The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Raider pride runs deep. And for a group of young men who've been working hard together for years, their final win on the hardwood felt good Saturday as they took third place in the state of Washington at the WIAA 2024 2B Boys State Basketball Tournament at the Spokane Arena.

It wasn't a given outcome, despite the obvious talent on the team. They have speed, not a lot of height. They're smart, dedicated, and fearless. And their coach figured they had the best defensive team in the state.

"I feel like we're off to a good start," said first-year Head Coach Ed Wolfe after the Raiders took third in the state with the win over Napavine, 86-61.

A former Raider player himself, Wolfe said he always knew he'd coach the Raiders someday. After three years as an assistant to Jeremy Crollard, Wolfe was handed the opportunity this year and feels lucky.

"I got very lucky with this group of seniors," he said. They set the tone for the team. "They are an amazing group of boys" who work hard every day.

"That's the culture you want in practice right there," he said, and the team soaked it up. "They don't take it easy on each other. They lock horns every day and practice making each other better."

It paid off. Their three-point win against Tri-Cities Prep in the opening round got them to the quarterfinals Feb. 29, when they took down Toutle Lake 69-31 to get into the semi-finals.

That's where the only team to win against the Raiders all year got ahead of them again in the first half by 11 points. Columbia (Burbank) won the game by 10, 64-54, sending Lake Roosevelt to the contest for third or fifth place and the 25-point win over Napavine's Tigers.

Chase Marchand led the Raiders with 35 points in the final game, hitting 8 of 11 three pointers.

"It meant a lot for us to come back and just dog out like we did today," Marchand said. "Last year, we took sixth in the fourth- and sixth-place game. And we didn't like losing the game after all we'd gone through, so we put in the work all season. And no matter what we were going to give it our all. And we came back today and just worked our butts off, got the win."

Ivan Alejandre led in scoring against Toutle Lake with 19, followed by Brandon Pino's 14.

Brandon Pino looks to pass out of a tight spot amid Tigers.

Against Columbia, Marchand led with 27; Alejandre had 17. Pino put in only two points, but added two assists that were worth the price of admission, including one to Marchand at the basket from the far side of the court. A thing of beauty.

The Raiders' third place win, the furthest any LR boys team has made it so far at state, may have been their last win of their high school careers, but their coach says the seniors are just getting started on what they can do.

"They're not going to quit grinding," Wolfe said. "They're going go on to that next level. ... I think they're going to continue to make us proud ... not just as ballplayers but within the community."

Meanwhile, this year's bench, who brought the energy at crucial times all season, will be back and ready for another winning year.