Knights find their Way to state quarterfinals

Clark County had nine basketball teams in the state regional round last week. Four of them won, and all four games were decided in the fourth quarter.

The Union boys did end up winning by 12 points, but the Titans trailed by 10 with six minutes to play.

The King’s Way Christian boys won in overtime, surviving a wild finish in regulation.

The Prairie girls led almost their entire game, only to have to hold off a late charge in a two-point victory. Click here to read our story on the Falcons.

The Skyview girls got the benefit of a call none of them expected to get and won by a point. Click here to read our story on the Storm.

Survive and advance. That’s all that matters at this point.

These four teams did just that. We will share their stories, Wednesday and Thursday, on just how they managed to survive. And now that they have advanced, they explain what they learned from their experiences at regionals.

The more you look at it, the more improbable it seems.

Many things worked against King’s Way Christian during the overtime win that sent it to the quarterfinals of the Class 1A boys basketball tournament.

Consider that King’s Way tied the game with 2:37 to play and did not score during the rest of regulation.

Consider that the Knights’ best player, Kienan Walter, picked up his fourth foul with 7:13 to play.

Consider that Seattle Academy had two shots in the final 40 seconds, including one from four feet, that could have won the game.

But with unflinching defense and clutch shooting in overtime, King’s Way beat Seattle Academy 54-51 in the regional round of the state tournament on Saturday. That sent the Knights to the final eight in Yakima, where Vashon Island awaits on Thursday.

“It’s crazy,” Walter said. “You never really choose to have a close game, but it was awesome.”

And that’s why King’s Way players and coaches let loose in a joyous celebration in the locker room.

But it wasn’t like King’s Way hadn’t been in close games before. Of their eight games decided by five points or fewer this season, the Knights have won six.

“I think people have a problem with overthinking it in close games and freaking out,” Walter said. “You’ve still got to do the same things. The plays are the same. The defense is the same. Its just the score is a little different. You feel it, like your heart is pounding. But you’ve still go to do the same things.”

Cole Jensen was one person whose heart wasn’t pounding. The senior guard hit several big shots en route to scoring a game-high 16 points. None was bigger than his 3-pointer that gave King’s Way a 50-47 lead with 2:36 left in overtime and snapped a scoring drought of nearly four minutes.

“I’m not a really emotional guy at all, so I didn’t really feel my heart pounding,” Jensen said. “I just stuck to what I do best. I didn’t really hear the crowd or anything. It was just catch, shoot, get back on defense.”

And defense is the reason King’s Way is one of eight Class 1A teams still playing. The Knights held Seattle Academy to 1-for-7 shooting during overtime after shutting them out for the final three minutes of regulation.

“The defense is the same sound defense we practice all year,” Jensen said. “It translated to the game. We didn’t score for two minutes, but they didn’t score either because our defense was so sound. When we went into overtime, the defense stayed the same.”

The Knights’ defense remained stout even after Walter picked up his fourth foul. The 6-foot-8 post, who averages 23.8 points per game and was the Trico League MVP, sat for only one minute after picking up his fourth foul just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter. He scored seven of his 15 points after that moment.

“We didn’t play our best, but we were able to find a way to win,” Walter said.

And in tournament basketball, that’s all that counts.