The White River High boys lost one by a whopping margin and another by a scant two points, but the end result was the same. After two days of the Class 2A state boys basketball tournament, the Hornets packed their bags and headed home.

Just eight teams had earned the right to play in the March 6-8 tourney in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

White River advanced to the state tourney with a season record of 20-7, having won seven straight postseason games.

Day One

The White River boys found the going mighty rough during the opening round of the 2A state tournament, falling 77-51 to the Anacortes Seahawks.

Thursday, things started going bad for the Hornet boys early in the second quarter. After Clayton Holm and Brandon Dove came through with hoops to cut the Anacortes lead to a single point at 15-14, the Seahawks went on a 13-1 tear.

Things only got worse during the third period. Anacortes crept to a 17-point lead, then unleashed a barrage of 3-point shots. Enough found their mark to rapidly put the Hornets into a 28-point hole, with the third period ending 58-30.

The winners shot 66 percent on two-point attempts and added seven 3-point bombs to roll to the easy victory.

White River wasn’t nearly as efficient, shooting 33 percent on 2-point attempts and 25 percent beyond the arc.

Brandon Dove was the only Hornet in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Anacortes benefitted from a balanced attack; Ty Johnson wound up with 23 points, Andrew Medalia had 19 and Jordan Neville finished with 13.

White River scoring: Brandon Dove 13, Spencer Swigart 9; Clayton Holm 8, Do Dudley 5, Brandon Garvin 4, Tyler Meadows 4, Dustin France 3, Trent Buchanan 3, Brandon Scheer 2.

Day Two

While the first state game was a blowout, Friday’s contest against Mark Morris was a nail-biter.

The Hornets certainly had their opportunities, leading 30-24 at halftime and 41-39 after three quarters. White River’s final lead was 49-48 and came when Spencer Swigart stepped to the line and sank two free throws with 1:24 left to play.

Down the stretch, the Monarchs scored six unanswered points. But things turned highly interesting after Dustin France converted a layin and Brandon Garvin buried a deep 3–pointer, sandwiched around a lone Monarch free throw.

That was it for the Hornet scoring, however, and Mark Morris added a free throw in the closing seconds.

The final statistics were interesting, as White River connected on 21 buckets while the Monarchs made just 16. The difference was from 3-point land, where Mark Morris made six and the Hornets had just two. Adding to the final equation was free-throw shooting; Mark Morris connected on 18 of 28 from the stripe and the Hornets were 10 of 17.

White River scoring: Dustin France 19, Spencer Swigart 13, Brandon Garvin 12, Brandon Dove 4, Bo Dudley 4, Clayton Holm 2.