‘Special season.’ Burbank boys seize WA Class 2B basketball championship title

The Columbia-Burbank boys basketball team has been on a mission ever since a group of freshmen battled three years ago to help the team finish sixth in the boys 2B state tournament.

Each year, the Coyotes placed higher — third in 2023, and second (losing in the title game to Colfax) in 2024.

The only thing left to do was win the state championship on Saturday night, and that’s what they did, beating Freeman 47-45 at the Spokane Arena.

“I think it’s going to be a few days before I stop smiling,” said Burbank coach Todd Schumacher. “What a special season this was. This team is deserving of its state title. I have been around sports long enough to know that sometimes the team with the most talent doesn’t always win. But these guys, they didn’t take one thing for granted.”

It was the first type of sports team title that Burbank has ever won in the school’s history.

“I’ve had ex-players from the 1960s reach out to me this week, and the emotions they were showing — I knew this is real,” said Schumacher.

Real enough that the school looks like it’s scheduling a celebration parade at a soon-to-be date and time.

Burbank never trailed in the contest, but the Scotties never let the Coyotes run away either.

Burbank had to overcome a rebounding deficit, as Freeman grabbed 42 of them compared to 25 for the Coyotes.

Schumacher pointed out three key things to the victory: one was the tough non-conference schedule Burbank athletic director Jay Aune put together for the Coyotes; another was the relaxed but focused level the seniors had approaching the title game. The other was the team’s bench — especially when the starters got into foul trouble and had to sit during much of the second quarter.

“I think this is the most important part. Jay said ‘We’ve got to go out and get some tough games,’” said Schumacher. “So we loaded up.”

The Coyotes played at Northwest Christian, played at Freeman, and at home against last year’s state champ, Colfax. And Burbank won them all.

Plus the Coyotes had already played all three teams that they would meet in the state tournament.

The seniors, said Schumacher, were ready to play.

“This group of seniors has been unbelievable,” said Schumacher. “We had way less jitters this time around before the championship.”

Finally, despite the foul trouble to the starters in the second quarter, the substitutes came off the bench and never relinquished the lead.

Team standout Quincy Scott agreed the bench was big.

“I’m proud of all these guys,” he said.

The Coyotes did force 18 Freeman turnovers that they turned into 10 points, compared to just 6 for Freeman.

Scott, Caden Ross and Tristan Frimodt — all three senior leaders for this top-ranked team — led the way to victory.

Scott, who was named Tournament MVP by courtside media, finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Ross was Burbank’s leading scorer with 17 points; and Frimodt added 10 points.

Tanner Goldsmith led the Scotties with 21 points and 9 rebounds.

All three players are special to Burbank coach Todd Schumacher, led by Scott.

“Coaching him has been incredible,” Schumacher told the Herald on Friday night. “I feel so blessed to have had such a talented and great person on our team. He left a massive legacy in the community, the league and the state. He’s special and made me a lot smarter coach, ha ha.”

The Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association named Scott the Class 2B state player of the year on Tuesday, while Schumacher was named the 2B boys state coach of the year.

For Scott, it was the perfect ending to the season.

“I think we always had faith that we could do this,” said the senior. “We only lost one player off of last year’s team.”

Asked what he’ll remember 20 years down the road, Scott said, “The brotherhood we had, especially with the time and effort we put in.”

Class 4A boys

No. 4 Richland took down No. 5 Camas in the fourth-place game on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome, winning 74-67.

For the Bombers, with all but two seniors set to return next season, it meant a fourth-place finish with a trophy.

“I’m really happy for them,” said Richland coach Earl Streufert of his players. “It’s kind of hard to play two days in a row after losing a quarterfinal game on Thursday. But we found out we are really good. I’ expected that we’d compete (after the quarterfinal loss). But I didn’t expect it at the level it was on offense and defense.”

It was also a bit of revenge for Richland, as the Papermakers beat the Bombers in the first round of the state tournament on March 1 at Dawald Gymnasium.

This time, Richland led early, holding a 39-29 lead at intermission. And the Bombers out-rebounded the Papermakers 32-20 over the entire game.

The Bombers shot an impressive 53 percent (30 for 56) from the floor.

