BATTLE GROUND — King’s Way Christian boys basketball coach Daven Harmeling has no fear putting his Knights in tough situations all season.
For starters, there’s a beefed-up schedule. The Knights faced plenty of state-bound opponents in preseason and league, including eventual 3A bi-district champion Prairie, 2A district champ Columbia River, and second-ranked La Center three times.
Another no fear for Harmeling is having faith in his Knights during elimination playoff games, such as saturday’s 1A regional winner-to-state game against Overlake.
“I think it’s good for our guys to experience that,” the coach said “and that kind of tension and pressure. I’ve told them all year long, ‘we’re not preparing the road for you, we’re preparing you for the road.’”
And what a road it is for the Knights. Saturday marked the fifth consecutive 1A regional elimination game the Knights won to advance to the 1A state tournament in Yakima, dispatching Overlake, 71-52, at Battle Ground High School.
Gage Koenders had a game-high 24 points, including hitting his first five 3-point attempts, and brothers Brady and Bryson Metz combined for 19 second-half points. King’s Way plays its first-round game against Cashmere at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.
In a first half where both teams combined for 14 made 3-pointers, it was highlighted by a 5 for 6 performance by Koenders. The junior guard said he’s more known this year for his outside shooting once returning from injury.
Koenders also is King’s Way’s starting quarterback in football. He suffered a broken left collarbone in October, forcing him to miss basketball season through early January.
Harmeling said he knew the Knights would be a different team once Koenders returned ad powered through a tough non-league schedule.
For Koenders, how the Knights thrive in these playoff-type moments goes back to the preparation by Harmeling and his staff and teams before them.
“It’s the culture we had seth forth by the guys who came before us,” he said, “which is the standard we have to live up to.”
King’s Way led 40-30 at halftime, and even after Overlake cut into the lead at 45-40, that’s as close as the Owls got. King’s Way’s defense limited Overlake’s second-half outside opportunities, holding them to two 3s in the third and fourth quarters.
The final two quarters is when the Metz brothers — Brady and Bryson Metz — combined for 19 of their 24 total points, including key shots as part of an 11-4 run to extend the lead to 60-46.
No need to worry about RPI rankings, Harmeling noted, with as tough of schedule the Knights had.
Because it prepared them to thrive in moments such as Saturday.
“And it boosted our team chemistry,” Brady Metz said. “We struggled with that in the beginning of the year.”
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KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 71, OVERLAKE 52
OVERLAKE — Oliver Thomas 3, Roman Peterson 2, Trey Rudolph 19, Alan Ngouenet 12, Zach Foster 14, Rohan Narasayya 2. Totals 19 (8) 6-11 52
KING’S WAY — Khal Cason 9, Kobi Kason 7, Gage Koenders 24, Kefentse Cason 3, Bryce Dodge 2, Justin Frahm 2, Brady Metz 10, Bryson Metz 14. Totals 24 (10) 13-17 71.
Overlake 15 15 10 12 – 52
King’s Way 27 13 7 24 – 71
