Text messages from Fort Vancouver boys basketball players to coach James Jones were constant during the spring and summer, often with a similar thought included. “‘Coach, can you open the gym? Can we get in the weight room?'” Jones recalled. Jones and the rest of the Trappers’ coaching staff considered it a good sign when, on any given evening, they would routinely see 30-plus players come to an open gym session eager to work. “A lot of times, our gym was open for open gym three, four, five days a week throughout the offseason, and a big part was on them. … I don’t know too many high schools around here that (are) opening the gym that much and getting the numbers we had,” Jones said.

The Trappers are seeing their efforts rewarded one month into the 2024-25 season. In a 75-67 defeat of Hockinson on Monday, Fort Vancouver notched its sixth win of the season to close out December. As a result, the Trappers have already tallied more wins this season than they did during last year’s 5-16 campaign in the 2A Greater St. Helens League. “It feels good. We’re 6-3 — last year I think we were 5-16 — so it feels good to get these wins, win as a team, as a unit and just stay together,” Fort Vancouver senior Josiah Jointer said. The Trappers’ latest win was a balanced attack led by 23 points from Isaiah Barajas, with Jointer (13 points), Leighton Livengood (12 points) and Samuel Howard (10 points) also reaching double figures. The Trappers climbed their way out of an early 8-0 deficit by outscoring the Hawks 23-8 in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead to halftime.

After Hockinson (2-5) came back to tie the game less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Fort Vancouver put together a game-changing 12-3 run, which included 3-pointers from Liam Cvitkovich and Isaiah Gonzalez, a three-point play converted by Livengood, followed by a Jointer steal leading to a Barajas fastbreak layup. The stretch was indicative of the Trappers’ preferred style of play — aggressive defense and a fast offensive tempo. “We like to play faster, kick the ball up in transition and just get it up so we can get easy layups,” Barajas said. Energy and effort, according to Jones, are front and center in Fort’s mantra. They’ve been especially key for the Trappers this season with Jones, a 2009 Fort alumnus and longtime assistant coach, taking over as a first-year head coach.

“They work very hard, they hold each other accountable, they hold me accountable,” Jones said. “The big thing we preach is energy and effort. That’s kind of the main thing we talked about tonight is, how are we going to have that energy and effort, regardless of wins and losses or what the outcome is?” Another new wrinkle for the Trappers this season is the school’s reclassification from Class 2A to Class 1A and becoming a full-time member of the 1A Trico League. Fort has already played two Trico League games, with a win against Stevenson and a loss to defending league champion Seton Catholic. The Trappers’ Trico League schedule begins in earnest next week with a Jan. 7 home game against Kalama, the first of 12 straight league games for the battle-tested team hoping to be a playoff contender. “I truly believe if we can play our tempo, our style and we can knock down shots, I believe we can compete with the best,” Jones said.

FORT VANCOUVER 75, HOCKINSON 67 HOCKINSON — Kyle Alexander 25, Madsen Richardson 7, Ethan Wall 12, Ethan Hunt 7, Lucas Wray 2, Jacob Williams 0, Oliver Garner 4, Charlie Yadon 2, German Prykhodko 8. Totals 30 (6) 1-4 67. FORT VANCOUVER — Liam Cvitkovich 7, Samuel Howard 10, Isaiah Barajas 23, Isaiah Gonzalez 8, Josiah Jointer 13, Allen Salazar 2, Kenan Sabanovic 0, Leighton Livengood 12. Totals 27 (7) 14-22 75. Hock.  20 18 16 18—67 F.V.  16 23 19 27—75