By Kennedy Dowse

The boys’ journey started with a trip to Black Hills High School where they came away with a comfortable 16 point marginal victory over the Wolves. However, the District 4 Tournament showed to be no easy task as the Rapids would meet with the R.A. Long Lumberjacks at Woodland High School. Unfortunately, River would fall just short to the Jacks by a score of 58 - 50. Due to the loss in Woodland, Columbia River would fall to the losers bracket where they would meet the Washougal Panthers at home, in a game that would end up being a great game. 

The game got underway at 7:00 at the J. Hoover Gymnasium, and the Rapids took an early 16-6 lead. River would continue to hold a 10 point lead throughout the game, but the Panthers stayed within striking distance, as they would cut the lead all the way down to 3 in the fourth quarter. As they entered the final minutes of the game, the Rapids would hold on by the skin of their teeth and CR Sports play-by-play commentator Steven Hamann was on the call. “SURVIVE… AND… ADVANCE!” The Rapids would come away with a 57-52 Win and move on to the losers bracket final. That game will be played on Saturday, February 21st at 1:00 in Kelso, against the Ridgefield Spudders. The winner of the game will move on to the Washington 2A State Tournament. 

The Columbia River girls’ basketball team has had a similar experience in the District 4 Tournament. They started out with a loss to Black Hills, but bounced back with a 57-39 victory over the Washougal Panthers, and on Wednesday, February 18th, the Rapids took down the Woodland Beavers in Ridgefield by a score of 34-29 thanks to Mikayla King’s clutch made 3-pointer to seal the game and send the Rapids to Kelso. River’s girls’ team will now also play the Ridgefield Spudders up in Kelso on Saturday in a losers out game.

As both the River basketball teams get ready for their biggest games of the year, the thought of it possibly being the last game that the seniors will ever play sets in along with the rest of reality. It’s time for the District 4 Playoff Championship, and the Rapids are ready to survive and advance.