Northeast 2B league sends top two seeds to the Arena | Class 2B boys
From a numbers standpoint, last year was a great one for the Northeast 2B League in boys basketball, with three of its teams reaching the semifinals at Spokane Arena.
And yet, at the end of the competition, it was the fourth semifinalist – Columbia – that raised the championship trophy.
This year, the NE2B league is sending the same four teams – Colfax, Northwest Christian, Reardan and Freeman – back to the tournament, all of them eager to reclaim the title for a league that won it all in 2022 (Liberty), 2023 (Davenport) and 2024 (Colfax).
“We’ve got great coaches in our league. We’ve got great athletes in our league,” Northwest Christian coach Aaron Spuler said. “Kids just play hard.”
The NWC Crusaders (22-2) are the bracket’s No. 2 seed and are coming off a 58-55 victory over No. 7 Napavine in a seeding game on Saturday. Their only two losses this season are to the No. 1 seed Colfax (24-0), which has won all its games by at least 10 points except for one – a 62-61 victory over 3A Central Valley.
Spuler said Colfax coach Reece Jenkin, who died of cancer on Feb. 27 at age 45, was a good friend.
“I cannot shout out the Colfax community and the Jenkin family enough,” Spuler said. “To play at the level those kids have played through this is absolutely amazing.”
Opposite the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals is No. 5 seed Tri-Cities Prep (23-3), which returns to the bracket after losing in the quarterfinals in 2025.
On NWC’s side of the bracket is No. 6 Reardan (22-4), which defeated No. 3 Okanogan 60-48 to earn a bye into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Reardan, a six-time state champion, is back this year after four seniors led them into the semifinals last season.
“We are trying to play the same way,” Reardan head coach Jacob Green said. “We’re not as deep as last year, but we are a defensive-focused team. Our game gets going on the defensive end.”
Freeman (16-9) is the No. 10 seed this year after losing in the state title game in 2025. The Scotties will face No. 7 Napavine (19-6) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with the winner advancing to face Reardan on Thursday.
The Scotties return two regulars from last season’s team – seniors Finn LaPointe and Micah Hodges – and have only recently been at full strength.
“We’ve had a number of adverse situations throughout the season as far as injuries and guys being gone,” Freeman coach Kyle Olson said. “It’s pretty impressive for this group to still be playing in the Arena after the group we graduated last year. But when this team is healthy and at their best, it’s probably one of the better shooting teams I’ve had in a while.”