Richland boys continue to roll, rock University in district opener

The Richland High School boys basketball team began its quest back to the Tacoma Dome with a bang on Wednesday night, dispatching the visiting University Titans 79-44 in the opening round of the District 8 4A playoffs at Art Dawald Gymnasium.

Riley Sorn was able to change the game on both ends of the floor like only he can, finishing with 15 points and 12 boards while dominating defensively, swatting five shots and forcing 6-foot-9 University senior forward Tanner Christensen into a 1-for-13 shooting effort from the field, with the one make coming when Sorn was on the bench.

Christensen still managed to draw fouls, and made all 12 of his free-throw attempts for a team-high 14 points, but Sorn said he was ready for much of what his counterpart had to throw at him.

“I’m really glad that these GSL teams have big guys, so I can lock in on them,” Sorn said. “We knew he (Christensen) was a really good shooter, and we knew he wanted to get out and that he liked to drive right, which is how I got all my fouls (three) was him driving on me.

“But I’m really excited to play all these GSL bigs because they want to post up, and that’s right where I feel at home.”

The Bombers’ preparation extended beyond just the Sorn-Christensen matchup, and it allowed them to impose their will in all facets, in all positions, like they did throughout their 20-0 regular season campaign that won them another league title. Each member of the starting five finished with double-digit scoring, highlighted by a great two-way performance from Ryan Wagar (17 points on 5 of 6 3-point shooting, five assists and three steals) and a double-double from Cody Sanderson (16 points, 13 rebounds and four assists).

It was a scoring line that’s been familiar for the Bombers over the past couple months, which brings with it some relief in the playoff opener.

“We played pretty good for stepping into the playoffs, because sometimes the first game of the postseason is the hardest one,” Richland coach Earl Streufert said. “We played to our strengths, and we don’t underestimate anybody.”

Richland hit few lulls in the game, but the intensity cooled a bit after the opening flurry that got it an 18-6 first-quarter lead. A timeout by Streufert in the fourth quarter allowed the team to reset, and keyed a series of plays that featured three consecutive made 3-pointers by the team and a slam dunk by Wagar — his only 2-point field goal attempt of the night — to cap a 15-0 run to go up 73-36.

“I was pleased with our defensive effort, but I wasn’t real pleased with our rebounding there for awhile, I wasn’t real pleased with our grittiness” Streufert said. “We had our little refocus timeout, and then we went on a big run. When these guys are dialed in, they can play with anybody, I think.”

Richland (21-0) is off until Saturday, when it will host the GSL No. 2 seed Ferris Saxons (18-3) at 7 p.m. at Art Dawald Gymnasium in the district semifinals. University (11-11) will make another trip south, this time to face the Walla Walla Blue Devils (13-8) — who fell on the road to Ferris 67-41 — in a loser-out game, also at 7 p.m. Saturday.

HONORING THE CHAMPS

During halftime, Representatives from MaxPreps and the Army National Guard hosted a ceremony for the 4A state champion Richland football team.

After finishing the season 14-0 and beating previously undefeated Woodinville 28-21 in the title game, Richland closed as the No. 64-ranked team in the country in MaxPreps’ computer poll of more than 16,000 schools.

The Bombers were presented with a trophy to commemorate the achievement. They will be one of 50 football teams from around the U.S. recognized by the MaxPreps Tour of Champions this year.

This story was originally published February 7, 2018 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Richland boys continue to roll, rock University in district opener."