All new? All good, too, as far as the participants in tonight's Class 1A state championship boys basketball game are concerned.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Charles Wright senior Gerald Hill said after making two free throws with five seconds left to send the Tarriers into the title game with a 54-52 conquest of Bellevue Christian.

"It's amazing. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid."

Hill is little no more.

The burly 6-foot-4 transfer from Curtis High School, which like Charles Wright is in Tacoma, came up huge in the final minute of a back-and-forth game, scoring his team's final five points.

As a result, the Tarriers (21-6) and River View (23-3) will comprise the tournament's two first-time finalists since Chelan beat Seattle Christian 43-27 in 1998.

Not only will Charles Wright and River View be new to the title game, neither has an extensive tourney resume.

The Panthers, who advanced with a 47-44 overtime win over White Swan, did reach the semis in 2006 before bowing to eventual champion Bellevue Christian 49-40 in overtime.

Counting this year they've earned three places in seven tourney appearances, all during the 23-year coaching tenure of Roger Sonderland. RV went 0-2 in the 1998 Class 2A tournament.

The Tarriers, meanwhile, will take home their first trophy in three tournament tries.

"Two years ago, we had 17 kids," said third-year coach Tyler Francis. "This year we had 38. So the level of excitement for basketball at our school has increased dramatically."

Asked about tonight's matchup, Francis said, "River View doesn't seem to have many tall players, but man, do they have some strong kids. They're very effective with their 2-3 zone and they play well together."

Charles Wright played well collectively, too, even if Hill took over down the stretch.

After Bellevue Christian had taken a 50-49 lead on David Downs' 3-pointer with 47 seconds to play, Hill drove hard to the basket, scored through a foul and made the free throw for a 52-50 Tarriers edge with 34.7 seconds left.

Vikings junior Jeff Rerucha tied it with two free throws at 0:20, after which Francis called time and designed a play for his go-to-guy.

Hill drove across the key to his right and missed a layup, but a foul was called on Downs. Hill was clean with both free throws, and Downs' three-quarter-court heave at the buzzer was off the mark.

"I just put everything out of my mind and went through my routine," Hill said. "I've used the same routine since sixth grade. My dad's pretty strict with me about that."