[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- 2006 Class 2A state tournament ]

Grandview -- Zavala 4-8 1-2 9, Artz 0-6 1-2 1, Andrews 1-11 0-1 2, Valencia 4-12 4-8 15, Lopez 3-9 5-6 13, Shrank 2-2 0-0 4, Vela 3-8 2-4 10. Totals 17-56 13-23 54.

Lakeside -- Corigliano 2-4 2-2 6, Reeder 3-14 1-2 8, Jacobson 0-2 0-0 0, Noland 3-10 9-14 16, Perkins 1-4 2-2 5, Harrington 3-8 6-6 12, Dukes 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 12-46 22-28 49.

Grandview

Lakeside

3-point goals--G 7-27 (Valencia 3-9, Vela 2-3, Lopez 2-7, Artz 0-1, Andrews 0-7), L 3-17 (Perkins 1-2, Noland 1-3, Reeder 1-9, Harrington 0-1, Jacobson 0-2). Rebounds--G 39 (Zavala 6, Valencia 6), L 41 (Perkins 8, Corigliano 7). Assists
--G 11 (Valencia 4), L 4. Steals--G 6 (Valencia 3), L 8 (Noland 3). Blocked shots--G 0, L 1. Fouled out--Vela. Total fouls--G 19, L 20. Technical fouls--Valencia (flagrant). Turnovers--G 9, L 16.

It’s easy for C.J. Lopez to get lost in a crowd, even among his vertically challenged teammates.

He’s 5-foot-7, weighs 135 pounds and comes off the bench as a role-playing sophomore on Grandview’s senior-filled boys basketball team.

But on Wednesday Lopez was larger than life for the Greyhounds, who left their fortunes in the Class 2A state tournament in his young hands.

Not only did he cooly bury a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to force overtime, but he also sank five free throws in the extra period to secure Grandview’s 54-49 opening-round victory over Lakeside in the day’s first game.

Down three with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, Grandview called timeout and set up a play for a quick look at a short shot followed by a kickout to Lopez on the perimeter.

A.J. Valencia took a look inside, and then shot a pass out to Lopez at the top of the arc. The youngster didn’t hesitate.

“I thought it was off,” Lopez said of the shot. “After I let it go I ran in to get a rebound.”

Coach Scott Parrish had no hesitation, either, in asking Lopez to make a game-saving shot.

“That’s who we wanted,” Parrish said. “All year long he’s made big shots for us. He’s played basketball since he could walk, and I’m really happy for him because he works so hard.”

In the overtime, the Greyhounds quickly took command and reversed a troublesome foul situation.

After losing CWAC South MVP James Vela with five fouls with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, Grandview couldn’t catch and pass Lakeside because the Eagles made 11 of 14 free throws in the final four minutes.

But Valencia and Nate Zavala made back-to-back driving layins to start the overtime and then the Greyhounds scored their final eight points at the foul line.

Lakeside, which lost to Grandview in December but came to state with a seven-game win streak, managed to keep matters in doubt when Joel Noland made two free throws for a 51-49 margin with 17 seconds left.

But while the Greyhounds did miss 10 free throws in the game, Lakeside picked the wrong kid to foul on the ensuing play. Ordinarily a sophomore would be an ideal choice, but not on this day.

Lopez stepped to the line and calmly popped in both shots for a five-point lead. He finished with 13 points, all in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I got my confidence going,” Lopez said. “All I wanted to do was play my best.”

Parrish admitted he was less than confident without having Vela -- who fouled out for the first time this season -- on the floor in the overtime.

But Lakeside could do little, going 1-for-9 from the field while missing all five of its 3-point attempts.

“I’m so proud of how the kids responded,” the coach said. “We moved things around and had guys playing a little out of position. But we got the win.”

Before Lopez’s late-game heroics, Valencia saved the Greyhounds from the brink of a goose egg in the third quarter.

Grandview missed 10 straight shots in that period and fell behind 28-21 before the junior guard canned a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.

“We needed a big boost. We just weren’t doing anything that quarter,” said Valencia, who scored a team-high 15 points and collected six rebounds, four assists and three steals. “And we sure needed C.J. today. He’s good, he can really light it up.”

The Greyhounds made seven 3-pointers, including three by Valencia. But they took 27 shots from distance.

“They gave us the outside shot and we told the kids to keep letting it fly,” Parrish said. “Normally we shoot better than that, but it could just be playing our first game here or because we played early. Hopefully will do better tomorrow.”

Grandview (21-4) moves into Thursday’s quarterfinals and will face CWAC district champ Cashmere (22-3) at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs, who did not play Grandview in the district tournament, held off Steilacoom 46-43 in the opening round.