Marysville Pilchuck doesn’t mind playing at 9 p.m. in Hardwood Classic

RENTON — It all comes down to this.

Arlington, Lynnwood, Marysville Pilchuck and King’s found out who they will take on in the first round of the Hardwood Classic Sunday afternoon at a draw at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association office.

The state tournament begins Thursday at the Tacoma Dome (3A/4A) and Yakima SunDome (1A/2A).

Marysville Pilchuck (19-6 overall), which defeated Kennewick 51-47 in a regional contest on Saturday, drew the 9 p.m. matchup — the final boys game of the day — against Eastside Catholic (23-6), which also had a close regional matchup with the Crusaders edging Wilson 53-51.

Marysville Pilchuck head coach Bary Gould doesn’t believe the late start will pose a problem for his team.

“My guys, they’re night owls,” Gould said. “Every time we go on summer trips — even this last trip to Pasco (for regionals) — it’s hard to corral them and settle them down. I’m the opposite. I’m a morning person. That’s going to be past my bedtime.”

As for the Tomahawks’ opponent, Eastside Catholic was ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press poll of the season. Marysville Pilchuck played the Crusaders a couple times during the summer, including at a tournament at Arlington High School.

“Obviously, they have a few really, really good players,” Gould said, noting stars Matisse Thybulle and Mandrell Worthy. “… We have tons of respect for (Eastside Catholic head coach) Bill Wiley and all they do there. Really, at this point, we just feel really blessed and fortunate to have the problem of trying to figure out how to matchup against Eastside Catholic.”

Arlington (22-3) will square off against Bishop Blanchet (22-8) in a game that features the Nos. 6 and 7 teams in the 3A girls’ poll, respectively. The Eagles, who are in the state tournament for the third consecutive season, will face the Braves at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

It’s a little bit earlier than Arlington head coach Joe Marsh would have preferred but he is just happy to avoid the dreaded 9 a.m. game.

“That’s how it works out. The girls are playing early this year,” Marsh said. “You’d rather play at 12 or 2. We’re happy with that. I’m just happy we didn’t get the breakfast special.”

Marsh was scrambling for film on Bishop Blanchet Sunday night. He has seen one of the Braves’ games — a 63-50 win over Edmonds-Woodway on Dec. 22.

“We know a little bit about them,” Marsh said. “I’ve seen them once this year when they played Edmonds-Woodway but that was early in the year. They were the (3A state) runner-ups last year so I know they’re good.”

Lynnwood finds itself with perhaps the game of the day on the girls side, as the No. 1 Royals (22-2) face No. 2-ranked West Seattle (21-4) in an opening-round game at 2 p.m.

Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards said it could be an easy transition for the Royals, who normally practice around 3:30 in the afternoon.

“We have our practices normally start at 3:30,” Edwards said. “At least we’re in the realm. I think that’s a very good time and hopefully we can get a lot of our Lynnwood High School supporters to come down.”

The game could draw a lot of interest from basketball fans. Lynnwood played West Seattle in the Edmonds School District summer tournament’s championship game and defeated the Wildcats by “about 10 points,” according to Edwards, who watched one of West Seattle’s games on film Sunday night.

“We’re excited to show that we play some good basketball in Snohomish County,” Edwards said. “We’re excited to go against a (3A) Metro team with an impact player like (sophomore forward Lydia Giomi). It’s a special time. It’s the past three months worth of two-and-a-half hour practices and working hard and it comes down to this last run here.”

In the 1A tournament at the Yakima SunDome, the King’s girls face No. 6 Granger (22-2) at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in their state opener. The Knights (21-3), who finished second at last year’s state tournament, take on a Granger squad that placed sixth in 2014.

The King’s (22-2) boys will be the home team in a 9 p.m. matchup with No. 5 La Salle (21-3) in the final game Thursday night. Led by head coach Rick Skeen, the Knights are in their third consecutive state tournament and have reached the state title game each of the last two seasons.