East Division champion Auburn Mountainview cruised past rival Kentridge 14-6 Friday in a loser-out contest at the Washington State Boys Water Polo Championships at Curtis High School in University Place.

“It was a slow start today, but I’m really glad we improved as the game went on,” Lion coach Justin Pritchard said. “But it’s been a real good season for us, even though we lost a lot of seniors this year.”

Pritchard continued:

“We split with (Kentridge) during the season,” he said. “The last game was very close. So you don’t want to see them again so soon. The kids know each other well, they play summer water polo together. They’re friends, which makes it difficult, but also makes the win even sweeter.”

For the Lions, Owen Lempert had six goals, with Alex Toney, Tyler Arnold and Bo Nelson adding three each. Truman Sulewski had one goal.

The Chargers were led by Jonathan Borte’s three goals, with Nick Cappetto, Nick Hoss and Sterling Connell notching a goal apiece.

Auburn Mountainview stays in the hunt for a possible third-place finish – with a 10 a.m. match Saturday against either Bellevue or Mercer Island.

The Lions opened play with a 19-3 loss to powerhouse Curtis.

Kentridge was relegated to the consolation bracket after a 16-4 first-round loss to Roosevelt.