4A district semis: Auburn claws out win against Puyallup, Camas beats Olympia
Auburn senior guard Carter Hansen came through in the clutch as the Trojan boys basketball team pulled out a 63-57 victory over Puyallup in a Tuesday Class 4A District 3/4 tournament semifinal.
With the shot clock winding down to four seconds, Hansen drew a foul while leaping up in the air to fire off a wild shot from 3-point range.
Hansen hit all three of his free throws, turning what had been only a 53-51 lead for Auburn to a 56-51 advantage with 2:03 to play in the game.
'Once I heard it was four seconds I thought I had to get a shot off and got fouled,' said Hansen after the win in his home gymnasium.
'We started to yell go, go, go,' said Hansen's father Ryan Hansen, the Trojans' head coach.
Auburn returns to its own floor to play for its fourth straight bi-district title at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Trojans will find themselves pitted against a tall and talented Camas team that includes 6-foot-8 junior forward Ethan Harris, who scored 27 points with the help of six 3-point baskets in the Papermakers' 63-46 semifinal win over Olympia in Tuesday's first game of a doubleheader at Auburn.
'Camas is really good,' Ryan Hansen said. 'Ethan Harris is a talented ballplayer.'
Carter Hansen led the Trojans with 22 points Tuesday in a game where they had their hands full against Puyallup senior guard Drew Jones.
Jones led all scorers with 25 points for coach Kevin Olson's Vikings while also taking home a Sportsmanship Award along with Auburn's Elijah Jones.
'Drew Jones hit some amazing shots,' Ryan Hansen said.
Jones was backed up by the 20 points of Will Nasinec with no one else reaching double figures for Puyallup
Daniel Johnson and Miles Henry hit 13 each in a more balanced Auburn attack as Isaiah England tossed in 10.
The Trojans improved to 22-1 overall with the win as Puyallup, which finished the tournament in a third place tie with Olympia, fell to 20-6.
'It was a grinder,' Ryan Hansen said of the game. 'Nothing is pretty this time of year. That's where we wanted to hang out hat is on defense and rebounding.'
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