YAKIMA -- Clarkston made the most of its first state championship basketball game appearance (BASED ON WIAA HISTORY ONLINE) in 90 years on Saturday, knocking off Anacortes, 59-48, for the State 2A title at the Yakima SunDome.
Clarkston's last appearance in the title game was 1925 when it dropped a 19-17 nail-biter to Yakima.
Saturday in Yakima, the Bantams (26-1) got 19 points from Trevon Allen and 13 from tourney MVP CJ Johnson and just had too much firepower for the Seahawks to handle.
The win was the third straight 2A title for the Great Northern League. Pullman won the 2013 and 2014 titles.
"This just means so much to us," an emotional Johnson said. "We had come this far and we didn't want to do anything different than what got us here. We got our ultimate goal."
The Bantams closed the first half on a 10-0 run, five points each by Davian Sobotta and Cj Johnson, to lead 28-19 at the break. It was the first time either team led by more than four points.
Three point shooting had been crucial to both teams advancing to the title game, but in the first half, the two squads combined to hit just six of 24. But Allen hit two 3-pointers in the third period -- one from each wing -- as well as a a pair of free throws as the Bantams opened up a 43-28 lead.
After Clarkston opened up a 47-31 lead a minute into the final period, Joe D'Amelio tried single-handedly to bring the Seahawks back. The fiery guard scored 13 of his 20 points in the period but Anacortes couldn't get any closer than 47-38.
Scoring
Anacortes
Richards 6, Johnson 3, Neville 4, McInerney 5, Lowry 4, South 2, D'Amelio 20, Rodriguez 4.
Clarkston
Sperry 12, J. Sobotta 7, D. Sobotta 5, Dwyer 3, Allen 19, Johnson 13.