TACOMA — It was a game of which team would blink first.
Union never flinched, not with Riley Hawken staring down close shots.
Behind Hawken’s 26 points, Union beat Issaquah 63-55 in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A boys basketball tournament Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.
The Titans will face Federal Way in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Associated Press statewide poll.
To get there, Union survived a game that was in question until the final minute.
But the Titans had the right answers at the right moments. And they were all in the form of their 6-foot-6 senior forward.
Issaquah just hit a 3-pointer? Get the ball to Hawken near the basket.
Issaquah just erased a five-point halftime lead? Get the ball to Hawken near the basket.
Issaquah is mounting a desperate comeback attempt in the final minutes? You can guess where the ball went next.
“My teammates did the hard work,” Hawken said. “I was just making layups. They were working hard to get me the ball in the right spots. I give all the credit to them.”
Hawken made 9 of 13 field goals and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line. He had a big game largely because Issaquah focused on Greater St. Helens League MVP Micah Paulson, who had 10 points and attempted just five field goals.
“We knew that we had an advantage down there with (Hawken),” Union coach Blake Conley said. “They definitely focused on taking away Micah Paulson. … Based on what we were seeing, we said ‘gosh, we’ve got to get it down to Riley.'”
And shouldering the load was not too big of a burden for Hawken.
“He’s a huge player,” Union senior Thomas Lampkin said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s playing in the Tacoma Dome or against the 74th-ranked team in Washington, he is going to do big things. He did that tonight. He made things happen when they needed to happen.”
Union is the type of team that can survive having a league MVP shut down. Hawken, Paulson and Cameron Cranston all average between 12.5 and 13.8 points per game.
On the other hand, Issaquah’s two big scorers had an off night. The Eagles couldn’t overcome that.
Ty Gibson was 4-for-16 from the field for 13 points, well below his average 22.8 points per game.
Trevon Ary-Turner, who averaged 17.5 points per game, was 0-for-9 from the field and finished with four points.
“It was Thomas Lampkin and Micah Paulson just being animals out there,” Conley said. “They played so hard on defense. The other guys did a good job of helping. We didn’t want to give them 3-point shots, so we played them tight out there.”
As a result, Issaquah made five of 19 shots from 3-point range.
Union, on the other hand, focused on getting close-range shots and drawing fouls. The Titans tried only 10 3-point shots. They made 23 of 27 free throws.
Leading 29-24 at halftime, Union couldn’t shake Issaquah despite Hawken scoring eight points in the third quarter. The Eagles remained within four until midway through the fourth quarter.
That’s when a Cranston 3-pointer and a Hawken basket let Union open its biggest lead at 53-45.
Issaquah went into desperation mode, ramping up its defensive pressure and chucking up 3-pointers. But the Eagles never got closer than four points down the stretch.
“The unity this team has built this season is huge,” said Lampkin, who had 10 rebounds. “We’ve had games where we’ll just look at each other and say ‘it’s time. Let’s do it.’ We look in each other’s eyes and there’s that trust that you’re going to make the shot or make the right play.”
Union made the right plays Thursday to win its 22nd game in a row. Now the Titans are in the semifinals against a Federal Way team that has won 18 of its last 19 games.
Nobody will want to blink during that matchup.
UNION 63, ISSAQUAH 55
UNION — Keithan Shepard 0, Brennan Paulson 0, Cole Weatherspoon 9, Micah Paulson 10, Carson Brucher 0, Nico Bricker 2, Nick Simkins 0, Thomas Lampkin 4, Cameron Cranston 6, Riley Hawken 26, Denis Kirichenko 6, Stephan Ammentorp 0. Totals 18 (4) 23-27 63.
ISSAQUAH — Tanner Davis 21, Jack Jerue 0, Ty Gibson 13, Trevon Ary-Turner 4, Jason Crandall 4, Scott Kellum 13, Jack Dellinger 0. Totals 18 (5) 14-23 55.
Union 13 16 13 21–63
Issaquah 11 13 16 15–55
