Granger's Ben Villa looks for an opening past Brewster's Eli Driessen during the first quarter of their game Monday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.   SARA GETTYS/ Yakima Herald-Republic

On one side was a typical Brewster team: fleet feet, sharp shooting and crisp passes. On the other was a typical Granger team: undersized, feisty, unwilling to take a backward step when everybody in the building thinks they don’t have a prayer.

Just as nobody in the SunDome during Monday’s Tourneytown.com Shootout gave the Spartans before they finally fell just short, 66-60, of the reigning Class 1A champs.

“We couldn’t quite put them away,” Bears coach Tim Taylor said. “Granger’s got a good team, and they just wouldn’t quit. That’s their M.O. — it’s a typical Davey Gibb team.”

Granger's R.J. Solis makes a pass past Brewster's Jasen Brown during the first quarter.   SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic

And it’s a typical Brewster team. Even after losing three of last year’s starters to graduation and a fourth to injury — sharpshooting junior Wade Gebbers is out of the lineup with a broken foot until mid-February at the earliest — the Bears (8-5) can still play like a well-oiled machine.

“We knew we were going to be small this year, and we knew we lost 30 or 35 points from the seniors who graduated,” said senior guard Austin Benson. “We knew we’d have to shoot better and we’d have to get our one-and-a-half tall guys to do some things inside so we could have that inside-outside game.”

On Monday, that outside game was provided in spades by senior Cole Youngers, who put together a 16-point, 13-rebound game. They got the solid shooting — 25-for-47 (53.2 percent) from the field and 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the foul line. They got balanced scoring, with four players in double figures.

Typical Brewster, right?

Actually, better than the Bears have been for much of this season.

“We’ve been stressing ball movement and being ready to shoot,” Taylor said. “In the last few games, we haven’t been down and ready to fire, and I thought we did a little better job with that today. If can knock down the turnovers, we can do some things.”

So can the Spartans (7-7). Even on a sub-par shooting day — 37 percent as a team, and just a 4-for-21 game from senior standout R.J. Solis — Granger remained within striking distance the entire time. Had the Spartans not seen at least eight layups rim out, they might well have won the game.

“We told our guys at halftime, that as well as (the Bears) were shooting in the first half (68 percent), they weren’t going to be keep shooting that well in the second half, and maybe we could make our move,” coach David Gibb said. “Even though we lost, this game should give our guys some confidence, knowing they can come out and compete with the state champs.”

Mychal Lopez and Solis each scored 18 points, with Lopez having an efficient game with 6-for-9 shooting and nine rebounds. With only one senior starter, the Spartans have nowhere to go but up.

“This is a young team. Other than R.J. and Mychal (Lopez) and Ben Villa, a lot of these guys haven’t played much varsity ball, so we’re up and down,” Gibb said. “We haven’t put together a really good weekend yet, where we win on Friday and come back and win on Saturday. If we can put together a good weekend and get a swep, can can maybe put some distance on some of those (SCAC West) teams.”