Renton boys, girls both earn 2A West Central District championships with wins over Enumclaw and Sequim

Boys team notches a close win over Enumclaw and girls survive a late comeback bid by Sequim

BELFAIR, Wash. – As the final buzzer sounded on Renton’s 57-54 win over Enumclaw in the 2A West Central District boys basketball championship, the tournament organizers were ready for the Redhawks to cut down the nets at North Mason High School.

Instead, Renton coach Rashaad Powell told them, “No, we’re good.”

The Redhawks did pose for a picture under one of the baskets with the district trophy in hand.

The district champions probably won’t cut down the nets until that final game in the 2A state tournament in the Yakima SunDome.

“We’ll save that for a later date,” Powell said. “We want to stay in the moment of what we’re doing right now. That’s not the end all, be all, for us. We made that goal, that pact, amongst ourselves as a group, that if we win a league or district tournament – if we were fortunate to win any of those – we weren’t going to do that. Stay in the moment, keep winning games until the last game of the season.”

The Renton girls won their district championship with a 43-39 win over Sequim, giving the Redhawks a sweep of the district titles. Unlike their male counterparts, the girls went ahead and cut down the nets in celebration.

Both teams will wait to find out who are their regional opponents, which will be announced Sunday afternoon by the WIAA.

The boys got off to a fast start on the Hornets, as junior Ajayi Simmons nailed four 3-pointers in the first quarter, but the Hornets quickly caught up and stayed even with them most of the game. They took the lead briefly in the second quarter before Renton regained it and led 30-23 at halftime.

“He’s a really good player,” Powell said of Simmons. “He's coming into his own. He has a lot of talent, potential and skills, and one of our leaders on and off the court. He set the pace and set the tone for us.”

The Hornets took the lead with 1:02 remaining on a Noah Seabrands 3-pointer at 49-48, but Dennis Johnson hit his own 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to get the lead back for Renton. Johnson added four free throws in the final seconds to ice it for the Redhawks.

Both Simmons and Johnson each finished with 21 points. Simmons finished with five 3-pointers, and Johnson hit on four.

“Those are two guys who are really trying to shoulder the majority of the load,” Powell pointed out. “They’ve been playing together since third or fourth grade, coming up through the Renton select basketball program. They have a great chemistry, working with each other and they have been in moments like this. This is not new territory for them. They showed great maturity and poise down the stretch.”

Seabrands led the Hornets with 18 points.

The Renton girls also showed poise down the stretch in their win over Olympic League champion Sequim in the title game.

Renton had a lead 39-29 entering the final quarter, but the Wolves held them scoreless as they came back and tied the game at 39-39.

The Redhawks (17-4) finally got the lead back on a basket by Aahmani Washington with 44 seconds remaining and sealed it with a pair of free throws in the final seconds.

Kimarah Crockett led Renton with 19 points, while Washington had 10. Jolene Vaara had 18 for the Wolves (19-2). It was the first district title for Renton in ten years

“It feels real good to cut the nets down,” said Renton coach Tim White, as his team did so. “It’s been a long time coming.”