Prior to Friday’s showdown for the 1A Trico League boys basketball title, La Center coach Jeremy Ecklund and King’s Way Christian coach Daven Harmeling predicted the game would be special.
“Jeremy and I were texting leading up to this game,” Harmeling said. “We were like, ‘you know this is going to be a great game.’ ”
The anticipation was well-deserved.
Colby Shaw’s driving lay-in with 1.2 seconds left in overtime gave La Center a 67-65 win and the Trico League title.
It wasn’t just the Shaw’s last-second heroics that sent La Center’s players streaming onto the court after the final buzzer.
The Wildcats overcame an eight-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation and a five-point deficit in overtime.
“We have excellent heart,” Shaw said. “Everyone on the floor, even those who don’t play as much, loves the game of basketball. I’m just really proud of my team.”
In a packed King’s Way gym on a Friday night and a league title on the line, the stage was set.
The drama that ensued lived up to that stage.
“We knew it was going to be an emotional one,” La Center guard Hunter Ecklund said. “We knew we had to come in with all our heart. When Colby hit that shot, we all got pumped up. It was just an amazing feeling.”
La Center (15-2, 9-1) is the Trico League champion outright for a second straight year. The Wildcats open district tournament play Thursday at home against Tenino, the No. 4 seed from the Evergreen Conference.
King’s Way (13-7, 8-2) is the Trico No. 2 seed and will host a district game Thursday against the Evergreen No. 3 seed.
King’s Way handed La Center its only loss of league play, 65-64, on Jan. 16. The Wildcats entered Friday as the league’s top-scoring team (86.7 points per game) while the Knights entered with the best defense (45.3 ppg).
With the tempo fast and the action going from baseline to baseline, La Center opened an early lead. Ecklund scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter as the Wildcats took a 17-10 lead.
King’s Way battled back in the second quarter. Gage Koenders had seven of his 13 points in a four-minute span as King’s Way took a 29-27 lead into the half.
Khal Cason’s long 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter tied the game at 39 and gave the Knights momentum heading into the fourth. King’s Way opened a 52-44 lead with four minutes to play.
Ecklund was held to seven points after halftime as King’s Way’s defense swarmed him.
But when the Wildcats needed a big shot, several players stepped up. When La Center needed to force a turnover, it did.
“The were focusing on (Ecklund) when he was driving,” said La Center forward Matt Bryant. “He had the faith to kick it out and let us get the buckets. We’ve grown together so much as a team. We have faith in each other.”
Shaw hit a 3-pointer 15 seconds before Avery Seter converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. Suddenly, the game was tied at 52 with 1:29 to play.
Seter’s drive to the hoop gave La Center a 56-53 lead with 30 seconds to play. But Cason answered with a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
King’s Way took a 64-59 lead and had the ball with 1:30 to go in OT. But La Center hit back with a steal and basket by Ecklund.
Then Bryant, who played for King’s Way two seasons ago, was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He made two of three foul shots, cutting the lead to 64-63 with 42 seconds left.
Bubba Cason made one of two foul shots to put King’s Way up 65-63 with 34 seconds left. But Bryant responded with a tying basket 15 seconds later.
King’s Way missed a shot with eight seconds left. La Center got the rebound and immediately broke into transition.
“Matt made an excellent pass and I laid it in,” Shaw said. “The rest is history.”
Harmeling said he will take the blame for the loss.
“I could have gotten us into some different things,” he said. “I personally feel like I cost us that game. But I know our guys will bounce back.”
Should his team bounce back, it could set up a clash with La Center in the district tournament.
“It would be fun to have a round three, that’s for sure,” Harmeling said.
LA CENTER 67, KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 65, OT
LA CENTER — Hunter Ball 0, Colby Shaw 19, Evan Norris 2, Avery Seter 14, Matt Bryant 6, Cedric Hubler 0, Hunter Ecklund 26. Totals 26 (2) 13-23 67.
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN — Khal Cason 15, Kobi Cason 11, Gage Koenders 13, Bubba Cason 7, Bryce Dodge 2, Justin Frahm 2, Brady Metz 9, Bryson Metz 6. Totals 24 (8) 9-14 65.
La Center 17 10 12 17 11—67
King’s Way 10 19 10 17 9—65
JV — La Center 70-58
