Centralia’s magical run ends in NWAC quarters to Skagit Valley
PASCO — "Hell of a season."
Every time the Centralia College men's basketball team pulled off something unfathomable, which seemed pretty often late in the season, head coach Josef Chirhart would utter that phrase to himself, looking off into the distance, reflecting on the peaks and valleys that made up the 2025-26 campaign.
A 7-0 start and a cold spell that followed. An upset win over Green River. A miraculous victory over Pierce College to keep the season alive. A statement triumph over Highline to clinch the program's first trip to the NWAC Tournament in seven years. And, to top it all off, a thrilling upset over top-seeded Umpqua in the first round of the NWAC Tournament Thursday.
Despite falling in a 91-52 pounding in the NWAC quarterfinals to Skagit Valley Friday afternoon at Columbia Basin College, it was still, in Chirhart's words, a hell of a season. After winning just 33 games in the past six seasons combined, the Trailblazers finished this campaign with 19 wins.
"There was nobody in the NWAC that put us here. Nobody except for the people in that locker room," Chirhart said. "I want to make sure that what they remember is how we did this together. We had nine sophomores that really helped change things here."
Centralia never led against the high-powered Cardinals, who were led by the three-headed monster of Treyshawn Weatherspoon, Malcolm Clark and Jerry Petty Jr. Skagit Valley scored the first five points, and after the Trailblazers tied the game at 6-6, the Cardinals ripped off nine straight points to take command.
Clark made a difference early, pulling down offensive rebounds and securing putback layups. Luke Brewer, fresh off of a 32-point performance against Umpqua, hit the deck early in the game and was gimpy for a short time in the first half. The Cardinals read the scouting report on the former Tumwater guard as he struggled to shoot in the first half, shooting 1 of 8 on mostly contested shots.
Skagit Valley pulled away with a 17-3 run in the middle of the first half to take a commanding 21-point lead. No matter what the Trailblazers tried on offense, shots wouldn't fall. The Cardinals' shot makers were lethal, namely Clark, who scored 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting in the first half to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
Centralia trailed by more than 20 for the remainder of the first half and entered the locker room down 50-25. The Cardinals shot a blistering 60% from the field in the first 20 minutes.
"Skagit is a solid team. They're a top three team for a reason. At the end of the day, we let them speed us up," Chirhart said. "They forced us into some quick shots and took us out of our gameplan. I can't take anything away from them. They're shot makers."
Centralia shot much better in the second half, but the damage was already done as Skagit Valley led by as many as 43 points in the final minutes. The Trailblazers' remarkable season concludes one win shy of their first trip to the NWAC semifinals in 32 years.
"There's nothing to hang our heads about losing to a really good Skagit team. I wish we would have kept that a little bit closer and respectable," Chirhart said. "We didn't get a chance to own the game. It leaves us with something to grow and learn from. We may have spent a lot of energy and a lot of emotion yesterday."
Brewer led the Trailblazers with 11 points, Shay Brannon scored 10, and Maximus Holliman added eight. Julian Ibarra tallied seven points, and Ahren Bee-Richards collected six.
Chirhart believes this season will help catapult the program forward, even with nine sophomores departing the program. He has already seen a difference on the recruiting trail, with student athletes at the high school and collegiate level showing an increased interest in the team because of their success.
"I don't know if we changed history, but I do think we've changed the trajectory of our program. Winning cures a lot," Chirhart said. "Hopefully this expands our recruiting reach. This is a place to be. We do our best to be players' coaches and let them have a voice, but also challenge them and hold them accountable to what our culture is, and that's playing hard and playing for each other."
Centralia graduates nine sophomores — Shay Brannon, Luke Brewer, Andrew Collins, Maximum Holliman, Tucker Lowber, Julian Ibarra, Quinton Robinson, Clay Morgan and Ahren-Bee Richards.