By Conner Orr

The entire game was an offensive explosion by River, especially before halftime. River was already up 30-14 in the middle of the second quarter when Aaron Hoey nailed a three-pointer to increase River’s lead to 19. Then, after a Renton timeout, Javen Fletch hit back-to-back three-pointers. This offensive sequence by River was only a microcosm of how they performed all game and drained any sense of momentum Renton had.

Going into halftime, River found themselves up 42-26, and the scoring did not end there. They came out of the locker room and continued right where they left off in the last two quarters, leading to their eventual 94-63 win.

Due to this win, they are now set to face Lakewood in the Round of 12 on Wednesday at the Yakima Valley SunDome. This is now the second year in-a-row that the team has made it to the Round of 12 and they are looking to make it further in state than they did last season.

“Just these last two years, making it to ‘The Dome’ [has been] really special,” Hoey said. “Last year… we got a taste of it [but] this year we want to go even deeper [in the tournament].”

Hoey also explained that he believes the team can continue to advance due to their team chemistry and playoff experience.