Rogers bows out of state tourney

TACOMA – Dropping the cookie was disappointing but not devastating, which is understandable since Rogers hasn’t had its hand back in the cookie jar that is the state basketball tournament since 1975.

“For not being here in 34 years, I think we did all right,” senior star Jesse Vaughan said. “It got to us a little bit at the beginning, but we played our game and almost came out of here with a trophy. We had a good season. It’s good for the underclassmen to get the experience, see what they do next year.”

The Pirates’ season ended Friday afternoon when Foster won the loser-out game of the State 3A boys tournament 74-67 at the Tacoma Dome.

“They’re a quick and athletic team,” Vaughan said. “We matched up pretty well, but they’re a little quicker, I think. We missed a lot of shots. If we would have shot well, I think we could have beat them.”

Rogers (13-15) never had any prolonged dry spells, but it didn’t have any real surges, either. Foster (18-8) can score in a hurry with long-range shots and inside moves.

“I think the difference was their athleticism; the way they came out and pressured us,” Rogers coach Tim Wood said. “We had a hard time in their half-court 1-2-2 press. We attacked it better in the second half but even when they went man press, they really bump you, push you and make it very difficult to bring the ball up.”

Foster led 16-13 after the first quarter and 34-31 at halftime, free-throw shooting and Vaughan keeping Rogers in it.

The Pirates shot 33 percent but made 13 of 14 free throws – a day after going 17 of 34 from the line – and Vaughan already had 14 points and eight rebounds on his way to a double-double of 25 and 12.

Two quick inside buckets by Jake Partridge to open the second half put the Pirates ahead, but in less than two minutes Foster reeled off nine straight points for a 43-35 lead.

Rogers never got closer than three after that and trailed 58-48 entering the fourth quarter.

Baskets by Partridge at 3:20, Zach Nelson at 2:35 and Vaughan at 1:50 had the Pirates within four, but once they missed the Bulldogs salted the game away.

“That game was a reflection of our season – battling, getting behind and coming back,” Wood said. “That tells our guys have a lot of toughness, play hard, give 100 percent all the time.”

Partridge finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, Nelson had 10 points.

For Foster, Refugio Soto-Lopez had 19 points, including a pair of 3s from beyond the NBA arc, and Cameron Faison muscled his way inside for 16.

“This has been the best year I’ve ever had coaching,” Wood said. “I’m very proud of what they accomplished this year.

“You’ve got to hand it to the seniors – they talked 3½ years ago about coming here. Here they are, one game away from a trophy.

“I hope the Rogers community is proud of them, I hope the school is proud of them because we sure are as a coaching staff.”