CHS boys earn spot in play-in game

WHITE SALMON — The Columbia High (CHS) Bruins have won three of their past five games — including two must wins — to put themselves into contention for a WIAA Class 1A boys basketball District 4 playoff berth.

The Bruins play at home Feb. 10 versus the Rochester High Warriors (3-17). The winner advances to the eight-team District 4 playoffs and a first-round road matchup Feb. 12 at No. 11-ranked Fort Vancouver High Trappers (14-0 Trico, 17-3 overall).

In a must-win situation, the Bruins (5-10 Trico, 8-13 overall) recorded their biggest victory of the season — 58-52 over Seton Catholic (4-11 Trico, 7-15 overall) on Feb. 7 at Stevenson High School — to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Bruins, guided by third-year Coach Brady Trullinger, led 16-12 after the first quarter and they extended their advantage to 32-23 at halftime. The Bruins maintained their momentum in the second half as they led 46-38 after three quarters.

“We felt pretty confident that we could beat Seton since we beat them earlier in the season (a 47-45 home win Jan. 28),” said Trullinger. “We played a very physical, fast-paced game with both teams hitting lots of three-pointers. We had things going our way; the guys were hitting some big shots, and I felt pretty good to see us pull out the big win.

“Playing on a neutral court felt really good, too, and it was a nice atmosphere because we had a lot of our fans there and I really loved having the support from everybody who came to the game at Stevenson.”

The Bruins were led offensively by seniors Hunter Wang (22 points) and Aidan Hainline (15 points).

“Hunter and Aidan have had outstanding performances for us in the last two games,” said Trullinger. “Hunter has really been doing his thing offensively, while driving hard to the hoop and finishing really well at the rim with some strong moves.”

The Bruins got a split of their final two regular season contests to get the fifth-place tie with Seton. The Bruins lost, 51-45, at Castle Rock (2-12 Trico, 5-15 overall) on Feb. 3, but rebounded to win two days later at Stevenson.

Wang scored 19 points to lead the Bruins’ offense and Hainline scored 17 points against rival Stevenson (2-12 Trico, 4-15 overall) at Stevenson High School.

“The boys need the recognition and they’re an extremely gritty team, and they work harder than anybody else on the court and they’re ready to do all the dirty work to help us get a win,” Trullinger said. “I’m just very proud of everyone, and with all the adversity that we’re facing, we’ve still found ways to win games and help us get into the playoffs.”