After making the district tournament for the third time in four years, the Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team hoped to make the regional round of the state tournament for the first time since 2013.

They fell short of that goal as they were beaten by Yelm 66-60 in a loser-out game on Friday night.

“I’m a little disappointed that it ended this quickly because I think we’re far more talented than we showed,” Jefferson head coach Kyle Templeton said.

Yelm’s Christian Davis stole the show with a 35-point night. It was an all-around effort for the senior as he worked from the paint and beyond the arc.

“This year has been the best defense, statistically, since I started at T.J.,” Templeton said. “Tonight [Yelm] seemed to make everything, and that kid Davis was just pretty special tonight. I don’t now if anyone scored more than 25 against us in a game this season, but that’s what happens in playoff basketball.”

After a slow first quarter where he only scored 4 points, Davis caught fire for the rest of the game. In the second quarter, he made all three of his 3-point attempts en route to an 11-point quarter.

Jefferson’s Darius Anderson tried to keep pace with Davis, scoring 13 in the first half. The Raiders still trailed 34-27 at halftime.

The second half started exactly the way the Raiders wanted as they scored the first six points of the third quarter, pushing their run to 9-0 and cutting the Yelm lead to one.

Nine of the next 16 points scored by both teams belonged to Davis as he kept the Tornados’ lead intact.

Akashpreet Singh and Alex Sommerfeld hit back-to-back threes late in the quarter as the Raiders made another push. Tarence Taylor closed out the third quarter with a three-point play when he was fouled driving in for a layup.

For Jefferson, it was the best third quarter they’d had in a while. They struggled in their past five games at the opening of the second half.

Yelm led 45-44 after three quarters.

A couple of Davis 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter pushed the lead back to seven for the Tornados. The team was 7 of 11 from the floor in the fourth, making three of their five 3-point attempts.

The Raiders tried to answer as best they could, but the 21-point quarter for Yelm proved too much to overcome.

Despite creating a lot of second-chance opportunities in the fourth quarter, the Raiders still only shot 21 percent from the floor as they were 4 of 19. They were just 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

It was a disappointing end to an up and down season for Jefferson. They lost four of their final six games.

Still, the team and its 12 seniors finished second in league standings, their highest finish in over 30 years.

“This senior class has won more games in a four-year span than any class in school history,” Templeton said. “It’s been an unbelievable class and an unbelievable group of kids. It’s hard, with all of those kids that you’ve seen every day for four years and then it’s just over. That’s the tough part of being a high school coach.

“I’m very proud of them. I love them very much; they’ve accomplished a lot.”

The Raiders finish the season with an 11-13 record.

Federal Way advances to state, will play for district championship

Federal Way clinched a spot in the state tournament with their 77-62 win over Timberline on Friday. The Eagles then defeated Kentwood 58-48 in the semifinals of the district tournament on Wednesday.

Federal Way (24-0) will face Curtis (23-2) in the West Central District championship at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Puyallup High School. Federal Way previously defeated Curtis 63-61 on Feb. 4 to win the South Puget Sound League championship.