Willapa Valley's Beau Buchanan block's Winlock's Coleson Richendollar in the district playoffs Saturday. (Eric Trent / etrent@chronline)
Winlock's Coleson Richendollar (11) drives against Willapa Valley's Logan Walker (2) and Beau Buchanan (24) on Saturday.
Winlock's Nolan Swofford (31) gets a breakaway layup against Willapa Valley on Saturday.
Winlock's Noah Patching (20) takes a shot in the paint against Willapa Valley on Saturday.
Winlock's Bryce Cline (3) drives for a layup against Willapa Valley in the district playoffs Saturday.
By Aaron VanTuyl
For The Chronicle
ROCHESTER — The Cardinals had a rough shooting performance at exactly the wrong time.
Put in a do-or-die situation here Saturday against Willapa Valley, Winlock went cold early in the fourth quarter and couldn’t keep up with a deep Vikings squad in a 63-54 loss.
The defeat ends the season for Winlock at 17-7, while Willapa Valley finished fifth in the District 4 2B boys tournament and advances to the regional round of the State 2B tournament.
Coleson Richendollar scored a game-high 25 points for Winlock, and Nolan Swofford added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
“I was happy we went down swinging,” Winlock coach Nick Bamer said. “Playing our style, and with passion. I think we just ran out of gas from so much effort this week.”
The Cardinals lost to Life Christian in the district semifinals on Wednesday night, then wound up on the wrong end of a 58-50 contest with Wahkiakum in the consolation semifinals on Friday night.
The quick turnaround to a 2:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday didn’t do them any favors. Winlock managed just seven points in the second quarter and went into halftime down 29-24, after going 2 of 14 from the field in the second frame.
The Cardinals rallied in the third quarter, taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter when a 3-pointer from Landon Tiemens to go up 40-39.
The Vikings answered with a 13-2 run, stretching their lead out to 52-40 midway through the final frame.
Richendollar threw down an emphatic dunk with 18 seconds left, but it only served to bring the Cardinals within 10 points.
“He was huge in the second half,” Bamer said of the senior guard, who scored 18 after the intermission.
Bryce Cline added 12 points for the Cardinals.
Chad Flemetis led Willapa Valley with 14 points. Beau Buchanan added 13 with 11 rebounds, and Allen Deniston scored 13 of his 14 in the second half.
Logan Walker, the Vikings’ leading scorer, finished with 11 and 10 rebounds.
It was the final game for Cardinal seniors Cline, Richendollar, Noah Patching, Garrett Chiechlowski, Nathan Suhrbier and Fernando Sanchez.
“Those guys have been great,” Bamer said. “They’ve done a lot for this program, and they’ll be missed.”
The Vikings (17-8) will play Friday or Saturday in a loser-out, winner-to-state regional game.
