In the often mercurial, always emotional world of high school basketball, the physical difference between a championship team and the pretender can be almost imperceptible.

It is in that instant when a player rises for a shot, a forest of waving arms before him. Does he hurry that tiniest little bit and hit the back iron, or does he follow through as he does every day in practice, arcing the ball gracefully through the twine? Does he, knowing precisely where each of his teammates are at that moment, flick the ball to the one he knows will have found the open lane to the basket? Or does he hurry the pass, only hoping it will miraculously find its way into the right hands?

The mental difference between the players on that championship team and the one grasping in vain for that top rung, though, can be a vast chasm. They are imperturbable, every play forgotten the instant it is past, the better to plan the next rather than chafe over the irritation of the last.

That is Cascade Christian, the best team in the Class 1A boys basketball ranks for the last two seasons, a transcendent reign capped by its 71-59 victory over an overachieving Zillah squad that exceeded all but its own expectations.

The Cougars, whose only losses in their 25-2 season came to Class 3A state champion Lakes and to 2A tourney qualifier Fife, shoot every pressure-filled jumper with a preternatural calm, as if it's just another shoot-around in a practice gym. Their lineup has been intact since seventh grade, most have played together since second grade and two -- tournament MVP Cody Shackett and fiery guard T.J. Tuttle -- have been teammates since kindergarten.

And it shows.

"We've been playing together since elementary school," Shackett said after his 26-point night. "We definitely have a strong chemistry that we've built over a lot of years."

Chemistry and, on Saturday, a confidence forged by red-hot shooting right from the start. The Cougars hit seven of their first eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Shackett and Tuttle, and 10 minutes into the game they were 13-for-17 from the field and had a 30-17 lead.

"We wanted to come out strong, get a lead early," said Tuttle, who opened up 5-for-6 with two 3-pointers, "so we could carry that all through the whole game."

Zillah, meanwhile, started off tight and a bit cold (5-for-14 through seven minutes), their shots often seemingly forced or hurried.

"We were going 'wow' on the bench (at Cascade Christian's torrid start)," said Zillah coach Doug Burge, whose team was playing in its first state title game since its 1994 championship. "But we tried to keep our kids' heads into it, make some stops on the defensive end and, hey, we did. We had our chances to be ahead at halftime."

With seniors Mitchell Zapien and Joel Yellow Owl on their way to 24- and 16-point nights, respectively, the Leopards crawled back to within 30-28 at the intermission, that despite missing three free throws in the final 1:09 before the break. But Shackett hit a driving, banked 10-footer to open the third quarter and a minute later scored six straight points for a 40-30 lead.

"We thought if we could get over the hump, we might be able to get them to feeling the pressure," Burge said. "Hey, they're the defending champs, we've got nothing to lose, right? If we could get over the hump we might get into their psyche a little bit -- but we couldn't get there."

Because the Cougars wouldn't let them.

"Coach (Jerry Williams) always tells us it's a marathon, not a sprint," Shackett said. "It's a game of runs, and we knew they'd make them. They're a good team, and good teams don't roll over."

But then, for the Leopards, the bottom fell out. Another aspect of that championship team is the ability never to let anything get into your heads -- including officiating. And the Leopards definitely did.

With Zillah (23-6) trailing 46-37 with a minute left in the third quarter, senior Scottie Riojas -- who would finish with 10 points -- was hit with a technical foul that left Burge livid, Riojas holding hands in the classic "Huh?" pose and everybody in attendance wondering what had happened.

Burge asked the official what Riojas had said.

Riojas, the coach was told, had been standing behind the Cascade Christian player he was defending and had said, 'C'mon, big guy. C'mon, big guy.'"

And the official T'd up Riojas, he told Burge, for "taunting."

Moments later, there was some minor jostling for position going on between two players from the opposing teams, and the same official pointed at the Leopard defender, Marco Rodriguez and, Rodriguez explained later, said, "If you touch him again, I'll call a T on you."

Between the Leopards looking to Burge with confused, deer-in-the-headlights, what-now expressions and the fact that Cascade Christian is simply that good, the next three minutes were ugly. The Cougars ripped off a 12-2 scoring burst on the clearly rattled Leopards to go up 58-39, and that was that.

"We weathered the storm in the first quarter, but not in the third quarter," Burge said ruefully. "I think we let some of the things that happened get to us, and you can't do that. You can't lose your poise. That costs you possessions, and you can't do that in a game like that, against a team that good."

And that's what Cascade Christian is: clearly the class of the 1A field. They hit more big shots and never got flustered.

Zillah was that team just that short rung ahead, a bit more off-target and a bit more flustered. A very good team. Almost good enough.

Almost.