With only two points, Derek Isaak was quiet for most of the second half. But Almira/Coulee-Hartline's leading scorer fired the game's loudest shot, raising up from atop the key to score the winning basket in the closing seconds, lifting the Warriors (26-2) to a 57-55 win over Colton (18-10) to earn third place at the State 1B tournament.
Isaak tallied 16 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors and Cody Jess led them in scoring with 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting.
The Wildcats, trying to bounce back after a last-second loss to Neah Bay Friday, suffered the same fate against ACH, even after Dustin Patchen's heroics tied the game at 55-55 with 24 seconds left. But there was no stopping Isaak, as he calmly buried the 15-foot jump shot with 2.8 seconds showing on the game clock.
Patchen, the Wildcats' leading scorer for the tournament, added 24 points and 22 rebounds to his tournament resume, while Josh Straughan scored 12 points to go with six assists.
Straughan fired the last-second desperation heave from half court that went wide at the buzzer.
The Warriors led by as many as 11 in the first half, and took a 12-point lead in the third, but Colton would not go away, erasing the lead and tying the game at 55-all. Robert Hurka added 12 points for the Warriors before fouling out with 1:03 to play.
Scoring
Almira/Coulee-Hartline
Boutain 5, Deyarmin 0, Jess 18, De. Isaak 16, Stevens 0, Hurka 12, Wellhausen 6, Dr. Isaak 0