Reardan boys finish second at districts

SPOKANE VALLEY – Colton Wells scored 27 points to lead Freeman to a 66-58 overtime win over Reardan in the championship game of the District 6 NE2B Boys Basketball Tournament at West Valley High School Saturday, Feb. 22. Despite the loss, Reardan earned a berth in the WIAA 2B Boys State Basketball Tournament.

A packed gymnasium witnessed juggernauts Reardan and Freeman in their highly anticipated matchup. In a game for all the marbles, something had to give, and finally in overtime it did when the Scotties dominated play to defeat the Screaming Eagles.

The Scotties took a 18-14 lead after the first quarter. Wells came out of the blocks fast, scoring 10 points in the first eight minutes.

In the second quarter, the teams matched each other basket-for basket, each scoring 12 points. Jakari Singleton scored six points for the Screaming Eagles, but his team went into the locker room trailing 30-26.

In the third quarter, Justin Vaughn hit two 3-point shots and Rysen Soliday and Singleton both scored four points, allowing the Screaming Eagles to outscore Freeman 16-15 to bring them to within three points at 45-42 lead.

The final frame was a barn burner.

With under six minutes left in the game, Maveric Sobotta hit a jumper to knot the score at 48. Two minutes later, Vaughn sank a long 3 pointer to give Reardan a 51-48 lead. Singleton then took a sweet pass from Sobotta for a lay-in that extended Reardan's lead to 53-49. Singleton followed with a two-footer and Soliday sank a free throw to put Reardan ahead 56-53.

Freeman countered with a free throw and a basket to tie the game 56-56 and to send it into overtime.

The extra period belonged to the Scotties who outscored Reardan 10-2 to win the game and the district championship.

Singleton led Reardan's scoring attack with 20 points. He also grabbed a game high 12 rebounds. Soliday scored seven points in each half to finish with 14 points. Sobotta and Vaughn scored 11 and nine points, respectively. Zander Thornton and Fred Frolov rounded out the scoring with two points each.

Wells and Tanner Goldsmith scored 27 and 18 points for Freeman.

Reardan heads into the WIAA State Tournament with an overall record of 21-2. They open the tournament against Toledo (22-3), a team that has won nine straight games, the last six on the road. Toledo is led by six feet-five Cooper Fallon who had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots against Adna in the District 4 championship game last week. The game is Saturday, March 1, at Cheney High School. Tip-off is at 2:00 p.m.