The East Valley boys basketball team shouldn't hurt this bad after the kind of season it had.

The Red Devils are overachievers, a group of young kids -- only three seniors on the team -- who weren't even supposed to be playing in the SunDome. They weren't expected to be an overtime away from the semifinals and a few missed free throws from playing Saturday for a trophy.

That's what eliminated EV from the Class 2A state tournament on Friday -- a 52 percent (12 of 23) night from the foul line to allow Hockinson to pull out a 52-45 win in the loser-out game. The Hawks advance to play Nooksack Valley, which defeated Cashmere 38-37 Friday, at noon Saturday in the fourth/seventh-place game; East Valley's season is done at 15-11 overall.

"(The poor free-throw shooting) is not typical for this team," said East Valley coach Steve Elder, who sported the red eyes that were all too common throughout the team's locker room after the game. "We shot over 70 percent in every game this year.

"I'm so proud of our kids and their effort. They played pretty darn hard all the way through and it was unselfish basketball. You can't ask for much more."

The atypical night started early with Hockinson (21-5) building a 25-21 lead at halftime. The Red Devils ended the first half 6 of 12 from the foul line to help give the Hawks their cushion, setting up a frustrating end to the year.

"Everybody was trying hard and we work on (free throws) all the time in practice," said East Valley wing Chase Livingston, who was the only player on his team in double figures with 10 points. "It came down to concentration and we thought we were there, but our shots just didn't fall."

Even with the charity stripe and some other EV struggles, the Hawks never managed to pull away. Kevin Komstadius, who entered the game averaging 17 points per game at the tourney, suffered and off night for East Valley with only nine points and seven rebounds.

Still, he did hit a basket inside and was fouled to pull the Red Devils within one, 44-43, with 1 minute, 18 seconds remaining. But like the rest of the team did all night, Komstadius missed the free throw and allowed Hockinson to keep its lead.

From there the Hawks didn't make the same mistake as EV, hitting all eight of their final free throws to close out the game with an 8-2 run. Kyle Kalian, who finished with 10 points, went 6 of 6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter for Hockinson. Teammate Keith Moilanen led all scorers with 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Hawks shot 81 percent from the foul line for the game.

The upstart Red Devils will go home without a trophy they were so close to getting that they probably already could see their fingertips on it. They opened the tourney with a 45-40 win again Riverside before losing 51-44 in overtime against third-ranked Vashon Island.

Despite falling only four strong minutes short of the semifinals and a guaranteed trophy, East Valley didn't show many sign of an emotional hangover Friday. The Red Devils battled with such an intensity -- still chasing the chance to trophy -- that senior Drew Edgerly made sure to thank his teammates for the effort after the contest.

"We care about each other," said Edgerly, who was so proud of the growth and effort his younger teammates showed all season long. "When we see people hurting, it affects us all. It's really emotional for me. The Lord blessed my career and this was a great team with some great teammates."

Hockinson -- Schwanz 1-7 3-5 6, Grosz 0-0 0-0 0, Roskam 3-3 1-1 7, Kalian 2-5 6-7 10, Pearce 2-8 0-0 4, Moilanen 4-11 2-3 11, Westensee 0-2 0-0 0, Gillispie 0-1 0-0 0, Carrier 4-5 6-6 14, Cody 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 18-22 52.
East Valley (Yakima) -- Rogstad 0-0 0-0 0, Morales 0-0 0-0 0, Rojas 3-4 2-4 8, Edgerly 2-10 1-2 6, Livingston 3-9 3-5 10, Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, Gefre 2-2 0-0 5, Buchanan 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 2-7 3-7 7, Pottenger 0-0 0-0 0, Komstadius 3-7 3-5 9, Klein 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 12-23 45.
Hockinson	11	14	10	17	--	52
East Valley (Yakima)	8	13	9	15	--	45
3-point goals--H 2-9 (Moilanen 1-1, Schwanz 1-3, Gillispie 0-1, Kalian 0-2, Pearce 0-2), EV 3-11 (Gefre 1-1, Livingston 1-4, Edgerly 1-6). Rebounds--H 34 (Moilanen 8), EV 26 (Komstadius 7, Harris 6). Assists--H 6 (Pearce 3), EV 4 (Rojas 2, Harris 2). Steals--H 6 (Moilanen 3), EV 4 (Komstadius 2). Blocked shots--H 4 (Schwanz 2), EV 0. Fouled out--Roskam, Carrier, Edgerly. Total fouls--H 21, EV 18. Technical fouls--Hockinson bench. Turnovers--H 11, EV 13.