Top-ranked Trinity Lutheran and No. 3 Regis will duke it out for the 2A boys state title after both won semifinals games Friday at the Pendleton Convention Center.
“We played Regis earlier in a hard-fought battle,” Trinity Lutheran coach Kyle Gilbert said. “It’s the battle of the heavyweights. We were able to pull out a win in overtime (84-73). It was good for us.”
Regis coach Jason Koehnke said his team is ready for a rematch.
“We feel like we owe them one,” Koehnke said. “We are excited to plate them again. They are a good team. It’s a good opportunity for us to play them.”
The championship game is set for 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
2A boys semifinal games
No. 1 Trinity Lutheran 59, No. 4 Oakland 43: The Saints have never won a state, but they earned an opportunity to try after beating the Oakers in a game that belonged to Trinity Lutheran from early in the third quarter.
“This is a huge blessing and opportunity,” Gilbert said. “It was a tough battle. They are a gritty and hard-working team. They made us work for everything we got.”
The Saints (27-10) played for a 1A state title in 2019, but lost to Nixyaawii. They have never reached the 2A championship game.
Oakland (23-6) will play Portland Christian in the third-place game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Saints held a 9-8 lead after the first quarter, then turned up the heat in the second with a 21-6 run for a 30-14 lead at the half. Chimi Gilbert and Chace Nichols led the charge with six points each.
Oakland went on a 22-18 run in the third, and twice got within 10 points of the Saints, but still found itself down by 12 — 48-36 — heading into the fourth quarter.
“I always figured there would be a storm coming,” Gilbert said of Oakland’s run. “This is where we grow as a team.”
Trinity Lutheran scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for a 53-36 lead and the Oakers were never able to close the gap.
Gilbert led the Saints with 14 points, while Austin Imhoff added 11 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, and Rhett Lewis chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Shepard Brooksby finished with 14 points and six rebounds for the Oakers, while Ryan Fullerton had 13 points, and Jaxson Clark eight points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
No. 3 Regis 47, No. 2 Portland Christian 44: The Royals will not be making their third consecutive appearance in the championship game after the Rams rallied for a win and their first trip to the finals since 2016.
“This is huge,” Regis coach Jason Koehnke said. “They have worked so hard the last five years. It’s hard to get there. They stayed with it. That was a really tough team. They did a good job of controlling the play.”
The Rams (27-2) last won a title in 2005. They also won in 2003 and 2004.
The Royals (28-1), who suffered their first loss of the season, will play Oakland in the third-place game.
In a fast-paced game, the Royals took a 19-13 lead in the first quarter, with Keylon Kittleson leading the way with nine points on three 3-pointers.
Kittleson hit another 3 to open the second quarter, but Regis would score the last five points of the quarter to pull within 28-23 at the half.
The Royals had a six-point lead early in the third, but the Rams battled back, taking their first lead since 3-2 with 2:44 remaining. Josiah Harris-Skidmore hit a 3-pointer to close out the quarter to give Portland Christian a 38-36 lead.
Regis’ Fletcher Gould went down with a left foot injury with 4:05 left in the third, but after a little rest and tape, he returned into fourth to give his team the boost it needed.
Gould scored six of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the charge. He gave the Rams the lead for good at 46-44 with 23 seconds left in the game when he tipped in a miss by teammate Eli Silbernagel.
“Fletcher is a really good player and plays with intensity,” Koehnke said. “When he came back, it was uplifting.”
With 3.4 seconds left on the clock, Portland Christian’s Zane Ozier went to the line for two. He missed the first, and the second, leaving the Royals scrambling.
Silbernagle made one of two free throws with 2 seconds left for a 47-44 lead. The Royals inbounded the ball, and their desperation shot was short of the basket.
Silbernagel added 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Rams, while Jude Pokorny and Rook Smith each had six points.
Kittleson led the Royals with 17 points and five rebounds, while Ozier had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Ethan Larner had eight points and four assists.
2A girls semifinal games
No. 1 Regis 66, No. 4 Crosshill Christian 47: Freshman Frankie Koehnke had 21 points and six steals, and the Rams punched their ticket to the championship game with a dominating win over the Eagles.
“This is fun,” Regis coach Tim Manning said. “They have worked hard all year. Crosshill is a very skilled team and we knew we would have to play fast to beat them.”
The Rams (28-1), will play Stanfield in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Rams, who were fifth in 2024, won titles in 1985 and 2011-14.
“For the boys and girls to both be in the finals is special,” Manning said.
The Eagles (23-5), who had their 13-game win streak snapped, will play Western Christian at 2:15 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game.
Regis came out firing in the first quarter. Koehnke opened the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and scored the next four points to give her team a 7-0 lead. The Rams hit four 3-pointers in the quarter for a 21-10 lead.
Koehnke scored seven points in the second quarter and Hadley Foster added six as the Rams stretched their lead to 41-22 at the half. Regis hit nine 3-pointers in the first half.
“We have a lot of great shooters and they are confident shooting the 3s,” Manning said. “She (Koehnke) is going to be a stud. As a freshman, she comes in like she’s a senior.”
Each team had 15 points in the third quarter as the Rams’ lead remained at 19, 56-37.
In the fourth, Clara Persons scored eight of her 17 to keep the Rams comfortably out front.
Foster added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Rams.
The Eagles’ 6-foot-4 center Zoey Baker had a game-high 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots, while Kasey Zuidema added 16 points and six rebounds. Khloie Cobb added five points and eight rebounds.
No . 7 Stanfield 41, No. 3 Western Christian 24: After a lackluster game in the quarterfinals Thursday, Stanfield’s Kayla Monkus came out with renewed energy Friday, scoring 21 points in the Tigers’ semifinal win over the Pioneers.
“Kayla has confidence and she got after it,” Stanfield coach Dan Sharp said.
The Tigers (20-6) are headed to the championship game for just the second time in school history. Stanfield placed second in 2023. They will face No. 1 Regis at 8 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s awesome,” Sharp said. “They are playing good at the right time. I’m super proud of them. Regis is awesome. They are a great team. It will be an honor to play them.”
Western Christian will face Crosshill Christian in the third-place game Saturday.
The teams played to three ties in the first quarter before Monkus hit a pair of baskets in the finals 2:36 to give the Tigers an 11-7 lead.
Taylor Sperr scored seven of her 16 points in the second quarter, and Monkus scored with 6 seconds left to give Stanfield a 21-9 lead at the half.
The Pioneers went on a 9-6 run in the third, getting five points from Kinsey Wark to pull within 27-18 heading into the fourth quarter.
Monkus scored nine points in the fourth, and Sperr added four as the Tiger clamped down on defense for a 14-6 run to pull away for good.
“We played really well defensively,” Sharp said. “They have great shooters. You play great defense and make your baskets and good things happen.”
Sperr added 10 rebounds and three steals to her night, while Kahleigha Haney had nine rebounds and five assists, and Kenya Dovalina had six rebounds.
Wark finished with eight points and six rebounds, while Kylie Sommer added eight points, six rebounds and five blocked shots, and Savannah Newman had six points off two 3-pointers.
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