Auburn Mountainview boys basketball reaches Tacoma Dome for first time

Published 6:10 pm Monday, March 2, 2026

It’s the third time in Kendall White’s coaching career that his Auburn Mountainview Lions were in the regional round of the state tournament. The Tacoma Dome beckoned the Lions to make their first arrival at the final site, but in the two previous chances, the Lions came up short.

But on this third fateful night, the Lions punched their ticket to the Tacoma Dome and will play in the round of 12 for the first time in school history.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better. I have been praying for this since I took the job. In God’s timing it happened. I’m very blessed,” White said.

“To be able to be the first group in Auburn Mountainview history is so special to me, especially to do it with these guys. We deserve it,” sophomore Jarrick Matthews said.

Auburn Mountainview (19-5) took on their like-named rival Mountain View of Vancouver (16-8) on Feb. 27 in the 3A WIAA State Tournament regional round and defeated the Thunder, 72-69, at Auburn High School. Emotions ran high as the final buzzer sounded.

“These are my guys man. We have been through so much together,” Matthews said through a tear-stricken face after the win.

In terms of storylines, this game never lacked them. Mountain View hasn’t played in the Tacoma Dome since 2008, while Auburn Mountainview opened its doors in 2006 and a boys team hadn’t ever stepped foot in the Tacoma Dome. Auburn Mountainview hadn’t won a game inside the Auburn High School gym since 2016, losing nine straight at the home of the Trojans. Auburn Mountainview had beaten Mountain View in their last two meetings, both times in the playoffs (2025 D3 tournament, 2023 state play-in).

Mountain View shot out of the gate strong and was hitting all the right buttons and, most importantly, forcing Auburn Mountainview to hit the wrong ones as the Thunder led 24-16 at the end of the first quarter. Lions senior guard Kolven Posey had torched essentially every team he had faced up to this point, but against the Thunder, he didn’t make a shot from the floor until the 2:03 mark in the second quarter.

“That was a great game plan (from Mountain View). The paint was clogged and we weren’t make shots. They executed that to perfection,” White said of the Thunder defense.

But the glue that held the ship together was senior Dale Jones along with Matthews.

“We wanted this bad. We know that we are never going to give up and play hard no matter what,” Matthews said.

Posey and Markell Lowery combined for two made shots from the floor in the first half, and the Lions trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half.

“It couldn’t get any worse. We couldn’t make any shots. We were already down in the dumps. We talked about fighting like our backs were against the wall,” White said.

Jones does all the dirty work for White’s Lions on both sides of the floor. The undersized post player never takes a play off and routinely is jumping in the air for rebounds or save opportunities to give his team that extra possession.

“Dale just keeps going. We talked about going and playing like Dale. He doesn’t necessarily get plays called for him. He doesn’t make shots all the time, but he just keeps working. Thankfully he kept that standard and we followed his lead,” White said.

Mountain View was able to control the tempo and take a 43-32 lead at halftime. The Thunder leader on the scoreboard was senior Luke Swerdlik, who had 11 points in the first half, and also facilitated the offense to expose the Lions’ defense.

In the third quarter, the Lions made their push, and it was fueled by the two players who had underperformed up to that point. Posey and Lowery hounded Mountain View ballhandlers and never allowed the Thunder to really get into their sets on offense. At the 3:00 mark in the third quarter, on a Kolven Posey steal and breakaway layup, the Lions tied the game at 51. From that moment forward, the intensity rose and the stakes became that much higher for both teams as each side of the gym roared whenever their team scored a basket.

The Thunder took a 58-56 advantage to the fourth and final quarter, but that two-point lead was erased on a Posey steal and breakaway layup to open up the fourth quarter. The two sides traded baskets again to tie the game at 60 a side.

Posey hit his first three of the game in the fourth quarter to give his side a 63-60 advantage. The two teams would be tied at 66 before another Posey bucket gave his team a 68-66 lead, and then Matthews hit a deep two-point shot to give Auburn Mountainview a four-point lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Cody Bennion was banged up in the second half with what appeared to be a lower body injury, and Lowery was shaken up after being fouled hard in the fourth quarter. The Lions were willing to pay whatever price was needed to win the game.

“I am definitely blessed to be in this position, but guys like Cody Bennion are the reason stuff like this happens. When he went down, I stopped everybody and said, ‘That kid would do anything to win this game. We have to do it for him now.’ He built this program, he has been a part of every team that made it to state since I’ve been here. It’s kids like Cody Bennion, if I don’t have kids like him I don’t get here,” White said.

The Lions now take on Bellevue in the round of 12, a team that they took on back in 2023 in the regional play-in round. The Lions and Wolverines will play March 4 with tip-off at 2 p.m. inside the Tacoma Dome.