TACOMA — Outside a locker room at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday, several sheets of white paper were taped on the wall. Printed on the rectangular sheets, in bold capital letters, were the names of several schools competing in the state basketball tournaments.
One sheet had the words: GLACIER P
ARK.
It should have been GLACIER PEAK, of course, as in Glacier Peak High School. Sure, three-year-old Glacier Peak High of Snohomish is a fairly new school, but based on the Grizzlies’ impressive statewide success there’s no excuse anymore to be oblivious.
On Saturday, the Glacier Peak boys basketball team earned its second-consecutive top-five state trophy, losing in the Class 3A tournament third/fifth-place consolation final at the T-Dome. Mentally and physically worn out, the Grizzlies lost 47-40 against the Kamiakin Braves in a battle that was extremely competitive until the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.
Promising sophomore forward Zach Pederson’s jump shot on the right baseline (Willie Harris assist) tied the score at 38-38 with 3 minutes, 50 seconds to go. But Kamiakin (24-3) closed the contest with a 9-2 scoring run, hitting most of its foul shots to clinch the win.
After winning the fourth-place trophy a year ago, Glacier Peak finished fifth this time and ended its season with a 23-6 record. The Grizzlies were undefeated in Western Conference 3A action this winter and won their second straight District 1 title before playing at state.
“I’m just really proud of the guys,” Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter said, “from the standpoint that we set an (incredibly high) bar for the program. We’ve had back-to-back, top-five finishes at state and back-to-back district championships.”
That’s impressive for any program, regardless of how new or old it is.
Capping a solid week, Pederson (15 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals) was Glacier Peak’s leading scorer versus Kamiakin. Although it committed 14 turnovers in the first half and looked thoroughly drained, Glacier Peak was tied 20-20 after two quarters. But Kamiakin outscored the Grizzlies 27-20 in the second half.
“Our legs were dead,” Glacier Peak senior Jack Bonner said, “so we had trouble running a lot of stuff (on offense). Our shots just weren’t falling (on Saturday) and I think a lot of that you can attribute to our legs.”
Glacier Peak beat North Central of Spokane in the quarterfinals Thursday night and lost against Bellevue in the semifinals Friday night. Less than 12 hours after its semifinal defeat, Glacier Peak tipped off against Kamiakin, which also appeared tired but had enough juice to snare third place. Junior guard/forward Justin Pedley (16 points) and senior guard Case Rada (12 points) were the scoring standouts for Kamiakin, which routed Seattle Prep in the quarterfinals Thursday and lost in overtime against Lakes in the semifinals Friday.
“We’re in the same boat as everybody else,” coach Hunter said, asked about how exhausted his players were, “but it just comes down to little plays in the game at this point, and the extra energy or strength you have makes a huge difference in terms of making those plays.”
Besides Pederson, senior guard Dylan Vargas (11 points) and senior guard Tanner Southard (10 points) were Glacier Peak’s other double-digit scorers. Southard, who was fighting the flu all week, had 11 of the Grizzlies’ 20 turnovers. Bonner scored just two points and was 1-for-11 from the field but contributed six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
It was the final game for six Glacier Peak seniors; the team’s other senior, dominant center Payton Pervier, left the program for an undisclosed reason at the end of the regular season. Two of the seniors, Southard and Bonner, were three-year starters who helped the Grizzlies quickly progress from new school to state contender.
“They’ve been really incredible competitors,” said Hunter. “From the time we started the program, we leaned on them heavily when they were sophomores. They’ve invested a tremendous amount in what we tried to do here.”
“They’re the kind of kids you don’t replace,” Hunter added, “but hopefully we learn lessons from them.”
How about a lesson about keeping things in perspective? Here’s what Bonner and Southard said, respectively, after their season-ending loss.
“Yeah, we lost (against Kamiakin) but I thought we came out (and) we played hard; we did what we could,” Southard said. “But we came in and we took fifth place in the state and there’s (dozens) of teams out there who didn’t place, who didn’t even come to state or go to districts. This experience — I will never forget it.”
“I don’t think it gets any better than this,” Bonner said. “It hurts right now, coming off two losses in a row, but placing fifth in the state is a pretty tough thing to do.”
“So that part feels good,” Bonner added, “and once we’re over this loss we’ll be able to look back and be proud of it.”
At the Tacoma Dome
Visitor 9 11 16 11 — 47
Home 7 13 13 7 — 40
Kamiakin–Hayfield 3, Clyde, Rada 12, Shoop, Holle, Fletcher 5, Wilmoth, Williams, Anderson 9, EnWezoh 2, Hunt, Pedley 16. Glacier Peak–Schaub, Williams, Tarvin, Vargas 11, Southard 10, Impola, Davelaar 2, Harrison, Harris, Pederson 15, Pohrman, Bonner 2. 3-point goals–Hayfield 1, Rada 1, Vargas 1, Southard 1. Records–Kamiakin 24-3. Glacier Peak 23-6.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
