[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- 2009 Class 1B boys state tournament ]

Almira/Coulee-Hartline -- Gregson 0-1 0-0 0, C. Jess 3-9 4-4 11, Pryor 2-5 0-0 4, Isaak 9-16 1-2 26, Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, G. Jess 3-6 0-0 6, Tucker 4-10 0-0 8, Henderson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-48 5-6 57.

Tulalip Heritage -- McKinney 8-21 1-3 20, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Whitebear 2-6 0-0 4, Comenote 3-10 3-4 10, Davis 3-8 3-4 9, Sedano 3-5 0-0 7, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 7-11 50.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline

Tulalip Heritage

3-point goals--ACH 8-19 (Isaak 7-13, C. Jess 1-4, G. Jess 0-2), TH 5-21 (McKinney 3-15, Sedano 1-1, Comenote 1-2, Johnson 0-1, Davis 0-2). Rebounds--ACH 32 (G. Jess 7, Tucker 7), TH 28 (McKinney 8). Assists--ACH 8 (Isaak 3), TH 6 (Johnson 2). Steals--ACH 3 (C. Jess 3), TH 8 (McKinney 3). Blocked shots--ACH 0, TH 0. Fouled out--None. Total
fouls--ACH 14, TH 15. Technical fouls--Comenote. Turnovers--ACH 17, TH 11.

Maybe it’s in the bloodlines. His mother’s father, Roland Halle, is a Washington Husky Hall of Fame member who was a junior guard in 1953 when the Huskies reached the NCAA Final Four.

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Maybe it’s in the family guidance and assistance. His father is his coach, and his three younger brothers are his rebounders, ball retrievers for the thousands of shots he has taken at the family’s home hoop.

And maybe Derek Isaak is just that special of a freshman. Because there aren’t a lot of state-tournament coming-out parties like the one the 15-year-old Isaak had in leading second-ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline past a very dangerous Tulalip Heritage squad, 57-50, to reach Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against Tri-Cities Prep.

Isaak scored a game-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting and sank a tournament-record seven of his 13 3-point attempts, including the trey that all but clinched the game with 2:55 remaining. That one bumped up the Warriors’ seven-point lead — which had been 18, at 49-31, less than 5 1/2 minutes earlier — up to 54-44.

“At this level,” his father, coach Scott Isaak said, shaking his head as he tried to find the right words, “I think it’s great. As a coach, you want for kids who don’t even have a driver’s license yet, you just hope they don’t show up all nerved up.

“And as a father, I’m just unbelievably proud.”

Tulalip Heritage had reached the 2007 tournament finals and, led by ultra-talented fifth-year senior Lesjar McKinney, seemed to have the firepower to get there again. But the young Isaak put them on the heels almost from the beginning with 11 first-quarter points, including his first three 3-pointers.

“He’s really good at coming up with the right game plan,” Derek Isaak said, pointing a thumb toward his father. “Anybody on our team could have done that — Cody (Jess) or Garrett (Jess). Like yesterday, Cody had 24 or whatever. That’s what I like about this team, anybody can step up and do the job.”

For the record, Cody Jess had 23 in Wednesday’s opening-round win and 6-4 center Kyle Tucker had added 21.

Thursday, though, was Isaak’s night, and his deadeye shooting offset McKinney’s 20-point, eight-rebound night and helped thwart the Hawks’ valiant rally — first with his 3-pointer from the top of the key and then, at 54-50, a free throw that bumped the lead to five with 31 seconds remaining.

“Four points (as a lead) for me is scary,” Isaak said, “because you never know what can happen. But when you spread it, that late in the game, it calms you down. Big time.”

On Thursday, a 15-year-old freshman led the ACH Warriors into the 1B semifinals.

Big time, indeed.