State 1B boys: Top-seeded Odessa holds off Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s late surge to earn spot in semifinals
Marcus King already has experienced the pinnacle of team success as a standout on Odessa’s back-to-back state champion football team.
He wants his teammates to experience it on the basketball court. And, not so incidentally, on the baseball field, too.
King was a perfect complement to Ryan Moffet – the state’s all-time career scoring leader – Thursday, and the top-seeded Tigers survived Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s 3-point barrage in the fourth quarter for a 42-39 quarterfinal victory in the State 1B boys basketball tournament at the Arena.
Odessa (25-0) will face No. 5 seed Naselle – a 57-50 winner over Muckleshoot Tribal – in Friday’s semifinals at 3:45 p.m. ACH (17-8) will play Muckleshoot Tribal in a loser-out game at 9 a.m.
“The target’s on our backs,” said King, who made five critical free throws down the stretch and finished with 13 points and six rebounds. “Since we’ve been little kids, it seems like we’ve been going up and playing against the big guys. Now we’re the ones with the height, the ones who play with that physicality. We know the target’s on our backs.”
ACH trailed 31-22 entering the fourth quarter, but the Warriors hit five 3-pointers to claw back into contention. Chase Gerard, who led ACH with 17 points, joined teammate Grady Murray with two 3-pointers in the period, and Dane Isaak’s 3 pulled the Warriors within 40-39 with 17 seconds left.
Moffet, who scored 17 points, hit two free throws moments later to push the Tigers’ lead back to three.
Isaak got an open look at a potential game-tying 3 from the right corner in the waning seconds, but his shot was too strong. The Warriors did not get another look from deep before the clock expired.
“This was the third time we played them, and the first two we waxed them by 20-something, 30-something,” Odessa coach Larry Weber said, crediting the ACH coaching staff for its defensive approach. “But it’s a different game when you get here. The building is different. The shooting is different.
“… We knew it would be a tough game when we saw the way they defended (Rainier Christian’s) two shooters (Wednesday). They do a good job getting a hand up in your face and switching when they need to.”
Odessa and the Warriors settled quickly into their respective strategies. The Tigers crowded the paint to make life difficult for ACH post Reece Isaak, and ACH forced Moffet into an off-ball role with double teams awaiting him at midcourt.
The Tigers executed their game plan just a little bit better.
The Warriors could extend only so far on defense, and Moffet got open shots from distance and when attacking the basket. The attention directed at Moffet also opened opportunities for King, who took advantage with midrange jumpers and shots at the hoop.
“Marcus is a kid where it doesn’t matter what sport he’s in, he’s going to give you his best effort,” Weber said. “He’s the best athlete we have. He has oodles of quickness, speed and strength, and at our level that’s tough to defend.”
Reece Isaak was limited to four points one day after posting a 19-point, 10-rebound performance against Rainier Christian. The Warriors struggled to find ways to get him clean looks in the post, and Isaak converted just 1 of 7 shots from the floor.
King expects Naselle “to come out firing” in the semifinals, but he places trust in players who have been teammates dating back to second grade playing AAU ball. He couldn’t help but admit he would love to celebrate a state championship in basketball and end his prep career with a state title on the baseball field, too.
“I don’t want to think too far ahead,” he said, “but that’s what I’d like to see.”