This sort of thing may be routine business for Brewster, but for Toledo it was a celebration like no other.

And all it took was one simple free throw.

“I thought of it like any other free throw,” said Toledo senior Jason King, “and I’ve shot millions of them.”

Except it wasn’t like any other free throw. Not even close.

Tie game against favored Nooksack Valley, no time on the clock and the end of overtime and the entire crowd in the SunDome standing breathless. Oh yeah, and a chance for Toledo to play in a state championship game for the first time in school history.

“OK,” King admitted, “so I was a little nervous.”

The bedlam that ensued after King’s free throw, which lifted Toledo to a 32-31 semifinal victory and into Saturday’s title game against unbeaten Brewster, was countered by the despair and frustration of the Pioneers, who caught the wrong end of a highly controversial finish.

This was the scene: Nooksack called timeout with five seconds left in overtime and the game tied. Bret Handy inbounded the ball from along side NV’s bench to Rich Skillman, who had the hot hand for the Pioneers with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

But King slapped the ball away from Skillman above the 3-point line, grabbed it and took off the other way. Instead of pulling up for a shot, King drove into the lane and Handy was called for a shooting foul with no time left, giving the Toledo guard two cracks at winning the game.

“Time wasn’t on my mind -- I just went,” King said. “I missed some shots (he was 2-for-10) earlier in the game so I just decided to go to the basket.”

NV coach Bill Kelly argued that time had expired before King’s shot attempt and Handy’s foul. But officials conferred together and awarded two free throws.

He only needed one.

“I think I was halfway on the floor when he shot the first because I just knew he was going to make it. It was nothing but net,” said Toledo coach Scott Merzoian. “You look on paper and not many would give us a chance in this game. Our motto was shut the mouths of the doubters.”

The Indians executed a near-perfect slowdown game against the much taller Pioneers. So good they managed to win the game despite scoring just two points in the second and fourth quarters.

“I commend them,” said Kelly, who strained against saying anything negative about how the final moments were handled. “They made only seven turnovers and we made (15) way too many.”

Chris Mitchell and Jeb Hobbs, NV’s 6-8 and 6-4 frontline tandem, were held to a total of six points.

“They were a lot bigger, but our pride is defense,” said Ryan Votaw, who led all scorers with 17 points and had four steals. “It’s unbelieveable. When Jason went to the line, I knew we were in. We are playing for it all.”

Toledo's 32 points set a record for lowest winning score, breaking the old mark of 33 set by Charles Wright in 2003.

Nooksack Valley -- Bosscher 0-0 0-0 0, Skillman 6-10 3-4 16, Handy 3-5 0-0 7, Zavala 1-5 0-0 2, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2, Hobbs 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 13-28 3-4 31.
Toledo -- King 2-10 1-1 6, Votaw 6-10 3-5 17, Rakoz 2-6 0-0 4, Zamorano 1-4 0-0 2, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Yates 1-3 1-3 3. Totals 12-33 5-9 32.
Nooksack Valley	9	10	5	4	3	-- 31
Toledo	13	2	11	2	4	-- 32
3-point goals--NV 2-4 (Handy 1-1, Skillman 1-3), T 3-10 Votaw 2-4, King 1-2, Rakoz 0-2, Yates 0-2). Rebounds--NV 25 (Mitchell 9), T 15 (Votaw 4, King 4). Assists--NV 4 (Handy 2), T 4 (Votaw 2). Steals--NV 1, T 7 (Votaw 4). Blocked shots--NV 4 (Skillman 2), T 0. Fouled out--None. Total fouls --NV 14, T 7. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--NV 15, T 7.