TACOMA – Down 26-7 after one quarter, the Union boys basketball team had only one option.
It didn’t matter that Federal Way was dominating Friday’s Class 4A semifinal at the Tacoma Dome.
It didn’t matter that Union was playing the most talented, fast and athletic team it had faced all year.
Rolling over or sulking? Those things aren’t in the DNA of these Titans. Therefore, they had only one option – to fight back.
And fight they did. Union nearly pulled off one of the most memorable comebacks in recent tournament history.
“Nobody’s going to kick us in the teeth and tell us what to do,” Union senior Riley Hawken said. “We’re going to get fouls, play scrappy and play Union basketball.”
The Titans showed muscle and hustle. Their intensity ratcheted up. Their defense clamped down.
Union whittled the deficit at the free throw line and from 3-point range. The Titans tied the game with about six minutes to play before eventually falling 61-58.
But the final score doesn’t say as much about Union’s character than the number 19. That’s the deficit Union faced before the rubber on their sneakers had even warmed up. It’s a number that would cause most teams to throw up their hands in disgust instead of raising their fists to fight.
“We kind of looked each other in the eyes and said, ‘we’ve still got this,'” Hawken said. “I honestly thought we were going to pull through. … All of us thought we were going to pull through.”
Union coach Blake Conley said Federal Way’s speed, length and the talent of point guard Viont’e Daniels was unlike anything his team had faced.
“They hadn’t seen anything like that, and it got to them a little bit,” Conley said. “Once we calmed down and started to execute, we were obviously a lot better.”
It didn’t take any rah-rah speech either from Conley to energize his players.
“Coach always has something to say,” sophomore guard Cameron Cranston said. “But we also bring our own energy. We don’t need a lot. We’re fiery guys. We bring a lot of energy ourselves.”
Union will leave the Tacoma Dome with a trophy on Saturday. It will be for third or fifth place depending on whether the Titans beat Woodinville.
But that hardware won’t be the biggest reward the players take from this season, which saw Union win 22 straight games and rise to No. 1 in the Associated Press statewide poll.
“Trophies are nice, but the biggest reward this season is just the guys,” Hawken said. “These guys are going to see the types of relationships we’ve built over the season, the way we played and the heart we had. That to me is going to mean more than any trophy.”
Those memories will last long after the luster of any award has faded.
“I said this will hurt and you’ll probably remember this for a while,” Conley said. “But they’ll remember all the great memories, their teammates and the great season we had.”
