Most teams came to the boys Class 1B state basketball tournament with much bigger goals than Klickitat.

All the Vandals wanted was one win for a program making its first state appearance since going 0-2 in 1967. So even though the free throws fell at a 35.5 percent clip, the field goals were worse and the leading scorer rolled his ankle, Klickitat still had a shot to earn a victory in the loser-out game.

Klickitat's Ron Prominski goes to the hoop between Lummi's David James, left, and Jordan Wilson during Thursday's loser-out game at the SunDome. ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic

Two overtimes later, Lummi finally closed a 52-44 win Thursday afternoon inside the SunDome. Now the Blackhawks (13-9 overall) have hope for a second straight trophy after taking seventh last year; Klickitat (11-14) has lessons on how to get back to state and the mindset required to win.

"We need to stick together as a team," said Levi Sanchey of the main point of emphasis learned this year. "We play better as a team than individuals."

Only one senior helped the young Vandals absorb this approach and there weren't many players sticking out for either team early. Lummi center Jordan Wilson did all of his work after halftime, when he scored 20 of his game-high 21 points to drive the victory.

Nobody did any scoring from the field for Lummi in the first 8 minutes, and those shooting woes proved contagious. Klickitat went through a stretch of 16 minutes, 2 seconds without a field goal — including the entire second quarter. Five of 14 free-throw shooting in the second and third frames compounded these problems and gave Lummi a 21-11 lead with 4:51 left in the third.

With nothing going right, Klickitat coach Kirk Huwe called timeout to regroup. His message was simple, "Don't hesitate," when it comes to shooting the ball.

"Somebody missed a couple shots and we stopped letting them rip," Huwe said. "Once we (started shooting), we bounced back."

Junior point guard Michael McConville knocked down a 3-pointer to end the drought and restart the offense. Klickitat scored eight more points after that long ball to whittle the Blackhawks' lead to 25-22 entering the fourth.

Lummi used back-to-back 3-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play to rebuild its lead to nine with 3:46 left. With momentum swinging, McConville made things worse diving for a loose ball. His foot found the edge of the court, rolling his ankle and ending the leading scorer's afternoon with nine points.

Levi Sanchey responded to the woes with seven of his team-high 10 points coming in the fourth. He capped a 10-1 run to close the quarter with a jumper, knotting the score at 40 and forcing overtime.

Neither team pulled away in the first overtime before Klickitat's offensive hiccups returned. The Vandals managed to make only one free throw in the final four minutes as Wilson started the second overtime with a 3-pointer. Lummi closed things from there at the foul line.

The 28.3 percent shooting from the field didn't hurt Klickitat too much since Lummi was barely better at 34.8 percent. What ended up costing Klickitat in such a close game were free throws as the team missed 20 of its 31 attempts.

"When you start missing a bunch, you get to the point where you're trying too hard because you don't want to screw up," said Klickitat guard Jeromie Mason, who fought for nine points after going 3 of 14 from the foul line. "Your confidence level goes down, but that's why you have teammates to pick you up out there."

Exactly what got this team here in the first place.