Mike Downs admitted that Bellevue Christian's season flashed before his
eyes when a potential game-winning shot by River View's Levi Davis
barely missed.
"It was very close," Downs said of a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt that
hit the front rim, the backboard and then fell away at the end of
regulation, preceding the Vikings' run to a 49-40 overtime victory in a
Class 1A state semifinal Friday night in the SunDome.
"When it missed, I knew we had new life," Downs said. "And I said a
little thank-you prayer."
B.C.'s victory ensured a championship-game rematch with Brewster, which
the Vikings defeated 59-54 in overtime last year to deny the Bears a
third-consecutive title. The teams play Saturday at 7.
Bellevue Christian (23-2) is ranked No. 2. Top-ranked Brewster is 24-1
with its lone defeat coming 62-58 to the Vikings early this season.
"What a privilege it is to play, again, against one of the greatest
programs around," Downs said. "I told our kids before the tournament
that our route to this game, if we got here, would be different than
last year when we had some comfortable wins. To see them persevere and
fight through this is very gratifying."
Jeffrey Downs, the coach's son, totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds
despite being plagued by flu-like symptoms. Davis led the upstart
Panthers (20-7) with 12 points and Matt Smith had 11.
After a free throw by River View's Mike Ledgerwood tied the score 36-36
with 1:19 to play in regulation, the Vikings played for the last shot.
But Kyle Gier's steal gave the Panthers possession with 3.5 seconds
left, preceding Davis' long three that just missed.
Jordon Dallas gave River View a 38-36 lead to start overtime, but
Spencer Kraker's
3-pointer — B.C.'s only such basket of the game — sparked a 7-0 run that
put B.C. in command.
Though the Vikings shot only 33 percent from the field, they
outrebounded River View 50-31 and held the Panthers to 19 percent
shooting.
