SPOKANE — Columbia Adventist is no stranger to being the underdog.
After winning two straight elimination games in the district tournament to make the state tournament, the Kodiaks were given the No. 17 seed, meaning they would need to win two road games to even reach Spokane.
The Kodiaks did that, then upset No. 8 Wahkiakum in the Round of 12 on Wednesday, and on Thursday in a quarterfinal against No. 2 Almira Coulee Hartline, the Kodiaks were hanging around early.
“The resiliency of this team, these kids are just absolutely amazing,” Columbia Adventist coach Jon Weil said. “The no-quit attitude. Just saying hey, we’re taking it one game at a time, listening to the game plan, and putting it all together. Super proud of them.”
Just as it seemed like another upset could be in store, though, the Warriors pulled away, handing the Kodiaks an 80-54 loss and eliminating them from state title contention.
Columbia Adventist trailed by just seven at the break, but the Warriors scored the first 15 points of the first half to push their lead to 22.
That third-quarter spurt wasn’t Almira Coulee Hartline’s only successful offensive stretch of the second half. The Warriors scored 46 points in the second half, hitting 51.5% (17 for 33) of their shots from the floor, including a 46.2% (6 for 13) mark from deep.
To top it off, ACH only turned the ball over three times all game, while the Kodiaks turned it over 20 times. The Warriors finished with 18 more attempts from the floor, and they finished the night shooting 46.8% (22 for 47) overall.
“They’re just tough,” Weil said of ACH. “When you have bench players that could be starters, it makes it very difficult to defend and game plan against a team like that.”
For stretches during the quarterfinal, Columbia Adventist was able to keep up with ACH.
In the first half, seniors Evan Akrawi and Tristan White combined to score CAA’s 24 points, helping keep the Kodiaks within striking distance despite the Warriors opening the game on an 11-2 run.
Akrawi went on to finish with 21 points and four rebounds, while White scored 18 points and added six rebounds.
It was the second straight impressive performance for both of them. On Wednesday in CAA’s Round of 12 win, Akrawi scored 15 points and added eight rebounds, while White posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
“They’ve been the catalysts for us all year,” Weil said. “They’re both just the workhorses, and they give 110%. They laid it all on the floor.”
In Thursday’s outing, Luke Pierce added six points, Carter Krenzler added five, and both Wyatt Frantz and Koen Moor scored two.
While the Kodiaks' run at a state title is over, their run in Spokane is not.
On Friday, Columbia Adventist will face No. 5 Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian in a consolation game. The winner there will advance to the 4th/6th game and is guaranteed to return home with a trophy.
If the Kodiaks are able to win on Friday, it would guarantee their first state trophy in school history.
Two years ago, when the Kodiaks made their first state tournament appearance as the No. 16 seed, they followed a similar path, but lost on Friday and didn’t get the chance to place.
With a group that has already won five elimination games this postseason, Weil isn’t going to count his guys out.
“Being a 17 seed, everyone’s wiped us off the board in the previous elimination games,” Weil said. “We’re still here. We’re still ready to fight. We’re still ready to make a run at it. So we’ll give it our best shot.”