“We used to be happy here (with a fourth-place finish),” said Streufert. “But we’ve just created this monster. That’s what building a program does for you. There is no shame in being the fourth-place team in state.”

Junior Landen Northrop led Richland with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shot; while fellow junior Lance Horntvedt added 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

Sophomore Jackson Woodard contributed 13 points.

Jace VanVoorhis and Ethan Harris scored 18 points each for Camas.

Meanwhile, Northrop was chosen by the court-side media to the first-team all-tournament squad, and Horntvedt was second team.

Class 4A girls

No. 3 Chiawana bounced back from a Thursday night quarterfinal loss by winning its last two games on the Tacoma Dome floor.

This time, on Saturday, the Riverhawks hung on to beat No. 6 Auburn 47-41 to earn the fourth-place trophy.

“That was certainly not the way we wanted to end the season,” said Riverhawks coach Gary Jonas. “But I told them I was proud of them. They’ve done some incredible things this season, got 25 wins. Won a district title for the first time. Going undefeated in league play is not easy.”

Saturday’s win was the second time Chiawana had beaten Auburn in the state tournament.

The Riverhawks beat the Trojans 67-51 on Feb. 28 at Richland High in the opening round of the tournament.

In Saturday’s win, Chiawana led 28-15 at halftime and never looked back.

Senior Kaia Foster led Chiawana with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Baylee Maldonado added 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

Senior Malia Ruud was named second-team all-tournament.

Class 3A girls

The Kennewick girls made it to trophy day in the Tacoma Dome, placing sixth after losing 47-34 to Bellevue on Saturday.

The Wolverines led from the outset and held a 25-11 lead at halftime, and held a 58-33 rebounding advantage.

Regardless, the scrappy Lions showed a lot of heart this season, with players stepping up with the absence of leading scorer Dylyn Dress after the senior injured her knee last month.

June Fiander paced Kennewick with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals; while Ashlyn Dress added 7 points and 9 rebounds.

Athena LaBow led Bellevue with 11 points.

Class 2A boys

Prosser’s magical run in the postseason ran out in the state championship game Saturday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome, as the No. 10-seeded Mustangs lost 74-51 to No. 3 Bremerton.

Jalen Davis led the state champion Knights with 34 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals — enough to garner him tournament MVP honors.

The Mustangs had a tough night from the 3-point line, shooting just 6 percent (1 of 16). Meanwhile, Bremerton sank seven treys, and led Prosser 43-29 at halftime.

Senior Koby McClure led Prosser with 20 points, and he surpassed the career 2,000-point mark early in the game.

Landon Bailey added 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists for the Mustangs; while Trent Russell had 8 points and 8 rebounds.

McClure was named to the first unit of the all-tournament team, while Bailey landed on the second team.

Class 2A girls

No. 3 Deer Park led 25-7 at one point in the first half over Prosser in the third-place game in Yakima.

But the Mustangs had a furious second-half rally to make it close. However, the Stags held on to win 52-50 to grab the third-place trophy.

Prosser finished fifth.

The Mustangs outscored Deer Park 21-10 on points off of turnovers.

Sophomore Herbie Wright led Prosser with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Lay’lee Dixon finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals; while Deidra Phillips added 12 points.

Ashlan Bryant led Deer Park with 20 points.

Prosser’s Wright made the all-tournament first team, while Phillips was a second-team selection.

Class 1A boys

Royal finished fifth in the tournament in the SunDome, falling to Zillah 75-70 in overtime in the third-place game.

The Knights earned the fifth-place trophy.

Dax Jenks led Royal with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Grant Wardenaar had 18 points. Lance Allred added 12 points.

Wardenaaar was named second-team all-tournament.

Dekker Van De Graaf led Zillah to the win by scoring 36 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Class 1B boys

DeSales bounced back from a Friday night semifinal loss to beat Neah Bay 65-59 on Saturday for the third-place trophy in the Spokane Arena.

It was the second time in the tournament that the Irish had beaten the Red Devils.

Spencer Green led DeSales with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists — and he was named to the all-tournament team.

The Irish also got 15 points and 3 steals from Cohen Wood, and 12 points and 3 steals from Malachi Raymond.

Tyler Swan led Neah Bay with 27 points.

This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 9:29 AM.