YAKIMA — The three 3-pointers in the second overtime will be remembered longer. But the King’s Way boys basketball team is playing Saturday for the fourth-place trophy in the Class 1A state tournament because the Knights’ defense stood tall, again.
After denying the La Salle of Union Gap twice on potential game-winning possessions, King’s Way pulled away with big perimeter shots in the second overtime to win 69-62 on Friday afternoon at the SunDome.
The win sets up a Trico League tussle at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday with King’s Way (20-7) battling Castle Rock (17-9) for the fourth-place trophy.
Kienan Walter finished with 37 points and finished off La Salle with 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the second overtime.
“I was looking for what they would give me,” Walter, a 6-foot-8 junior, said. “Every time I went into the post they were double teaming me, so that wasn’t really working. I just tried to get my shots where I could.”
Walter’s 3-pointers came after Cole Jensen opened the second overtime with a 3-pointer from the left corner. That basket followed each team scoring only two points in the first extra four-minute period.
“It was huge,” Walter said of Jensen’s basket. “It gave us so much momentum to play defense harder because we knew we had that extra cushion of points.”
Walter’s final basket finally gave King’s Way a cushion that held up, extending the lead to five points with just over a minute to play. Arda Aydin then made his third steal of the game with one minute left to essentially seal the outcome.
“I just went for the ball. He wasn’t dribbling very well, he was losing control,” Aydin said.
It was the last in a series of big defensive stands for the Knights. La Salle, from nearby Union Gap, finished the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run as King’s Way committed a series of turnovers. The Lightning had the opportunity to play for a final shot at the end of the fourth quarter, but turned over the ball with three seconds on the clock.
At the end of the first overtime, La Salle again had a chance to win but could only get a difficult reverse layup attempt that had no chance of going in.
King’s Way coach Daven Harmeling said he reminded his players prior to those stands that end-of-game defense is their strength, something they work on in every practice.
“There was a part of me as a defensive-minded guy that felt this is cool that we get a chance to push it to overtime on the defensive end,” Harmeling said. “They laced their boots up a little bit tighter and got on some loose balls and were able to prevent them getting a good look.”
King’s Way was 9 of 20 from 3-point range, with Walter making 5 of 12 and Jensen 4 of 6 on his way to 13 points.
In addition to his 37 points, Walter had 14 rebounds, two blocked shots and three assists. Kyle Gonzales added 10 points for the Knights.
La Salle entered the SunDome with only three losses, all to Zillah. The Lightening (21-5) fell to Kings in Thursday’s quarterfinal. They had three players score in double figures, led by 16 points from guard Tresten Garza.
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 69, LA SALLE 62 (2OT)
KING’S WAY (20-7) – Kienan Walter 37, Cole Jensen 13, Kyle Gonzales 10, Joe Mills 6, Arda Ayden 3, Nick Pulicella 0, Karter Graves 0, Mikey Johnson 0, Tony Huser 0. Totals: 22-53 (9-20) 16-25 69.
LA SALLE (21-5) – Tresten Garza 16, Conner Adringa 10, Austin Gasseling 14, Brent Gorrebeeck 9, Andreu Romeu 2, Jordan Martin 6, Brian Snyder 2, Scotty Maki 0, Nick Perry 0, Ronan Price 0, Bridger Parrish 0. Totals: 24-66 (4-15) 10-12 62.
King’s Way 16 16 14 10 2 11—69
La Salle 11 19 11 15 2 4—62
