Class 1A football power Royal showed it can also play defense on the basketball court, too, as the Knights shut down the Meridian boys in a state regional, 65-47, on Friday, Feb. 28, at Ellensburg High School.
Despite the loss, the seventh-seeded Trojans (17-8) still move on to the state tournament in the Yakima SunDome although they will have to win a loser-out contest on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals and the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
Their opponent will be the winner of the Overlake-Riverside regional game on Saturday.
“We are fortunate that we put ourselves in a situation where this game’s outcome didn’t end our season but gave us good experience heading into next week,” said Meridian coach Shane Stacy. “I still believe we are a team that can play on Saturday (for a trophy) and this doesn’t change that.”
On Friday, the Trojans found out that the second-seeded Knights and their 23-1 record — now 24-1 — are for real on the court as well as the gridiron, where they’ve won five straight state titles.
Meridian was held to its lowest point total of the season on Friday. The Trojans were only down two after one quarter and eight at the half, but couldn’t slow the Knights, who won their 12th straight game.
Only five Trojans managed to score and only three had more than four points.Senior Talon Jenkins led Meridian with 20 points, senior Jaeger Fyfe had 11 points, and sophomore Pierce Brzozowski had 9 points.
“We played hard tonight but just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” said Stacy, whose team is making the 11th state appearance in school history and second in a row for only the second time.
Royal now advances to the quarterfinals on Thursday at 9 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday’s Tenino-Chelan regional winner and Annie Wright-Bear Creek regional loser. Like the Trojans, the Knights are looking to earn a trophy after reaching the SunDome but not placing last season.
Royal 65, Meridian 47
Meridian 13 8 14 12—47
Royal 15 14 18 18—65
Meridian: Talon Jenkins 20, Damion Hayes 3, Jaeger Fyfe 11, Canyon James, Brock Haugen, Matthew Blankenburg, Daniel Larsen, Trey Alexander, Gabe Galbraith, Pierce Brzozowski 9, James Hedahl 4, Josiah Harris.
Royal: Dax Jenks 3, Lance Allred 3, Fischer Livingston 7, Trent Jensen 9, Jackson Larsen 6, Manny Ruvalcaba 10, Grant Wardenaar 14, Ezra Jenks 13, Santana Luna.
CLASS 1A BOYS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 28
#12 Bellevue Christian 61, #13 Fort Vancouver 48 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#2 Royal 65, #7 Meridian 47 (both to state tournament)
Saturday, March 1
#16 Tenino (10-13) vs. #9 Chelan (21-5) at Wenatchee HS, 10 a.m. (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#15 Overlake (14-9) vs. #10 Riverside (16-4) at West Valley (Spokane) HS, noon (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#5 King’s (18-4) vs. #4 Zillah at Davis HS, 2 p.m. (both to state tournament)
#14 La Center (15-8) vs. #11 Cashmere (18-8) at Wenatchee HS, 2 p.m. (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#6 Seton Catholic (18-5) vs. #3 Lynden Christian (21-2) at Mount Vernon HS, 4 p.m. (both to state tournament)
#8 Bear Creek (18-5) vs. #1 Annie Wright (20-2) at University of Puget Sound, 8 p.m. (both to state tournament)
