TACOMA – Through one quarter of Thursday’s Class 4A boys state quarterfinal game, the West Valley Rams led No. 2 and undefeated Richland by three points.

But the challenge wasn’t to lead after eight minutes, so the Rams knew the battle had just begun.

West Valley (20-4) sustained multiple blows from the Bombers (26-0), but the Rams continued to pick themselves up off the canvas until late in the fourth quarter when the Bombers ultimately proved to be too tough and West Valley ran out of gas, falling 76-62.

“(I’m) extremely proud,” West Valley head coach Tyson Whitfield said. “That’s a very good ball club – a championship-caliber ball club. We knew it was going to take a Herculean effort out of us tonight. I think we showed that we were capable in the first quarter, but games aren’t won in the first quarter.”

The Bombers took the lead midway through the second quarter, never relinquishing it again. West Valley though continued to keep things interesting. Richland took a 10-point lead with 3:32 to play in the third quarter, causing Whitfield to take a timeout.

His team responded immediately with a 9-0 run.

“That was one of those make-or-break moments,” Whitfield said. “Either we’re going to fold up the tent and they’re going to run away with it at that point, or we’re going to try to make a game of it and see if we can’t steal one. The guys decided at that point that they wanted to get stops and we made a couple of shots and the next thing you know we made it a game.”

But in the fourth quarter, the Rams seemed exhausted by their effort and Richland extended its lead once again.

Richland senior Landen Northrop led the Bombers with 33 points on 10-for-21 shooting. Many of Northrop’s shots were either contested or falling away from the basket. But Whitfield said that’s just part of his arsenal.

“To the normal eye, it’s a difficult shot, but if you watch them on film, that’s what they take,” Whitfield said. “They’ve mastered it. Obviously, they’ve spent time working on it (Northrop) more so than anybody. At that point, you’re just trying to make it as difficult as possible.”

West Valley was led by sophomore Austin Birley, who finished with 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting. Birley scored many of his points by penetrating and getting to the basket.

“That’s one of his specialties,” Whitfield said. “With his size and dimensions, he’s very crafty at getting into the paint. This year he’s a lot stronger than he was last year, so obviously he’s a lot better finisher in there.

“He’s a sophomore, so we have him for two more years and he’s only going to continue to get better.”

The Bombers will face No. 3 Lake Washington at 9 p.m. in Friday’s semifinals. The Rams will face No. 4 Glacier Peak in a loser-out game at 2 p.m.