The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

TACOMA — The Union Titans are a family of giant killers.

Union sits atop the Class 3A Washington state boys basketball world after stunning top-ranked and unbeaten Enumclaw 51-50 Saturday night in the championship game at the Tacoma Dome.

Yes, Union, the team with nine losses this season, is Vancouver’s first state champion in boys basketball since 1995.

“I’m just so blessed to be here,” Union senior Chris Morgan said, trying to come to grips with the fact that he and the Titans really accomplished their ultimate goal.

Morgan made two free throws with 8.4 seconds left, capping a a wild rally for the Titans in the fourth quarter. Enumclaw’s Riley Carel missed a 3-pointer, and Ben Waters’ shot after an offensive rebound bounced off the rim at the final horn, sending the Titans into celebration mode for the second consecutive night after their second consecutive one-point victory.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Union coach Maco Hamilton said. “The kids found a way to get it done. It’s tough to put it all in words, but it’s a great feeling, without a doubt.”

“It’s cool,” said Kyle Holmes, who scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter and ignited Union’s comeback. “We won the state title, and we don’t really know what to do. What now? We’re just a big family, and we’re just really happy.”

Union trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter against a team looking to improve to 28-0. Instead, the Titans got to win No. 19, the biggest victory in the program’s limited history, the biggest boys basketball victory in Vancouver in 15 years, when Evergreen was the 1995 Class 4A championship.

Caleb Whalen led a balanced Union attack with 11 points, and had a crucial putback basket in the final two minutes. Holmes got the Titans going in the right direction in the final period. Taylor Nelson’s strong move inside also got two fourth-quarter points, and it was his talk during the break between the third and fourth quarters that got all of the Titans fired up.

“We’re down nine points. You better not think it’s over,” he said with a passion in his voice. “It’s not over.”

That’s all the Titans needed to remember just who they were, how they got here. No one gave this title to Union, there were no upsets along the way. The unranked Titans had to beat the No. 4, No. 2, and No. 1 teams this week in the Tacoma Dome.

“We’ve been in this position before,” Holmes said. “We just believed we could do it, and we got it done.”

“We’re a confident bunch,” senior Garett Speyer said. “Last year, we were down 17 in the fourth quarter (of a playoff game) and came back to win. Anything’s possible, really.”

Including a state title.

Holmes and Nelson combined for the first six points of the fourth quarter, but Enumclaw would quickly push the advantage back to seven points with 5:32 to play.

Union held Enumclaw scoreless for the next three minutes and tied the game with free throws from Whalen and Morgan, and a tough shot in traffic from Tanner Nelson.

Enumclaw’s Jayson Lewis responded with a three-point play with 2:10 remaining to make it 50-47, but those would be the last points for the Hornets.

Whalen’s offensive rebound and basket with 1:47 left made it a one-point contest. The teams would exchange missed shots, setting up the final 20 seconds.

Morgan, all 5-foot-10 of him, grabbed a rebound — his ninth of the game — with 18 seconds remaining, pushed the ball up the court and drove toward the hoop, looking for a game-winning shot. Instead, Enumclaw was whistled for a foul with 8.4 seconds remaining.

“I played so bad tonight,” Morgan said, giving credit to Enumclaw’s defense that keyed on him much of the night.

But, he said, he knew he could make it up to his team with the freebies.

“You have to have all the confidence in the world to make those shots,” Morgan said. “Those are what you practice for. I’m in the gym shooting free throws all the time. I’ve always been a clutch free throw shooter. The key is to not think about it when you’re shooting them.”

Hamilton said he guaranteed his assistants that Morgan would make both. His teammates were banking on him, too.

“He’s money from the line,” Speyer said.

Mitch Saylor had a gutty performance in victory, too. The senior rolled his left ankle late in the first half, then came back to play in the second half. Saylor made two 3-pointers and finished with seven points, plus he grabbed six rebounds.

“We came together at the right time,” Saylor said, after learning his team was the first since Franklin in 1994 to win the 3A state title with nine losses. “We started playing our best basketball at the state tournament.”

Morgan claimed he had a bad game. Well, his shooting was off, but the guard also led his team in rebounds and assists. He was named to the all-tournament first-team, while Saylor was a second-team selection.

But it’s all about the team today, the state championship.

“I can’t even say enough,” Morgan said. “Just being with this group of guys, this group of coaches, just how great these guys are. It’s just so awesome.”

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