While Tonasket handed the Granger boys another big defeat, Spartan coach David Gibb was dealing with something far more disconcerting.

Gibb left the bench early in the third quarter of Granger’s 73-37 loss to Tonasket in a loser-out game in the Class 1A state tournament Thursday. He returned briefly to grab his coat and then headed toward the SunDome exit.

Gibb’s 21-month-old daughter, Jaisha, who often is his last kiss before taking the bench, suffered what hospital officials indicated may have been a minor seizure.

A CAT scan and blood work at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital turned up nothing wrong, Granger athletic director Scott Rosberg said later.

Gibb later said a small piece of candy Jaisha ate at the SunDome and an ear infection she had may have triggered the malady. Jaisha was later released from the hospital and is back home.

"I just want to say thank you to all the WIAA officials," said Gibb, who also wanted to thank all the people who were keeping his daughter in their prayers. "(WIAA executive director) Mike Colbrese and a bunch of officials were down there, and the concern in their faces were touching in itself."

For the seven seniors on the Spartans team this year, the report was good news. Many of the players are quite close to Gibb and had participated in the coach's wedding.

Most of them also lifted their coach to four straight state-tournament berths, winning trophies -- eighth and seventh places -- the past two years.

But the magic that Granger has had in the SunDome in previous years wasn't there Thursday. Cold shooting and tough Tonasket defense left the Spartans trailing 31-16 at halftime.

Many of the Spartans missed Gibb leaving the bench as they battled against a much taller Tonasket team that shot 61 percent (25 of 41) from the field.

“I didn’t know anything because I was on the court; I didn’t see him run off to the first-aid place,” said Granger’s Mario Mengarelli, one of those key seniors who had only eight points. “I knew it was serious because he wouldn’t leave us like that.

“Nobody knew anything until we got into the locker room.”

Cold shooting continued to plague the team. Granger shot 24 percent (14 of 59) from the field Thursday, a day after shooting 34 percent (22 of 65) in a first-round loss to Toledo.

It was a problem R.J. Solis, who finished with a team-high nine points, and Mengarelli, who shot 3 of 16 from the field, struggled to explain after the game.

“We couldn’t find anything that worked,” said Solis before the team departed Roosevelt Elementary School for the tournament’s Teaming Up program before checking up on their coach. “We tried to dig deep and find something, and we played with pride.”

Three Tigers finished in double figures. Jordan Wells went 8 of 9 from the field for 24 points and nine rebounds. Roy Osborne was also impressive, shooting 6 of 8 for 17 points, and Gerad Moser had 16 points.

Most of the Granger misses also fell into Tonasket hands. The Tigers, who will meet Mabton in another loser-out game at 9 a.m. Friday, had 11 more rebounds than the Spartans, finishing with 38.

Granger -- Solis 3-9 1-2 9, Dodd 0-1 0-0 0, Cardenas 1-4 0-0 2, Mengarelli 3-16 2-4 8, Arriage 1-4 0-0 2, Lopez 2-9 0-0 5, Villa 1-5 0-0 3, Obregon 0-1 0-0 0, Carpenter 0-0 1-2 1, Alegria 2-5 0-1 4, Castro 1-5 1-1 3, Diaz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 5-10 37.
Tonasket -- Hunlock 0-0 0-2 0, Osborne 6-8 4-4 17, Stoddard 2-8 0-0 6, Clarkson 1-1 0-0 2, Bebee 0-0 0-0 0, Timmerman 0-0 2-2 2, Glanzer 0-0 0-0 0, Wells 8-9 8-9 24, Moser 7-12 0-0 16, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Leavell 1-2 4-4 6, Wahl 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-41 18-21 73.
Granger	9	7	5	16	--	37
Tonasket	14	17	15	27	--	73
3-point goals--G 4-19 (Solis 2-6, Villa 1-2, Lopez 1-2, Dodd 0-1, Obregon 0-1, Cardenas 0-3, Mengarelli 0-4), T 5-11 (Moser 2-3, Stoddard 2-6, Osborne 1-1, Wahl 0-1). Rebounds--G 27 (Lopez 6, Mengarelli 5), T 38 (Wells 9, Osborne 7). Assists--G 4 (Mengarelli 3), T 10 (Leavell 3). Steals--G 10 (Solis 2, Mengarelli 2, Alegria 2), T 8 (Osborne 4). Blocked shots--G 2, T 2. Fouled out--None. Total fouls--G 21, T 13. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--G 16, T 14.