State 2B boys: Colfax returns to the Arena for title defense after much roster turnover

At this time last year, the Colfax Bulldogs were in the midst of closing out a season that ended with a State 2B boys basketball championship, outlasting three teams that entered the bracket with an unbeaten record.

Yet that’s not something the team has talked too much about this season, coach Reece Jenkin said.

“Truly, we’re not the same team,” Jenkin said. “We graduated five kids off that team, bringing two starters back and developing a new team this year. We have kids who want to leave their own mark.”

That group is led by a pair of seniors in Jayce Kelly and JP McAnally, as well as a core of six juniors that includes 6-foot-5 guard Adrik Jenkin.

“It’s been fun to watch these guys grow,” Reece Jenkin said.

Colfax (23-3), the No. 4 seed, beat No. 5 Lake Roosevelt over the weekend to advance to a Thursday morning game at the Arena against either No. 11 Okanogan (20-6) or No. 6 Toledo (22-4). Win that game and the Bulldogs would potentially face No. 1 Columbia of Burbank (24-1), which defeated Colfax 70-55 on Dec. 14.

Columbia, which lost to Colfax in last year’s state title game, has lost just once this year. That came Jan. 3 against Selah, the No. 5 seed in this week’s State 2A tournament.

The other half of the bracket is populated by three other teams from the Northeast B League. One of them, No. 8 Northwest Christian (18-8), opens on Wednesday against No. 9 Napavine (22-3) in a rematch of a 2024 quarterfinal.

The winner of that game will face No. 2 Freeman (23-3), which is playing its first 2B tournament after competing in the 1A tournament last season.

“Historically, our league has been pretty successful,” Jenkin said of a league that has produced the past three 2B champions. “Adding Freeman has just made it harder.”

Reardan (22-2) is back in the tournament for the first time since 2008 and, as the No. 3 seed, awaits the winner of a Wednesday matchup between No. 12 Tri-Cities Prep (21-5) and Lake Roosevelt (20-5).

Reardan is one of the oldest teams in the bracket, with five seniors, led by Jakari Singleton and Rysen Soliday, who each average 15 points per game.

“Playing in our league, you really don’t have any choice but to get better,” Jenkin said. “As you (play them), they expose weaknesses, and then you spend time in practice trying to fix those things that were exposed. You hope (at this point) you’ve kind of seen everything.”