The postseason represents a fork in the road for the King’s Way Christian boys basketball team.
So it was fitting that the Knights opened their postseason against Forks.
And judging by their 61-31 win Friday in the Class 1A District 4 tournament, the Knights are on the right path.
King’s Way (16-2) will host Eatonville (14-7) in the district semifinals Tuesday with a berth in the regional round of the state tournament on the line.
This point of the season has been a destination for King’s Way, which placed fourth in state last year and was ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press statewide poll.
Though King’s Way rolled through the Trico League undefeated, coach Daven Harmeling worried his team wasn’t showing the intensity needed for the playoffs.
“For two and a half weeks we played with what I thought was a lot of apathy,” he said. “We didn’t have a spark under us and honestly we would have been better off if we had lost a game or two along the way. … But this week we had an awesome week of practice.”
King’s Way was a big favorite Friday against a Forks team that fell to 5-14 after grabbing the final playoff berth from the Evergreen Conference.
But the Knights didn’t coast. Instead they floored the accelerator, outscoring Forks 35-10 in the first half.
“Coach has been telling us to keep the mindset of an underdog, you know how the underdog always plays with a chip on their shoulder,” senior Kienan Walter said. “I really felt like we brought it out tonight. We played hard and didn’t really give them a chance. We showed them who we are from the very beginning.”
Walter scored a game-high 21 points. The 6-foot-8 forward bound for the University of North Dakota was a force near the basket and also made three 3-pointers.
The Knights kept the Spartans off-balance with deft passing around the perimeter. King’s Way hit eight 3-pointers with Skyler Freeman and Karter Graves each making two.
“We like to not be selfish and share the ball with all of our teammates” Graves said. “It allows us to get more open shots. They found me and I was able to connect a few times. But all of our teammates were getting good open shots.”
“We’ve had our goals and that’s league championship, district championship and then as far as we can get into state,” Graves said.
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 61, FORKS 31
FORKS (5-14) — Jeffrey Schumack 1, Keishaun Ramsey 0, Cole Baysinger 0, Austin Pegram 3, Carlos Tejano 1, Parker Browning 9, Cort Prose 0, Brandon Barr 5, Marky Adams 12, Marcis Davis 0. Totals 13 (3) 2-13 31.
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN (16-2) — Kefentse Cason 2, Judah Smith 10, Darion Lycksell 0, Skyler Freeman 12, Karter Graves 8, Joe Mills 3, Kyle Gonzales 5, Khalfani Cason 0, Kienan Walter 21, Preston Danberg 0. Totals 23 (8) 7-10 61.
Forks 6 4 10 11–31
King’s Way 22 13 13 13–61
