Last summer after the new gym floor was installed at Prairie High School, boys basketball coach Jimmy Tuominen texted a picture of the floor to his players.
Junior Ben Nkansah sent a reply.
“He said ‘Coach, I can’t wait to be in that gym and win a league title on that floor,’ ” Tuominen said. “And how cool was it that he hit the shot that put us over the top. It’s kind of like it was meant to be.”
Nkansah hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds to play to propel the Prairie boys basketball team to a 60-55 win over Mountain View on Tuesday night, clinching the 3A Greater St. Helens League title for the Falcons.
“We’ve been working all offseason for this,” Nkansah said of the league title. “We ran miles. We’ve had the goal. And to execute it, it’s a big accomplishment for us.”