They got their dream matchup and, for a half, the dream was coming true.

Zillah’s boys basketball team had the intensity, had the energy and had the crowd. Better still, the Leopards had the lead against the landlords of the Class 1A state tournament, the top-ranked Brewster Bears.

But Brewster had one thing Zillah did not.

Michael Taylor.

An all-tournament star here since he was a sophomore, Taylor buried two 3-pointers early in the third quarter and scored 16 of his tournament-high 29 points in the second half as the Bears outlasted Zillah for a 57-50 victory in Friday’s semifinals in the SunDome.

After the immediate letdown began to fade, the Zillah players were proud of their effort, taking the game directly at the tournament favorites for a 26-21 lead at halftime.

“We came out and played the kind of game we wanted. We chested up with them and got after it,” said senior Andy Jones, who countered much of Taylor’s outburst with 23 points. “But they turned it around in the third quarter. They hit some 3s and Taylor did what he does. That guy is tough.”

“This was really a great state-tournament game,” said Taylor, who also wrestled down 10 rebounds. “A game like that is what state is about.”

Even with Taylor going for 29 points, junior Chris Gasseling drew praise for his defense on the 6-foot-3 forward, an Eastern Washington University recruit. Taylor finished 10-for-23 from the floor and was off the mark for much of the first half (5-for-14).

“Chris was fighting through picks all night and he did a great job staying with him,” said Zillah coach Doug Burge. “But Taylor’s got such a quick release. He can just go up and stick a 22-footer when his team really needs it.”

“I tried to make him work for his shots and get him tired,” said Gasseling, who drew two offensive charges from Taylor. “But he’s so good at creating shots. He started getting his stroke in the third quarter -- he was hard to stop.”

Zillah was clearly the aggressor in the opening half, running the floor and easily working inside to Zach Sybouts for 10 of his 14 points. Meanwhile, Brewster didn’t appear interested in a physical game and settled mostly for jump shots, making only 8 of 23 attempts before the break.

Moreover, were it not for a rash of turnovers made in the haste of their high energy, the Leopards had opportunities to put some distance on the Bears. Zillah committed 13 of its 15 turnovers in the first half.

But in the third quarter, Brewster coach Tim Taylor switched Clay Gebbers on Sybouts defensively and the Bears’ shots started to fall. Two 3-pointers by Taylor and another trey by Gebbers in the first four minutes gave Brewster the lead for good.

“We knew Zillah would come to play and we knew we had the weather the storm,” Tim Taylor said. “In the third quarter we were a little more patient on offense and we got some better looks. We also did a lot better job with offensive rebounds.”

The Leopards stayed close thanks to Jones, who hit a pair of 3-pointers while scoring 17 of his 23 points in the second half despite being in foul trouble. He scored all 10 of Zillah’s points in the third quarter.

Brewster made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:57 to complete the victory and earn the program’s fourth consecutive appearance in the championship game.

Winners of 24 straight since a season-opening loss to Bellevue Christian, the Bears (24-1) will get a chance to avenge that loss when they face the Vikings (23-2) Saturday at 7 for the title.

Zillah (24-3), which had its win streak stopped at 19, will play SCAC foe River View at 3:30 p.m. for third and sixth place. The Leopards defeated River View 57-55 in December.

In Friday’s second semifinal, Bellevue Christian broke away in overtime for a 49-40 win over surprising River View.

“This is a tough loss because the kids wanted it so bad,” Burge said. “We actually had them on the ropes a couple times in the first half but couldn’t keep the turnovers down. It’s a fine line -- you don’t want them tentative and you don’t want them throwing the ball away. I’m still real proud of how we played, a lot of desire and heart.”

“I think we showed we can play with Brewster,” Gasseling added. “This was the game we wanted, and we went after it and played hard.”

Brewster -- Benson 0-1 0-0 0, W. Gebbers 1-3 4-4 6, McCormack 0-2 0-0 0, C. Gebbers 4-11 3-7 12, Gipson 2-4 2-3 6, Burgher 1-5 0-0 2, LaMoreaux 1-3 0-0 2, Taylor 10-23 6-8 29. Totals 19-52 15-22 57.
Zillah -- Winters 0-0 0-0 0, Gasseling 1-6 0-0 2, Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Sybouts 6-7 2-3 14, Marquis 0-1 2-2 2, Rico 4-8 0-2 9, Jones 10-21 1-1 23. Totals 21-43 5-8 50.
Brewster	14	7	20	16	--	57
Zillah	14	12	10	14	--	50
3-point goals--B 4-13 (Taylor 3-7, C. Gebbers 1-2, McCormack 0-1, W. Gebbers 0-1, Benson 0-1, LaMoreaux 0-1), Z 3-16 (Jones 2-8, Rico 1-4, Marquis 0-1, Gasseling 0-3). Rebounds--B 34 (Taylor 10, C. Gebbers 7), Z 30 (Sybouts 9). Assists--B 8 (C. Gebbers 3), Z 4 (Gasseling 3). Steals--B 5 (W. Gebbers 2), Z 4 (Rico 2). Blocked shots--B 2 (Gipson 2), Z 4 (Sybouts 4). Fouled out--Marquis. Total fouls--B 16, Z 21. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--B 12, Z 15.