2A High School Boys' Basketball: R.A. Long beats Fort on senior night, secures District spot (UPDATED) (2024)

R.A. Long outscored the Trappers 25-9 in the third quarter and overcame a slow start to beat Fort Vancouver 59-43 in the Lumberdome on senior night, Tuesday.

With the win, the Jacks have secured at minimum fourth place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League boys’ basketball standings and thus, a spot in the District IV Tournament. With Ridgefield’s loss on Tuesday, the third place spot is still up for grabs for the Jacks if they can beat Mark Morris on Thursday and the Spudders lose their last two games.

Against the Trappers, the Jacks got in trouble early and faced a 5-0 deficit. After a few reminders from the bench, they came from behind and went on a 9-3 run to take the lead. The hosts led 14-10 at the end of the period after Aeybel Milian hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Those are the sort of shots the Lumberjacks will need to knock down going forward.

“I (saw) them key in on Lonnie (Brown Jr.), our best shooter on the team, (saw) that the clock was getting low and move(d) into space and was able to find the open shot,” Milian said.

The Jacks pulled ahead by eight points after two straight buckets to start the second quarter, forcing a Trappers timeout. The visitors pulled within one bucket before a 3-pointer from Payton Thill put the hosts back up by six points.

Fort Vancouver then got hot and hit two threes near the end of the quarter to cut the deficit to one point. Soon after, Thill hit another three just before the intermission to give the Jacks a 28-24 lead at the halftime break.

Thill chipped in with eight points on the night for R.A. Long.

Jayden Parquet was the only Trapper in double figures with 12 points for the game.

In the third quarter, the Lumberjacks finally got hot. Senior Lonnie Brown Jr. hit three threes in a matter of minutes and TraMayne Jenkins dropped in a long range attempt as well to help the Jacks pull ahead by 17 points after opening the period on a 14-1 run.

“They were leaving me open in transition and my teammates were making the right plays and pushing it forward up to me,” Brown Jr. said.

Two of Brown Jr.’s 3-pointers came in quick succession in between a big block from Rhet Young that led to an open look for Brown Jr. who finished with 11 points. Young ended the game with team-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds.

Jenkins did his usual thing for the hosts and tallied seven points, five assists and six rebounds all while sacrificing his body for charges and other momentum boosting moments.

Milian, a senior, hit another three late in the third stanza to finish with six points in this last home game, and put the hosts up by 20. The Lumberjacks hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter and hit 10 for the game.

“We just came out and made some shots,” R.A. Long coach Jeray Key said. “Once we were able to make some shots, it just settled everybody down. We got hot there and that just kind of turned the tide.”

The Jacks took a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter before the senior subs came in to finish the game.

For Brown Jr. and Milian, being a part of the R.A. Long basketball program was special.

“Me and Lonnie, we finished through this whole program,” Milian said. “It was hard, that made us the team we are right now and that’s why we’re going to go chase our third straight district championship.”

The two seniors missed out on a chance to compete at Districts in the 2021 season due to COVID within the program. The chance to compete for that coveted district title again is enticing for Milian in his last go-around.

“It would mean a lot,” Milian said of winning the title this year. “We put in so much work, early morning conditioning, extra time in the weight room. That’s what Jeray tells us all the time, no other team has worked harder than us, so that’s why we’re pushing so hard. We just want it, we want it more than anyone.”

Brown Jr. and Milian aren’t the only ones putting in the work. Brown Jr. mentioned how much Key has put into the program.

“Our coach puts in so much time too, every day staying up (until) probably 3:00, 4:00 in the morning going over film, getting our game plan (ready) for us,” Brown Jr. said. “And then coming in here on his off days to let us get shots up, pushing us to our limits, running in the lake in the offseason, doing everything, so we’re doing it for him too.”

In addition to Brown Jr. and Milian, teammates Gabe Huntley and Logan Bodily were honored during the senior night presentation.

R.A. Long (14-5, 10-5) will head to Mark Morris on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a rematch of the cross-town rivalry game.

Jacks exact revenge on Washougal

R.A. Long gave up only 10 points in the first half and hit nine 3-pointers to take down Washougal 57-30 at home on Monday night in a 2A Greater St. Helens League matchup.

The win served as revenge for the Lumberjacks after a road loss at Washougal early in the season. It was also a game the Jacks needed after falling at Ridgefield 48 hours prior.

“(We) followed the game plan after losing to Ridgefield in a game that we were pretty disappointed about the way we played,” R.A. Long coach Jeray Key said.

The hosts wasted no time asserting themselves and held the Panthers to just two points in the first quarter and built a 28-10 lead at halftime.

R.A. Long held Wahsougal’s best scorers, Mather Minnis and Holden Bea, to two and five points each. Mason Darling wound up leading Washougal with nine points.

In the first meeting between the teams this season, Minnis scored 17 points.

Washougal had its best scoring output in the third quarter with 13 points. However, R.A. Long’s Lonnie Brown Jr. hit four 3-pointers in a row in the period and pushed the Jacks over the top before they emptied their bench in the final frame.

Brown Jr. finished with a game-high 18 points and shot 6-for-8 from 3-point range for the hosts. Landon Irwin scored 14 points and dished out four assists for the Jacks, while Payton Thill scored eight points.

TraMayne Jenkins chipped in with five points, five rebounds and five assists in the win. Rhet Young pulled down seven rebounds and scored six points for R.A. Long.

With Hockinson’s loss to Ridgefield on Monday, R.A. Long took over sole possession of fourth place in the 2A GSHL.

“We knew how important this game was tonight to get a playoff spot,” Key said. “(I) wish that we’d be playing like this all the time.”