After 71/2 minutes of their first-round Class 1A state tournament game Wednesday, the Granger Spartans were already behind by 17 points.

Granger's RJ Solis grabs an offensive rebound against Lake Roosevelt during Wednesday's opening round of the Class 1A boys state tournament. At left is Lake Roosevelt's Luke Seekins, and at right is Granger's Austin Carpenter. ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic

No problem.

They were just getting warmed up — and waiting for their fast-breaking Lake Roosevelt opponents to cool off.

"They came out hot," said R.J. Solis, the only senior in the Granger lineup. "But when you come out hot, you gotta go cold at some point."

That poise and patience is a big reason the Spartans are in their fifth straight state tournament — and why, after that big deficit, they're facing Charles Wright in today's 9 p.m. quarterfinals after their 64-52 triumph.

"We always have heart. We never give up," said junior Mychal Lopez. "That's one thing I love about this team. They never let me down. They never give up. Never."

And as soon as the Raiders' shots stopped falling, their lead began to dwindle. Over the final minute of the first half, with the game still looking a great deal like a blowout, Lopez made a basket, Mitchell Zapien made a steal and went in for a layup and Solis beat the halftime buzzer with a 23-foot 3-pointer. Seven points in 49 seconds, and the Raiders' lead was suddenly under 10.

When Lopez made a steal and a driving layup to open the second half, the Spartans went right back on the attack.

"We came out flat and couldn't hit our outside shots," Lopez said. "We were like 1-for-10 on 3-pointers, and they were 4-for-7. We had to attack the basket because our shots weren't falling."

And the more the Spartans attacked, the more the Raiders (21-6) seemed to unravel. With Lopez scoring nine of his game-high 23 points in the third period, Granger (15-10) dominated the quarter and pulled into its first lead of the game at 43-42.

Immediately, the Spartans went into a spread offense and stayed in the rest of the way.

"They were running and gunning," Solis, who finished with 18 points, said of the Raiders. "But you have to control the tempo if you want to win here."

And controlling the tempo — and playing the spread with a lead — is something Granger can make look like art. On Wednesday, the Spartans turned it into a masterpiece.

"When we get ahead, we're difficult to guard," Granger coach David Gibb said, "because we have kids who can handle the ball."

The Spartans worked the spread to perfection, getting one layup after another. They also got a few picture-perfect fast breaks, doing to Lake Roosevelt what the Raiders had done to them in the first half.

Lake Roosevelt got 15 points from Edward Wolfe, but all of them came in the first half, when he was 5-for-8 from the field. The second half, he missed all nine of his shots. His woes were typical for the Raiders, who made half of their 28 first-half shots but were an abysmal 6-for-35 after intermission.

And, of course, Lake Roosevelt had no answer for Lopez, who even at 5-foot-10 was a beast on the boards and absolutely fearless taking the ball to the hoop.

"He was a man today," Gibb said of Lopez, who as a junior qualifies as a veteran in the very young Spartan lineup. "He's an extremely gifted athlete. I'm glad he plays for us, because I don't know how we'd block him out."

For that matter, blocking out the Spartans — down 17 barely a quarter into the game — proved impossible for Lake Roosevelt.

"It just goes to show," Solis said. "You never give up."