Olympia turns back Auburn at Hardwood Classic

Trojans’ sound season ends with 48-43 loss to the Bears at 4A state tournament

Olympia ended Auburn’s basketball season with a 48-43 opening-round win at the 4A Hardwood Classic at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.

Ethan Gahm scored 14 points and Jackson Grant had 13 and 13 rebounds as the Bears (21-6) ousted the Trojans (23-7) to advance to the state quarterfinals.

Trevon Blassingame paced Auburn with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dae’Kwon Watson had nine points and Darrell Hester and Kaden Hansen each finished with six.

Auburn led 12-8 after the first quarter and 23-18 at halftime. Olympia pulled even 32-32 after three periods and seized the win in the fourth.

The Trojans shot 31 percent from the field, 28 percent from 3-point land, for the game.

For the Trojans, it was an outstanding season, having reached the state playoffs for the first time since 2013. Auburn won the North Puget Sound League Olympic title and survived a rugged district playoff stretch to make the state regionals.

And the future appears bright. Seven of the eight Trojans who played in Wednesday’s game will return for coach Ryan Hansen next fall.

“I’m really proud of the accomplishments from this group of young men. They had an unbelievable season, accomplished so much, and a team that the Auburn community can be proud of,” Coach Hansen said. “We played really hard against Olympia, held a good team to 48 points, just didn’t shoot it well enough in the Dome. I know this will motivate our younger players to work hard to get back there. I am extremely honored to be their coach.”