Spartans come up short in opening round of state
Published 1:30 am Monday, March 2, 2026
The Spartans’ season ends in disappointment, as No. 10 seed Bainbridge lost in blowout fashion to No. 15 seed Foster 72-48 in the opening round of the 2A boys state basketball tournament Feb. 28 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.
This marks the second consecutive season the Spartans have been eliminated in the opening round of state.
“I expected us to get to the [Yakima SunDome], so I’m a little disappointed to be honest,” Bainbridge coach Scott Orness said.
The Spartans got out to a 10-5 lead early in the first quarter through repeated contributions from bigs Kethan Reed and Kaden Thielmann.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs manifested a 23-4 scoring run that lasted well into the second quarter, largely through imposing a full-court press on the Spartans, forcing turnovers, and not allowing Bainbridge to drive into the paint.
Foster held the Spartans scoreless through the first three minutes of the second quarter and scored an additional seven, getting their lead out to 16 by the 4:20 mark at 30-14.
Spartan Ryan Rohrbacher converted a three-pointer and a layup on the next two possessions, sparking some life into the Bainbridge offense.
Nonetheless, the Foster offense continued to feast, getting their lead out to 23 by halftime, leading 42-19.
Thielmann scored on the opening possession of the second half, and Julien Zupan followed that up with a score of his own, cutting Bainbridge’s deficit to 19. Rohrbacher then hit a three-pointer, contributing to a Spartan 11-4 scoring run.
Zupan drove coast-to-coast down the court and converted on a contested layup, getting Bainbridge’s deficit down to 14 by the end of the third quarter at 52-38.
But the Bulldogs got their lead out to 25 by the final minutes of the fourth quarter, ending any chance of a comeback.
“We kind of had a nice little run in the third, and we kind of lost it,” Orness said. “I think we got it to 14, and then we came down and had a miss, an easy one, and a turnover.”
