally when Prosser (23-7) pulled to within a point going into the fourth after seeing its six-point halftime lead become an eight-point deficit.

The Mustangs are the first double-digit seed to advance to the 2A final since No. 13 Foss beat fourth-seeded Selah in 2017.

Beau Benjamin again had a solid game for the Viks, matching Pepper with 17 points. Oliver Pepper added 13 points for Selah (21-5), which was looking to advance to the title game for the first time since 2019, when the Vikings fell to Lynden in the final.

No. 3 Bremerton 62, No. 2 R.A. Long 54

Four minutes into the game, Knights super sophomore Jalen Davis had nine points.

The rest of the way, he had 10 - and that's all third-seeded Bremerton needed.

Proving their more than just one player, a balance attack led the Knights back to the championship game for the first time since a championship game in 1974.

Bremerton shot a robust 63% form the field, and knocked down 8 of 14 3-pointers (57%).

Junior Davis-McWhorter matched Davis for team honors with 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and Frank Allen made all six his shots for 12 points.

Davis has been a force in the SunDome, averaging 24.2 points in six contests, shooting 55% from the field and knocking down 50% of the 3-pointers he's taken (17 of 34).

Landon Irwin, who shadowed Davis mush of the game, and Joshua Crane each had 11 points for the Lumberjacks (24-2).

Saturday's championship

No. 10 Prosser (23-7) vs. No. 3 Bremerton (21-5) on Saturday at 9 p.m.

2A GIRLS (Bracket breakdown and predictions)

No. 1 Lynden 62, No. 6 Prosser 44

Reigning tournament MVP Payton Mills put up game-bests with 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Lions earned the chance to repeat.

Star sophomore Finley Parcher added 17 points and eight rebounds for Lynden, which shot 52% from the field and canned 6 of 12 3-pointers.

Amelia Chapman had 15 points, Keelyn Cox had 12 and CWAC leading scorer Herbie Wright was limited to 10 for the Mustangs (23-6).

The Lions (27-0) are seeking a fifth championship in their sixth title game appearance. Coach Rob Adams has guided the Lions to all of the titles, returning from a three-year hiatus last season.

No. 2 Ellensburg 58, No. 3 Deer Park 50

Two-time CWAC player of the year and Montana State-bound guard Jamison Philip scored a career high 25 points and the Bulldogs out-slugged the Stags in a contest that featured 15 lead changes between the teams who entered the game unbeaten.

Ellensburg earned a rematch with top-seeded Lynden, which ended the Bulldogs' two-year reign. It's the fourth straight year that the CWAC power will play in the title game.

Ellie Markus added 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Standout sophomore Ashlan Bryant notched a team-high 17 points and snagged nine rebounds, and Emma Bryant added 12 points for Deer Park, which saw a would-be go-ahead 3-pointer rim out with less than 2 minutes remaining.

“For all the little things we didn’t do well, we were an inch away from taking the lead with a minute to go,” Deer Park coach KC Ahrens said. “The whole place thought it was going in.”

Ellensburg (27-0) knocked down 8 of 10 free throwns in the waning moments to secure the victory.

Saturday's championship

No. 1 Lynden (27-0) vs. Ellensburg (27-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

1A BOYS (Bracket breakdown and predictions)

No. 1 Annie Wright 55, No. 4 Zillah 37

The top-seeded Gators, who have scored 75 or more points 10 times this season, have show they're quite apt at the defensive end so far this week.

Annie Wright used a 21-2 to start the second half and held Zillah to nine points after the intermission to avenge last year's title game loss and return to Saturday's final.

Trailing 29-25 at the break, the Gators scored the first seven points pf the second half and rolled from there.

Reggie Lester scored a team-high 17 points and and Noah Schow had 16 and 13 rebounds - 10 on the offensive end - for Annie Wright, which has a boys program for just five full seasons.

Two-time SCAC player of the year Dekker Van De Graaf topped Zillah (21-5) with 14 points, all in the first half when the Leopards shot 50% percent.

The Gators' length, however, helped to limit the Leopards to just 13% shooting after the break.

Annie Wright (23-2) also controlled the boards, outrebounding Zillah 48-23.

No. 3 Lynden Christian 56, No. 2 Royal 49

Dawson Hintz made 13 of 19 shots - including 4 of 7 3-pointers - en route to a tournament-best 33 points, and also grabbed nine rebounds to help the Lyncs return to the championship game for the fourth time in five years and 13th overall.

Lynden Christian will vie for its fifth title Saturday against top-seeded Annie Wright.

Gannon Dykstra added 14 points for the Lyncs (24-3), who had just four players score.

Jackson Larsen had 13 points and Grant Wardenaar added 10 for the Knights (25-2), who were seeking their first championship game appearance since 1976.

That hardly means that the Royal players don't have championship game experience. All but two of the 12 players were part of the Knights' fifth straight state champion football team, including guard Lance Allred - eight points, three assists - was the quarterback and the 1A player of the year.

Saturday's championship

No. 1 Annie Wright (23-2) vs. No. 3 Lynden Christian (24-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m.

1A GIRLS (Bracket breakdown and predictions)

No. 4 King's 45, No. 1 Lynden Christian 44

KIng's star junior Kaleo Anderson sank a 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift the Knights to their first championship game since 2016.

Anderson, who put the state on notice with an-tournament performance as a freshman, finished with a game-high 20 points and added eight rebounds

The game had 11 lead changes, and King's (20-7) used a 14-3 run to take a 29-22 early in the third quarter.

King's will be seeking its third title in an eighth title game appearance.

Ella Fritts and and Allison Shumate each had 10 points for the Lyncs (22-4), who were seeking their 22nd berth in the championship game, where they've won 14 times.

No. 2 Bellevue Christian 41, No. 5 Annie Wright 23

The Vikings put on another stifling defensive performance, holding the Gators to less than 20% percent shooting in advancing to the championship for the second time in program history,

Senior forward Addi Taylor led the charge for BC, posting game-highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds. The 6- footer also blocked three shots for the Vikings (24-2), second in 2006.

Kiana Skogstad added 10 points for BC.

Aaliyeh Martin topped Annie Wright (21-7) with 14 points.

Saturday's championship

No. 4 King's (20-7) vs. No. 2 Bellevue Christian (24-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m.