Reardan takes home 3rd place trophy

SPOKANE – After a 17 year drought, the Reardan boys basketball team earned a trip to the Spokane Arena to play in the WIAA 2B Boys State Basketball Tournament March 6-8. The Screaming Eagles defeated Tri-Cities Prep and Colfax and lost to Freeman to place third in the tournament. The team finished the 2025 season 24-3. It was the school's most wins since the 1997 team won 26 games.

Reardan last appeared in the state tournament in 2008 under coach Bob Swannack, who now leads the girls team.

The Screaming Eagles faced Tri-Cities Prep in a quarterfinal game Thursday, March 6. Instead of wilting on such a grand stage, Reardan flourished, as its lock-down defense did just that as they defeated the Jaguars 74-43.

In the opening minutes, Evan Krupke hit two long-range shots to show his teammates how easy it was to score in the cavernous arena.

Jakari Singleton scored four first quarter points, but it was his and Maveric Sobotta's defense that made the early difference. Singleton collected every rebound and Sobotta stepped into the Jaguar's passing lanes and stole pass after pass. At the end of the first quarter, the Screaming Eagles led 17-7.

In the second quarter, Singleton provided the game's highlight with an epic above the rim one-handed, putback slam dunk for two of his six first half points. Reardan extended its lead to 31-21 at halftime. In the game's first 16 minutes, Singleton and Sobotta grabbed 10 and six rebounds, respectively.

In the third quarter Sobotta and Krupke both hit 3-point shots and Singleton scored five points as Reardan outscored the Jaguars 21-14 to jump ahead 52-35.

Reardan's Justin Vaughn scorched the nets in the fourth quarter. His three triples fueled a 22 point outburst by the Screaming Eagles as they cruised to the 74-43 win.

Sobotta was a terror on both ends of the court. He notched a double-double with an impressive stat line of 14 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and a blocked shot.

"Maveric is our guy," coach Jake Green said. "He drives this car. The moment wasn't too big for him. He is passionate about basketball and this environment is exactly what he wants."

Vaughn made four 3-point shots and scored 14 points. Singleton scored 13 points and controlled the boards with 15 rebounds to give him a double-double. Rysen Soliday also scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. Evan Krupke sank four treys for 12 points and was awarded the Sportsmanship Award after the game. Karsten Flaa, Fred Frolov and Zander Thornton rounded out the scoring with three, three and two points, respectively.

Bryson Wilde led the Jaguars in scoring with 16 points.

After the game, Sobotta said he was hyped to hit the arena's hardwood for his first state tournament.

"The atmosphere was exciting, but it didn't intimidate me," he said. "I might have started slow but was able to adjust. Our tenacity was the difference in the game. We got better as the game went on, and they got tired. We don't get tired."

Soliday gave credit to his teammates for their defensive effort.

"Our defense was pretty well locked in tonight," he said, "but we also could adjust to their defenses quickly. I didn't expect the nerves to get to us tonight and they didn't. We just went out and played."

Green thought his team would be nervous playing amongst the tournament hoopla.

"I thought they'd be a little frazzled in this environment, but they did a lot better handling it than I expected," he said. "We were a little undisciplined, but we did what we were supposed to do. Evan (Krupke) was locked in. This moment was not too big for him."

The win improved the Screaming Eagles' record to 23-2 and advanced them into a semifinal matchup with Freeman on Friday, March 7.

As hot as the Screaming Eagles were in the first quarter against Tri-Cities Prep, they were just the opposite in the first quarter against Freeman. They couldn't buy a bucket, turned the ball over and seemed to play tight against the freewheeling Scotties. Freeman opened the game with a 17-2 run and ended the first quarter leading 19-4.

The rest of the game, Reardan played Freeman even. In fact, the Screaming Eagles outscored them by five points in the last three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they whittled Freeman's lead to eight points but could draw no closer as Freeman won the game 46-36. After averaging nearly 77 points per game, this was Reardan's lowest points total of the season.

Singleton scored 18 points for the Screaming Eagles, followed by Soliday who had nine and Vaughn who had five. Sobotta and Thornton both had two points.

Colton Wells scored 26 points for the Scotties.

The loss was Reardan's third of the season, leaving them with a 23-3 record and paired them with Colfax in a battle for third place on Saturday, March 8.

In the opening minutes, it appeared Reardan was suffering a hangover after its disappointing loss to Freeman. Like the Scotties the night before, the Bulldogs came out shooting and could not miss. They hit six long bombs from behind the arc and after one period, led 20-12.

In the second quarter Singleton scored eight points and Sobotta added five points to engineer a Reardan comeback. They outscored the Bulldogs 21-11 to take a 33-31 halftime lead.

The Screaming Eagles hit the gas in the third quarter. Soliday scored five quick points and Singleton scored on a put-back to spark a 9-0 run and a 42-31 lead.

As the quarter wound down, the Bulldogs fought back to within three points. Heading into the final stanza, Reardan clung to a 45-42 lead.

Reardan's Fred Frolov dominated play in the fourth quarter. His aggressive defense, rebounding and six point scoring burst kept Colfax from closing the gap. In the closing minutes, Sobotta calmly sank six free throws to secure the 61-48 win and the third place trophy.

Singleton scored 21 points to lead Reardan in scoring. Frolov scored 12 points and Sobotta recorded his second double-double of the tournament with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Soliday scored nine points and Thornton and Krupke scored five and three points, respectively.

After the game, Singleton was named to the All-Tournament team.

"The pressure was off after losing to Freeman," Singleton said. "It felt more like a regular season game. We took a deep breath and came out like we typically do."

Singleton's last game as a Screaming Eagle was bittersweet.

"A coach once told us that our high school basketball career goes by so fast, so embrace it. When we were younger, we said, 'that moment is never going to be here,' but now, Wow! It is over."

After the game, Green beamed with pride for his team, but was reluctant to accept accolades for their success.

"It is very impressive how the boys bounced back from the loss against Freeman," he said. "It was hard to see that the goal we had fought for all season was no longer attainable, but the boys came back, locked in and did what they needed to do. I am super proud of them. I am also grateful to them. If not for them I would not be here."

Green praised Frolov for his effort.

"He played out of his mind," Green said. "It was his best game all year."

"I'm proud of these boys and blessed to be a part of their team," he said. "They did everything we asked them to do. We are going to miss Rysen (Soliday) and Jakari (Singleton). They are amazing players but are even better leaders and young men."

Green said the Screaming Eagles could not have achieved their level of success without assistant coach Preston Wynne.

"He came into our program this year and stepped it up another notch. He is a big deal and an amazing coach who is going to help us take it even further."