By BEN MCCARTY
News staff writer
March 5, 2008

It didn’t end quite the way they would have liked.

After roaring through the regular season and through the first two rounds of the state playoffs with an undefeated record, the Horizon Hawks lost their first game of the state championship tournament, bounced back to win their second game, and then were trounced by Columbia Christian 74-42 in their final game to finish in sixth place.

Despite the lopsided loss to end the year, you won’t find Hawks coach Ron Haynes complaining.

“Of course you always want to win one more,” he said on Monday after winding down from the trip to Baker City. “But 29-2 ... that’s not exactly chopped liver.”

Columbia Christian proved to be a stumbling block for the Hawks last year, when they beat Horizon in the second round for the right to advance to Baker City. That game came down to the final minute.

This time around Columbia Christian came out shooting hot and never went cold.

“They were shooting something like 66 percent at halftime,” Haynes said. “For us it was like trying to stop a forest fire with a squirt gun.”

For seniors Bobby Cofrances and Josh Larson the loss to Columbia Christian was their final game in a Hawks uniform. For Haynes it was the final game on the sidelines.

Columbia Christian advanced to the consolation final by beating Country Christian Friday morning.

The Knights, known for their deliberate offense under long-time coach Jim Flint, patiently worked the ball around the perimeter to get open shots early. Later, Columbia’s Colby Worrell and Ethan Wilson took advantage of their low post moves and offensive rebounding ability.

The biggest difference in the game was Columbia’s shooting from the outside. The Knights made 10 3-pointers in the contest, including five of eight in the first half. Columbia shot 67 percent in the first half, when it built a 34-23 lead.

The Knights finished with 58 percent shooting (31 for 53) and were 10 for 20 on 3-pointers. Columbia also held a 35-20 rebounding advantage.

Horizon countered with the overall play of Cofrances, who had 19 points. The Hawks hung with Columbia early behind 54 percent shooting of their own in the first half.

Columbia used two 3-pointers by Mathew Whiddon to take a 7-0 lead before Horizon Coach Ron Haynes called a timeout. The Knights pushed the margin to 15-6 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Seth Miller and Whiddon, before Horizon worked its way back into the game.

Cofrances twice was fouled on 3-point shot attempts and made six free throws. The senior wing drove the baseline moments later and assisted on Adam Ohlson’s short jumper in the key.

Columbia again extended its second-quarter lead to eight points before Horizon’s Josh Larson nailed a jumper from the left elbow to pull the Hawks within 23-17.

The senior post player sat down for the next four minutes after picking up his third foul and Columbia scored eight of its next 11 points inside to take its nine-point halftime lead. Columbia put the game away in the third period, outscoring Horizon 19-4.

The Hawks took the defeat in typical fashion: they received the tournament’s sportsmanship award. Cofrances was named to the all-tournament second team for his efforts in the Hawks’ run.

Haynes retired from his job with Embarq last year and is moving to Southern Oregon in the coming months to be closer to family.

He is not sure if he wants to coach again, but said that if he does, he would like it to be another smaller school.

For now, the coach who is known for making long scouting trips and spending hours watching tape of upcoming opponents, actually plans to take some time for non-coaching activities.

“I think I’m going to mow the lawn, get the taxes done and paint the house,” he said.

He will be leaving a program that started with barely enough players to field a team and was lucky to win a few games a season. He leaves it with a No. 6 finish at state.

For a school whose basketball team started the season playing in a middle school gym and relatively unknown outside of Hood River and finished it playing in a brand new gymnasium and getting media coverage from outlets around the state, it was a fun time.

“It was an amazing ride all the way through,” Horizon athletic director Oscar Stenberg said. “It was just a wonderful experience.”

With their coach and two of their star players leaving the Hawks will head into next season with plenty of question marks, but the coach who has seen them through the thick and thin of the growing process believes the future of the program will be in good hands.

“It’s like night and day,” he said. “I think the program will only continue to grow as the school grows.”