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| Published March 13, 2004 :: Home |
Perfect
End for Hoquiam But East Valley’s boys sure as heck sent a jolt through the world of Class 2A boys basketball this week. The only thing left at the end of the Red Devils’ have-no-fear barnstorming tour through the SunDome was a date with an unbeaten Hoquiam crew that, in the final minutes, had an ounce more energy and made just a couple more shots.
In its closest game of the season by far, Hoquiam managed to hold off the relentless charge of East Valley and finished off a 28-0 season with a 41-37 victory in the state championship final Saturday night. Hoquiam’s title required an MVP performance by senior Justin Reed, who scored 14 of his team’s final 21 points and finished with a game-high 19 points. East Valley nearly had the answer as Tyler Price, who emerged so valiantly this week, pounded on the heavily favored Grizzlies for 18 points and nine rebounds. Price was the last East Valley player to leave the floor as Hoquiam cut down the nets, and that’s fitting because that’s where the senior leader left every last bit of his heart and soul. “It’s tough to take right now,” he said with a towel draped around his neck and his eyes red with emotion. “I mean, nobody expected us to get this far but we were here, we wanted to win it all. “For four days we gave it everything we had, and this is the best an East Valley (boys) team has ever done,” he added, looking around at the near-capacity crowd of 5,800. “We played them tough. Give them credit.” Credit to Hoquiam for going 28 games without losing and credit to an unheralded band of believers from East Valley who, despite coming into the tournament with a 13-10 record, gave the Grizzlies all they could handle. “We shocked a few people, but it’s still a tough locker room. It’s tough on the kids,” said EV coach Steve Elder. “They’ll look back and realize they accomplished something very special. Just to be in this situation — I still can’t believe we played in the state championship.” In a surprisingly methodical, slow-paced game that saw the Red Devils lead 15-14 at halftime, East Valley and Hoquiam traded leads 10 times in the first three quarters. But there would not be an 11th lead change. After Hoquiam missed 10 of its first 11 shots from 3-point range, Reed and Sky Cearns nailed two treys in a row in the last two minutes of the third period for a 26-21 lead. “Those were huge shots because that finally gave us some momentum,” said Reed, who scored 11 of Hoquiam’s 15 points in the final period. “We had trouble with our shots going in and out in the first half, but I knew if we stayed patient they’d start going in.” East Valley chased the Grizzlies all through the fourth quarter and every time the margin got tight Reed came through with a basket or some free throws. The Red Devils got within three on two occasions, the first at 29-26 with 5:05 left. Hoquiam responded with five straight points, three from Reed. In a last-ditch effort to steal the game, Price pitched in a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to cut the margin to 40-37. But Reed hit 1 of 2 free throws a second later, and EV missed its last three shots. Ultimately that was East Valley’s undoing, missed shots. Up until 1:17 was left in the game, the Red Devils had only two field goals in the second half. They were 11-for-44 (25 percent) for the game. “We just had trouble scoring,” Elder noted. “I probably should’ve tried to switch up the offense a little but Hoquiam played very good defense. They were more methodical than they’ve been in the past, and they defended us well.” Hoquiam didn’t exactly light it up, shooting 33.3 percent from the field in the lowest scoring 2A boys title game ever. “It takes four games in a row and a little luck,” said Hoquiam coach Brian Grun. “Tonight we had a little luck to go along with some great defense. We were casting off shots early and not making them, but thankfully East Valley wasn’t shooting as well as they would’ve liked.” Matt Rogstad, East Valley’s warrior of a 6-foot-2 center, battled for a game-high 11 rebounds against the taller Grizzlies, whose previous closest game was 11 points against 4A Lincoln. “Right now, it’s just hard to take because we were so close,” Rogstad said through tears. “I guess after a while it’ll feel better but not yet. It’s hard when this is your last game.” Soon, perhaps today, these Red Devils will start putting the week in a different context. Those will be the memories that last a lifetime. The memories of thrilling upsets over second-ranked Steilacoom, Eatonville and Medical Lake, which earned the third-place trophy. Memories of the indefatigable Price, who didn’t even play last year because of a back injury, making the all-tournament’s first team. Memories of the inspiring Isaiah Mata, coming off the tragic death of his grandfather a week ago, making the second team. And memories of a trophy that will be revisited every time they walk by the trophy case at the school’s entrance. Look hard.
There’s not another boys hoop trophy as grand.
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