An 8-0 run in the last 1:29 of the third quarter helped Lost River boys basketball (23-4) advance to their first state tournament since 2019 with a 58-44 win over Perrydale (20-7) Friday.
The No. 7 seed Raiders, coming off an 83-49 win over No. 26 seed Echo Tuesday, struggled to score at a similar clip in the first half against the No. 10 seed Pirates. Lost River led 10-8 after the first quarter, which featured two ties and four lead changes, and trailed 21-14 in the second before going on a 7-0 run over the final 1:34 of the half (including five points from Chase McAuliffe) to tie the game at 21-21.
The Raiders gained the upper hand early in the third quarter but couldn’t separate themselves by more than four points until the pivotal 8-0 run gave them a 42-33 lead heading into the fourth. Perrydale cut the deficit to 45-39 with 4:09 remaining in the game, but Lost River outscored them 13-5 the rest of the way. The Raiders ended the second half almost exactly how they ended the first: with a 7-0 run over the last 1:36 (this run included five made free throws).
Tate Freeman put up a double-double to lead Lost River, finishing with 19 points (including 7 in the first quarter) on 7-of-11 shooting, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Chase McAuliffe had 16 points (including 6 in the third quarter), 4 rebounds and 2 assists, while Connor Dunlea had 15 points (including 7 in the fourth quarter), 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 rebounds. Additionally, Emmett O’Brien had 5 points, a team-high 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Kayden Hartman had 3 points and 4 assists.
For Perrydale, 6-foot-7 Lucas Thorson had 24 points (including 9 in the third quarter), Connor Graber had 15, Brandon Lux and Erik Danka each had 2, and Brody Cruickshank had 1. The Pirates’ seven seniors were the only players to see action for them.
This was Perrydale’s fifth time falling one win short of the state tournament since their last appearance in 2017.
Lost River will face No. 2 seed Nixyaawii (21-4) in the OSAA quarterfinals at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. Both the 1A boys and girls state tournaments will be held at Baker High School.