Auburn boys basketball can’t complete comeback vs. West Valley

Published 4:05 pm Thursday, March 5, 2026

For better or worse, Auburn High School’s boys basketball team has a way of making a tumultuous appearance inside the Tacoma Dome. From beating the cream of the crop of the Metro League in 2022, to being the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 17 seed in 2024, the Auburn Trojans always make things interesting in March.

But on March 4, No. 9 Auburn (22-3) came up just short of a quarterfinals appearance, falling in the round of 12 to the West Valley Rams (19-3), 71-67, ending their 2025-26 season.

The Trojan senior class of Daniel Johnson, Miles Henry and TJ Chagolla have seen a lot in their tenure under head coach Ryan Hansen and the group has grown extremely close.

“They have accomplished a ton in their time at Auburn. When the sting wears off, there is a lot to be proud of. They won another league championship, won 22 games and got to the state tournament. They were right there against a good team,” Hansen said. “I am certainly proud of those guys and proud of our whole team for the way we continued to fight.”

The loss is a sour way for one of the best basketball players in Auburn history to have his career end. Senior Daniel Johnson will be remembered as one of the best players to put on the green and gold of Auburn.

“Daniel has been a stud. … He’s a great kid and a great leader. Being as good as he is, he draws a lot of attention. He’s probably beating himself up a little bit and wanted to play better,” Hansen said.

Johnson had been rostered on every Auburn state team since his freshman year and has seen everything in his time at Auburn.

“I loved it. These guys are my family and I appreciate the coaches a lot for leading me and teaching me a lot of new things. I’m very appreciative of my teammates and coaches,” Johnson said.

Auburn struggled out of the gate offensively against West Valley, scoring just seven points in the opening quarter. Miles Henry hit a 3-pointer, which made him the highest scorer in the first quarter for Auburn. Henry usually never resorts to shooting from outside unless his team needs a spark. Early on, they needed his boost.

Henry finished with a team high 19 points for Auburn and paired that with six rebounds and two assists.

“He has really made an impact on our program, left a footprint. He was aggressive tonight,” Hansen said. “When he gets hot, he can really get hot. He had a good game.”

In the second quarter, Auburn made their run. Sophomore Matthew Fredrickson opened his state tournament with seven points in the second quarter and made one of three Auburn 3-pointers in the frame.

Auburn cut the West Valley lead to one point twice before halftime, but were not able to get over the hump. One reason for that was West Valley shot lights out from beyond the arc — in the first half, the Rams shot 66.7% from three and in the second half, they shot 71.4%.

“That is unheard of. They were 9-for-13 and those will deflate you a little bit. We just kept fighting, kept fighting,” Hansen said.

The Trojans even went to an unlikely source for a boost in the form of Steveion Wilkes, who had played very minimal minutes all season. Wilkes played the majority of his season on junior varsity, but played five critical minutes for Hansen in the state tournament.

“He came in and played with so much emotion and heart. He gave us great minutes,” Hansen said.

Auburn’s third quarter was underwhelming once again as the Trojans scored just 14 points. Henry was the only Trojan to record more than one field goal.

In the fourth quarter, West Valley extended its lead to the largest of the game at 61-47, but then the Trojans woke up and started firing on offense, but more importantly defense. The Trojans’ full court press caused breakdowns from the Rams, which let Auburn get back in the game. Auburn went on a 11-2 run to cut the lead to just five points with 2:40 remaining in the game and the score at 63-58.

“It took a lot of heart. We knew we had to step it up. We just starting playing with more heart and more urgency toward the end,” Johnson said.

With 2:14 left in the game, Auburn trailed 64-60 and forced a West Valley turnover to get the ball back. On the ensuing Auburn possession, Johnson had a 3-point shot attempt blocked. Isaiah Englund missed his two free throws on the next possession and the momentum after Johnson and England fouled out sealed victory for the Rams, sending Auburn home.