Beavers fall to unbeaten Leopards in Regionals

The Tenino boys basketball team couldn’t keep up with top-seeded Zillah in the Regional Round of the 1A State Tournament on Friday, as the Leopards rolled to a 65-39 win.

Tenino was down just four after the first quarter, but the Leopards began to pull away in the second, scoring 20 points to extend their lead to 14. By the end of the third, the lead was over 20.

Shots just weren’t falling for the Beavers (16-7), who shot just 25 percent from the floor. Austin Gonia led the way scoring with 13 points, and he also hauled in seven rebounds. Noah Schow added 12 points, Jack Burkhardt scored six and came away with six rebounds, and Will Feltus tallied nine rebounds, four assists, and two points.

Despite the loss, the Beavers are still headed to Yakima for the remainder of the state tournament. They’ll begin play in the loser-out Round of 12 against the winner of No. 16 Lakeside (9 Mile) and No. 9 King’s.

That matchup takes place on Saturday at 4 p.m., and Tenino’s Round of 12 matchup will be at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the Yakima Valley SunDome. A win there would put the Beavers through to the quarterfinals and the double elimination portion of the bracket, while a loss would end their season.