[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- 2008 Class 1A boys state tournament ]

Granger -- Solis 1-5 0-2 2, Villa 3-9 4-6 10, Oswalt 2-4 0-0 6, Carpenter 0-5 0-0 0, Lopez 7-11 0-2 16, Jochen 1-1 0-0 2, Zapien 3-10 1-4 7, Paul 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 17-46 5-15 43.

Charles Wright -- Knowles 1-2 0-1 2, Phillips 1-1 0-0 2, Dale 2-4 0-1 4, Hill 9-20 5-8 25, Philley 4-10 2-4 11, Stinson 1-2 0-1 2, Hand 1-8 3-4 5, White 0-0 0-0 0, Hendrix 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 10-19 51.

Granger

Charles Wright

3-point goals--G 4-9 (Lopez 2-2, Oswalt 2-3, Villa 0-1, Solis 0-3), CW 3-9 (Hill 2-4, Philley 1-3, Hand 0-2). Rebounds--G 30 (Villa 7), CW 37 (Hand 13). Assists--G 7 (Villa 4), CW 9 (Hill 5). Steals--G 7 (Solis 2, Lopez 2), CW 6. Blocked shots--G 0, CW 2. Fouled out--None. Total fouls--G 19, CW 17. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--G 10, CW 14.

Because Charles Wright's Tarriers were so big, the margin for error for Granger was so small.

Razor thin, in fact, as became evident in Thursday night's Class 1A state quarterfinal in the SunDome.

The Spartans, who for most of the game followed coach David Gibb's plan to the letter, ultimately missed too many free throws and made a few too many errors in a 51-43 defeat.

Granger (15-11), which overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Lake Roosevelt in Wednesday's opener, will play a loser-out game at 2 p.m. today against Connell.

The Tarriers (20-6), from Tacoma, will oppose Bellevue Christian in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal.

"Too many missed free throws," said Gibb after his team went just 5 of 15 from the line, including missing the front of two one-and-ones. "Free throws and layups were what we were trying to get, and we just missed too many of each."

Against a Charles Wright team that featured burly 6-foot-4 Gerald Hill and eight others 6-0 or taller, the Spartans tried to spread the defense on virtually each possession in an attempt to earn high-percentage shots or free throws.

And the plan was successful well into the second half, with the Spartans slicing and dicing to leads of 26-18 at halftime, 28-18 early in the third quarter and 32-24 with 2:03 left in the period.

Mychal Lopez, a 6-0 junior, was especially effective in the spread-court scheme, scoring a team-high 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Another junior, Benjamim Villa, had 10 points, but Granger got only two points from a foul-plagued R.J. Solis, the team's leading scorer.

Solis, averaging 17.6 points and a key to the Spartans' first-day win, was whistled for his second foul with 2:31 left in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the half. He got his third foul 24 seconds into the third period and played only 16 of the game's 32 minutes.

Still, Granger led 36-32 with 5:26 to play on Villa's layup. But with Hill scoring the Tarriers' next nine points, Charles Wright staged a decisive 11-2 run that left it ahead 43-38 with 2:14 left.

From there, the Tarriers made 4 of 7 free throws to seal it.

Hill, an athlete reminiscent of former Davis High School standout Josh Williams, led all scorers with 25 points and also had seven rebounds and five assists.

"I was very proud of the kids' effort — very proud," said Gibb. "We'll try to come back tomorrow, play better and gete a trophy. We'll give it our best effort."