It took three hard-scrabble quarters for Grandview’s boys basketball team to get everything it wanted Friday afternoon — the lead, the pace and a sense of control.

And all backed by a frenzied crowd in the SunDome.

There was just one last quarter between the Greyhounds and a date in Saturday’s Class 2A state championship, but unfortunately that quarter turned into one bizarre act of angst and frustration.

After scoring the first basket of the fourth quarter for a six-point lead in a ragged game that looked more like a hockey match, Grandview suddenly went stone cold and fell to King’s 37-34 in Friday’s first semifinal.

The Knights, who managed to survive despite missing nine free throws in the second half, scored on four straight possessions to retake the lead with three minutes left and relied on their defense to preserve the lead.

A year after falling in similar low-scoring fashion to Quincy in the semifinals, Grandview was left with the same sour feeling. But it wasn’t for lack of effort.

“My kids played extremely hard and they have nothing to be ashamed of,” said coach Scott Parrish. “They executed the game plan perfectly, but King’s picked up their defense and made it hard for us to get good shots at the end.”

The Greyhounds were whistled for five fouls in the last 4:32, including two offensive charges, and King’s was called for one foul in the fourth quarter and six in the entire game.

But the Knights were unable to take advantage because of their errant foul shooting, including four misses in the final 1:49.

When Carson Bowlin hit a putback with 2:58 left to put King’s ahead 34-32, Grandview had four chances to tie the game or go ahead but two missed shots, a turnover and an offensive foul canceled those opportunities.

“I felt like we had control heading into the fourth frame,” said Grandview’s James Vela, who turned in a standout effort with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. “We just had a lack of control with the ball.

“I just wanted to win this game so bad,” he added. “I remember what last year felt like — we all do. This was the one we wanted and it’s tough to come so close.”

King’s broke Grandview’s press for a basket and a 37-32 lead with 16 seconds left, and Vela made two free throws with 0.3 left for the final margin.
Grandview’s scoreless stretch in the final period last 7:42.

“We’ve won three games here by playing great defense,” said King’s coach Marv Morris. “Honestly, our offense has kind of disappeared in the last week and a half and we told the kids, ‘Bring your hard hat and go out and win with defense.’ We’ve been able to do that.”

King’s did have an offense and it was mostly 6-foot-9 Charlie Enquist, who scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the second half. During one stretch he scored 10 of 12 points for the Knights, including three straight baskets that tied the score at 32-32 with 3:25 left to play.

“We got the ball into Charlie six possessions in a row, and finally we started to click,” Morris said. “He started out a little clumsy, but near the end we were running plays through him about as well as we can. We had a tentativeness, and then suddenly it went away.”

Grandview struggled through 18-percent shooting in the first half, but Vela keyed a big resurgence in the third quarter with nine of his 12 points.

Among his highlights in the bounce-back quarter, Vela converted a 3-point play, getting fouled on a nifty running hook shot, and he launched a 20-foot lob pass for a Nate Zavala basket.

Unable to connect on a 2-point shot in the first half, the Greyhounds stayed in the game thanks to sophomore C.J. Lopez, who tossed in three 3-pointers for all nine of his team’s points in the second quarter.

“The kids are definitely hurting, but I think we’ll come back and play well tomorrow,” Parrish said. “I know they’ll want to give a big effort in their last game.”

Grandview (22-5) will play for third- and sixth-place trophies Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Vashon Island (24-3), which fell to Lynden Christian in Friday’s second semifinal.

King’s (23-3), which won 1A state titles in 2001 and 2002, will play Lynden Christian (24-2) for the championship Saturday at 7.

Grandview -- Zavala 1-4 0-0 2, Artz 0-1 0-0 0, Andrews 3-8 2-2 8, Valencia 1-9 0-0 3, Lopez 3-7 0-0 9, Schrank 0-1 0-0 0, Vela 3-7 3-5 10. Totals 11-37 5-7 32.
King's -- Clark 1-3 2-7 4, Blue 1-1 0-0 2, Madrazo 2-10 0-0 4, McKay 0-1 0-0 0, Bowlin 3-5 0-0 6, Uhrich 0-0 2-2 2, Enquist 7-11 2-4 16, Lutton 1-4 1-4 3. Totals 15-35 7-17 37.
Grandview	4	9	17	4	--	34
King's	5	10	11	11	--	37
3-point goals--G 5-13 (Lopez 3-7, Vela 1-1, Valencia 1-3, Andrews 0-1, Artz 0-1), K 0-5 (Clark 0-1, Madrazo 0-1, McKay 0-1, Lutton 0-2). Rebounds--G 26 (Vela 7), K 28 (Bowlin 7). Assists--G 8 (Vela 4), K 7 (Lutton 2, Bowlin 2, Clark 2). Steals--G 8 (Vela 4), K 4. Blocked shots--G 2, K 2. Fouled out--Valencia. Total fouls--G 17, K 6. Technical fouls --None. Turnovers--G 13, K 12.