YAKIMA – The dome debut for the King’s Way Christian boys basketball team was just plain tough.
Vashon Island proved to be a tough draw, and the Knights didn’t play with the competitive toughness needed to stay with a talented, hungry opponent.
The result was a 61-41 win for the championship-minded Pirates on Thursday night in a Class 1A state quarterfinal game that was never a contest.
The loss means King’s Way (19-7) will play a consolation game at 2 p.m. Friday against La Salle of Unnion Gap. Win that and the Knights will play for fourth place on Saturday morning.
On the stat sheet, it looks like Vashon’s 27-9 edge in scoring from 3-point shots made the difference. But that hides the truth, King’s Way coach Daven Harmeling said.
“It was one of the most uncompetitive things I’ve ever witnessed, and it has nothing to do with our missed shots,” Harmeling said.
A 20-1 Vashon run turned a 7-6 game into a runaway before halftime. The Knights made only three field goals in the first half, and top scorer Kienan Walter did not have a first-half point. Vashon didn’t give Walter any clean looks in the first half, but he said the Pirates defense wasn’t anything he hasn’t faced.
“I felt like I came out slow and wasn’t aggressive enough and I let their physicality affect me,” Walter said.
Sure, there were dome nerves. But that was no excuse for the lack of effort that Harmeling saw from his Knights.
“I can understand if there’s some nervousness involved,” the coach said. “But the answer to that is to turn that nervousness into focus on being physical on your box outs, on getting loose balls, doing simple things that are in your control. I felt like instead we just turned passive.
“I could have lived with aggressive mistakes, but to let that nervousness manifest itself as pacifity and just kind of be an observer rather than being a participant in the game is inexcusable.”
For those watching, Vashon’s Sam Yates and Jessie Norton put on a show. Yates finished with 28 points and Norton 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. As well as the 22-1 Pirates played, the Knights’ A-game might not have been enough to hang with them.
Walter finished with a team-high 14 points for King’s Way, but didn’t make his first field goal until 1:07 remained in the third quarter. He also led the Knights with nine rebounds and three assists.
“They were big, physical and athletic. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have done better,” Walter said.
Arda Aydin added seven points, five rebounds the two assists.
Cole Jensen, who hit a 3-pointer on the Knight’s first possession to tie the score at 3-3 and finished with six points, said the Knights will take this lesson to heart.
“Now we have an idea of what the other teams (at state) are going to be like competitive-wise and physically,” Jensen said. “All we can do is just be mentally more prepared for (Friday).”
VASHON ISLAND 61, KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 41
KING’S WAY (19-7) – Cole Jensen 6, Joe Mills 2, Kyle Gonzales 3, Arda Aydin 7, Kienan Walter 14, Nick Pulicella 2, Karter Graves 5, Tony Huser 2, Isaiah Pratt 0, Clayton Rajewich 0, Mikey Johnson 0. Totals 12-49 (3-20) 14-19 41.
VASHON ISLAND (23-1) – Sam Yates 28, Jessie Norton 20, Alex Symbol-Godrey 4, Ian Stewart 0, Sam Schoenberg 0, Steen Jennings 2, Sean Delargy 5, Casper Forest 2, Edgar Polkat 0, Darren May-Power 2, Jahmiah Hoogen 0, Josh Tillman 0. Totals 22-44 (9-24) 8-10 61.
King’s Way 7 3 12 19—41
Vashon 18 9 20 14–61
