The state Class 4A basketball tournament was a three-game affair for the Enumclaw High Hornets, who fell a victory shy of playing for a trophy in the Tacoma Dame.

The Hornets had qualified for the four-day extravaganza in the T-Dome after placing second during the South Puget Sound League 4A regular season, splitting four district contests and dropping a regional game against top-ranked Union High of Camas.

All told, Enumclaw finished the season with a record of 16-13. While the 2016-17 campaign was the first at EHS for coach Terry Johnson, last week’s tourney marked the end of Hornet careers for seniors Cooper McCullough, Jacob Revell and Dalton Desjardins.

Already looking ahead, Johnson sees a bright future for the Enumclaw High program. All five end-of-season starters are expected back next season and, the coach believes, the squad is poised for even greater success.

What last week’s state tourney showed him is that EHS isn’t far away from serious contention.

“We have a lot to learn from that experience,” he said, “but we’re not that far away from competing with the best in the state.”

ENUMCLAW 52, INGLEMOOR 43

MARCH 1

The Hornets used a 9-0 run during the second period to provide the cushion needed to get past the Vikings during a first-round, loser-out contest in the Tacoma Dome.

Enumclaw, which entered the day as the No. 8 seeded squad in the tourney, used timely shooting and a rebounding advantage – pulling down 30 boards to the Vikings’ 14 – to get past the No. 16 crew from Kenmore and the Northshore School District.

After trading small leads throughout the game’s early stages, the Hornets grabbed the momentum with three straight long-range buckets. Griffin Webb nailed the first shot from beyond the arc, then Kaden Anderson hit back-to-back bombs. The outburst, in a span of less than 90 seconds, pushed Enumclaw’s lead to 30-18 and the Hornets would never again trail.

The Vikings looked to make things interesting late in the game, scoring a couple of uncontested hoops and benefiting when EHS failed to convert on a trio of one-and-one opportunities. But with a little more than a minute on the game clock, it was too little, too late.

In the closing minute, Anderson and Connery McLaughlin drilled two free throws each to account for the final score.

Anderson used his 6-foot-7 frame to record a double-double. He scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, effective both from the outside and in the paint, while also pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Peter Erickson, a 6-4 freshman, was 6-of-12 from the field and buried three 3-pointers on his way to 15 points.

Inglemoor: 11-13-9-10 – 43

Enumclaw: 13-19-7-13 – 52

Enumclaw: Kaden Anderson 8-13 5-8 23; Peter Erickson 6-12 0-0 15; Bryson Engebretsen 2-3 0-1 4; Kale Engebretsen 2-6 0-0 4; Griffin Webb 1-6 1-2 4; Connery McLaughlin 0-0 2-3 2; Josh Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Jacob Revell 0-1 0-0 0; Cooper McCullough 0-1 0-1 0; Keegan Ulrich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 8-15 52.

GONZAGA PREP 53, ENUMCLAW 30

MARCH 2

The sledding is generally tough when a team faces the No. 1 seed in the tournament and that was painfully true for Enumclaw. The Bullpups from Spokane smothered EHS, holding the Hornets to just 16 points after three full quarters of play.

By that time, the game was out of hand, with G-Prep holding a commanding 22-point advantage.

The game’s final numbers told the tale, as Enumclaw shot less than 20 percent from the floor, eventually making good on nine of 46 field goal attempts. The Bullpups managed to stifle the Hornets’ primary threats, holding junior Kaden Anderson scoreless and allowing freshman Peter Erickson just two points. For the season, Anderson averaged better than 19 points per outing and Erickson was No. 2 on the team at 12.8.

The only Hornet to break into double figures was junior Griffin Webb, who finished with a game-high 15 points.

The game was competitive early, with Prep holding a 10-8 lead after the first period of play. Things went bad during the second frame, though, when the Spokane crew went on a 12-0 run to start the quarter and finished by outscoring EHS 18-4.

It only got worse from there.

By the time the dust settled, Gonzaga Prep had scored 16 points off Enumclaw turnovers, while EHS had none; Prep outscored Enumclaw in the paint 30-16 and led in bench scoring 53-30.

“Their experience was very evident,” Johnson said of the Spokane squad, “and we struggled with their physicality.”

Enumclaw: 8-4-4-14 – 30

Gonzaga Prep: 10-18-10-15 – 53

Enumclaw: Griffin Webb 5-12 4-4 15; Kale Engebretsen 1-5 2-2 4; Jacob Revell 1-3 2-2 4; Bryson Engebretsen 1-3 1-1 3; Josh Brown 0-2 2-2 2; Peter Erickson 1-5 0-0 2; Connery McLaughlin 0-3 0-0 0; Easton Tandecki 0-0 0-0 0; Cooper McCullough 0-1 0-0 0; Kellen Kranc 0-0 0-0 0; Kaden Anderson 0-7 0-0 0; Keegan Ulrich 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 9-46 11-11 30.

Curtis 64, Enumclaw 48

March 3

It was a disastrous third quarter that haunted the Hornets during a Friday morning, win-or-go-home tussle with the Curtis Vikings.

The squad from University Place raced to a 21-8 advantage during the crucial period, a 13-point bulge that was the primary contributor in a 16-point win.

The victory was perhaps more lopsided than the final score showed, as the Vikings held a 27-point lead with three minutes remaining. Enumclaw tallied the last 11 points to make things look more respectable.

Enumclaw’s effectiveness hinged on two whistles that came less than a minute apart in game time. With less than a second remaining in the first half and EHS trailing just 25-22, Kaden Anderson was hit with a charging call, his third foul of the game. Then, just 52 seconds into the second half, he pickup up his fourth foul while battling for a rebound.

The Hornets’ leading scorer and rebounder sat on the bench for seven minutes, next entering the game with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Curtis scored the final 10 points of that third frame and, after hitting the first bucket of the fourth quarter, the Vikings led 48-30.

Despite the time on the bench, Anderson posted another double-double, finishing with team highs in both points, 18, and rebounds, 10.

Reflecting on the season-ending loss, Johnson was positive. “I’m really proud of how our guys battled back after a tough loss the day before,” he said.

Curtis: 10-15-21-18 – 64

Enumclaw: 7-15-8-18 – 48

Enumclaw: Kaden Anderson 7-16 4-4 18; Griffin Webb 3-14 2-2 9; Peter Erickson 3-8 0-0 7; Jacob Revell 3-4 1-2 7; Keegan Ulrich 2-4 1-1 5; Dalton Desjardins 1-1 0-1 2; Kellen Kranc 0-0 0-0 0; Connery McLaughlin 0-1 0-0 0; Travis Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Cooper McCullough 0-2 0-0 0; Josh Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Kale

Engebretsen 0-2 0-0 0; Bryson Engebretsen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 8-10 48.