YAKIMA — Same roster, different energy.
That was coach Daven Harmeling’s synopsis after the King’s Way boys’ season ended in a 71-65 loss to Royal on Friday morning in the consolation round of the 1A state tournament, a game in which the Knights trailed for the duration before a last-ditch comeback effort fell short in the final minutes.
The loss puts an end to the Knights’ unlikely run to the state quarterfinals as a 14-seed, and the last team standing out of a Trico League it finished second in during the regular season. And the team, which is mostly comprised of underclassmen, stayed alive in the postseason with high energy, flurries of scoring and a physicality to compensate for its tallest player being a 6-foot-2 freshman.
But Friday morning, it was missing that spark.
“I feel like that game is so far from what most of our effort have looked like all year long, so that hurts, but it will be a great learning experience for our guys, no question,” Harmeling said.
A win against Royal (22-5) would have put King’s Way in the fourth place game Saturday morning.
Khalfani Cason scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Brady Metz added 19, including key baskets in their late attempt to close the gap.
King’s Way (15-12) was outrebounded 50-26. It scored 32 points off 23 turnovers, but the defensive intensity was not where Harmeling expected it to be.
“It was really disappointing to lose a game when we knew we’d have to play extremely hard physically because of how strong they were, and to play the majority of the game without that effort required was not a good reflection of what they did all year long,” Harmeling said, “so that was extra hard.”
The Knights played from behind from the start.
Royal led 20-13 after a quarter and took that seven point lead into half.
Metz was fouled on a 3-pointer, sunk all three free throws, then King’s Way stole the inbound and Cason hit a 3-pointer to cut a 10-point deficit down to four with 45 seconds left. But Royal sunk free throws to keep the game out of reach.
King’s Way did not match its red hot shooting percentage from the day prior. In the first half against Royal, the Knights shot 31.4 percent from the floor, including hitting 2 of 13 3-pointers.
And Royal’s Isaac Ellis scored in a variety of ways, amassing 17 points in the first half. Royal led 33-26 at the half. He finished with 20 points, and Owen Ellis had a game-best 23 points.
As King’s Way tried to cut into the lead in the third quarter, Royal distanced itself.
Brady Metz scored championed a 5-0 run to make it 40-36 early in the quarter, then Royal hit three 3s to stretch the lead to 10—then 12 by the end of the quarter.
Though their final loss was tough to swallow, the Knights consider the season a success. And with pretty much every player returning next season, they know the future is bright.
“Everyone out here and people back home were not thinking we would get this far,” Cason said. ”We ignored the outsiders, kept tunnel vision and wanted to see how far we got. … We had a great run, and I’m really fortunate to be with this team.”
ROYAL 71, KING’S WAY 65
ROYAL—Angel Farias 6, Sawyer Jenks 8, Corbin Christensen 8, Isaac Ellis 20, Owen Ellis 23, Logan Gilbert 0, Gage Christensen 3, Carter Dorsing 3. Totals 26-54 (6-16) 13-20 71.
KING’S WAY—Khalfani Cason 22, Kobi Cason 5, Gage Koenders 11, Bryce Dodge 2, Brady Metz 19, Kaden Lucas 0, Kefentse Cason 0, Mason Packer 0, Justin Frahm 6. Totals 24-70 (9-32) 8-12 65.
Royal 20 12 18 20—71
King’s Way 13 13 13 26—65
