The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

TACOMA — The Union Titans needed a quarter to find their game Wednesday in the first round of the Class 3A state boys basketball tournament.

Now they find themselves in the state quarterfinals for the second consecutive season.

Chris Morgan scored 21 points, Caleb Whalen had a strong all-around performance, and the Titans (16-9) shook off a sluggish start to top North Central of Spokane 63-54. Union will play second-ranked Rainier Beach in a 5 p.m. game Thursday.

“It was just getting the jitters out,” Whalen said, referring to the first period, when the Titans fell behind by 12 points. “We had the large crowd, the music was going, and we just needed to relax. Then we just put it in cruise control and kept it going from there.”

For eight minutes, the Indians were quicker to the ball, quicker to the hoop, than the Titans, always in the right spot.

“It was a little shocking at first,” Whalen said.

Then, just like that, everything started going Union’s way.

“It took a quarter for us to start matching their physicality,” Morgan said. “We were a little off balance a little bit. We just had to get going a little bit.”

It started with defense.

After giving up 20 points in the first quarter, Union’s defense held North Central (14-13) to single digits in the next two quarters to take command.

“We figured it out,” Union coach Maco Hamilton said. “We just played with more energy. That triggered us on the offensive end.”

Union also took advantage of North Central foul trouble. The Titans made 12 of 16 free throws in the first half. Points with no time coming off the clock help in any comeback — regardless of when the rally happens.

Morgan had 15 of his points in the first half, keeping the Titans close.

Vishal Sanghera’s 3-pointer with four minutes to play in the half gave Union its first lead at 25-23. North Central would tie it one more time, but the Indians never did regain the lead.

Morgan had back-to-back buckets early in the third period, pushing Union’s lead to seven. The advantage never fell below five points in the fourth quarter.

Whalen ended up with 12 points — he made all four of his free throws — as well as six rebounds and two steals. He had three offensive rebounds, including one for a putback with two minutes to play that gave Union a 55-46 lead.

It was after that play when the Titans could sense the victory was secure.

“He jumps out of the gym,” Morgan said. “He’s undersized, but he can match up with any big guy we’ve played this season.”

“This is great. I’m having a lot of fun,” Whalen said. “We know Chris is going to show up every game, and everyone else has to do their part.”

Mitch Saylor, Kyle Holmes, and Tanner Nelson each scored six points. Saylor added five rebounds, and Nelson had a couple of assists, incuding one to his brother. Taylor Nelson had five points and three rebounds in a productive 12 minutes of court time.

As Whalen said, it was another Union-type of game, with Morgan scoring a lot of points and a lot of other players doing their thing.

Lucas Evans led North Central’s balanced attack with 11 points. North Central will play Franklin in the consolation bracket Thursday.

Union has other plans.

“It’s huge, man,” Hamilton said of reaching the quarterfinals again. “Our goal is to play on Saturday, however we can get there.”

Union beat Rainier Beach last year in the fourth-place semifinals. Thursday’s game will be even bigger.

“We’ve drawn another good opponent, but we’re ready,” Morgan said. “We’re not just going to settle for just being here. We want to be here Saturday night. For that to happen, we’ve got to go through Rainier Beach.”

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