TACOMA — The biggest shot of the season for the Skyview boys basketball team required a lot of trust.
Trust from senior Demaree Collins, who had a game-high 34 points, to pass up the final shot instead of taking it himself.
Trust from the Skyview coaching staff to diagram a play for junior Ryan Hanson, anticipating Collins would draw a lot of attention from the Tahoma defense.
Hanson showed exactly why teammates and coaches had faith in him to deliver. Inside of 15 seconds remaining in overtime tied against Tahoma on Friday, Hanson buried the game-winning 3-pointer to send the Storm to an 80-77 win over the Bears, extending their season for one more day at the Tacoma Dome.
Skyview will play in the fourth-place game Saturday and is assured of taking home a state trophy for the first time since 2018.
“It’s been built through the offseason,” Hanson said. “All the hard work that I’ve put in and my teammates have put in to get here, and we know we’ve belonged here. So getting the shot, putting our faith in each other, it’s a great environment to believe in each other.”
Skyview called timeout after Tahoma’s Jayden Stephens converted the game-tying free throw with 36 seconds left in the extra period.
Storm coach Matt Gruhler confirmed after the game that they intended to have Hanson get the ball if Collins drew in the defense. Hanson set a high ball screen for Collins on the perimeter, two Bears defenders followed Collins and Hanson popped free at the top of the arc for a wide open 3. Tahoma missed a long heave at the buzzer and Skyview players stormed the court to mob Hanson.
“I didn’t think Demaree would throw it to him, Demaree has a lot of confidence that he can get the shot that he wants and we put the ball in his hands specifically for that,” Gruhler said. “But I said, ‘(Hanson) is going to be wide open, we’ll see what happens.’ He slipped out of it, ran it perfectly, perfect timing, and a lot of credit to Ryan who hasn’t played a ton, but be ready. … It was a really impressive shot, I’m proud of him.”
Without hesitation, Collins looked for Hanson, who played 13 minutes off the bench and took just three shots, but made the biggest one of the game — or the season.
“You always gotta have trust in your teammates,” Collins said. “Ryan is a good shooter. Ryan’s always ready to shoot, he always shoots with confidence, so I had to find him.”
Skyview played overtime down two starters, Gavin Perdue and Jaxson Filler, both of whom fouled out. That left an opportunity for players like Hanson, Levi Webb and Spencer Hascall to play crucial minutes in a tight game.
Fellow starters Malakai Weimer (20 points) and Gavin Packer, who scored six points in the fourth quarter, also contributed to a balanced attack.
Collins, meanwhile, scored 25 of his 34 points in the opening half .
“That’s not bad,” Gruhler joked.
Coming off of Thursday’s 75-69 loss to Davis in the quarterfinals, Collins, one of three seniors along with Perdue and Filler, said he wasn’t ready to leave the Tacoma Dome just yet. Between the end of the first quarter and into the second, Collins willed Skyview to a 13-0 run by himself to give Skyview a 26-16 lead.
“It feels good, coach is trusting me and letting me do what I can with the ball, and yeah, just my team trusting me,” Collins said. “I took last night’s loss personal and I brought it into tonight.”
Skyview led by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter, but Tahoma closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to trail by seven entering the fourth. Tahoma’s Adam Davis, who led the Bears with 29 points, brought his team within one point on a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in regulation.
After Collins made 1-of-2 free throws on the other end, the Storm were called for a shooting foul against Tahoma’s Dalton Brown, who calmly sank a pair of free throws to extend the game.
Once in overtime, the Storm played their roles to near perfection. Role players like Hanson, too, were motivated to give their senior teammates another game at the dome.
“I think that this is one of the best teams in (program) history, if not our best,” Hanson said, “so the three seniors, they’ve been connected through it throughout middle school. All the connections we’ve built and the close relationships we’ve built, we don’t want to see them go home yet.”
SKYVIEW 80, TAHOMA 77 (OT)
SKYVIEW — Landon Webb 0, Gavin Packer 6, Gavin Perdue 8, Malakai Weimer 20, Demaree Collins 34, Spencer Hascall 0, Ryan Hanson 8, Jaxson Filler 4. Totals 29 (10) 12-16 80.
TAHOMA — Carter Stonerock 16, Jack Miller 0, Cameron Talbert 4, Jayden Stephens 14, Adam Davis 29, Parker Plowman 0, Dalton Brown 14. Totals 25 (5) 22-29 77.
Skyview 18 21 13 17 11 – 80
Tahoma 16 15 14 24 8 – 77
