Jamil Miller, defensive effort lift Gonzaga Prep over Chiawana in District 8 title game

In the biggest games of the season, teams tend to rely on their strengths. For Gonzaga Prep, that means defense – and Jamil Miller.

On Friday in the District 8 4A championship game, the Bullpups built a big lead then hung on down the stretch to defeat visiting Chiawana 59-53.

The district tournament was originally scheduled to play out at the Spokane Arena but ended up with higher seeds hosting. Both teams qualified for state.

Miller scored 22 points – 14 in the first half – as Gonzaga Prep (21-3) built an 11-point halftime lead, and added four more in the fourth quarter after the Riverhawks (15-8) had cut the lead to four points.

G-Prep’s Henry Sandberg added 15 points, with four consecutive three throws in the last 40 seconds to ice it.

Mason Castillo led Chiawana with 22 points. The Bullpups held Chiawana stars Donovin Young and Kade Smith to 15 points combined.

Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre had praise for the 6-foot-6 senior Miller.

“Just incredible,” he said. “Battled No. 4 (Young), he is a load down there in the post. It was an up-and-down game and (Miller) was very steady the whole way.”

On top of his points, Miller came up with a huge block of Young with 35 seconds left as Chiawana was cutting into the lead.

“That definitely helped us out a lot,” Miller said. “You know, it got us to the free throws at the end and we were able to close it.”

“That was incredible,” McIntyre said. “We needed a spark there to finish the game. We rely on our defense, and he stepped up big for us.”

McIntyre was happy with the team effort.

“We talk often about the three months of defensive focus that we put in throughout the season. We’re a defensive-minded team,” he said.

“When things don’t go well on offense, you can always rely on our defense. It’s always there night after night. And so that helps us play through the ups and the downs of the game.”

“Defense is a key in practice,” Sandberg said. “We’re always talking about, focusing a lot of time on defense. They have two good – Kade Smith and Donovin Young – go-to players. We contained them, ended up getting a win.”

Now the real work begins, starting with what should be a protected regional round game next weekend.

“We’re just gonna enjoy it,” McIntyre said. “There’s a lot of teams that wish they could be in our position. We’re playing good basketball at the right time, and we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”

Miller heated up in the latter stages of the first quarter, and G-Prep led 14-7 after one quarter. He got loose after a steal for a two-handed slam, and Nate Christy’s layup put the Bullpups up by eight with 2 minutes left in the second quarter.

Miller came up with another steal and one-handed dunk just before halftime but was called for a taunting technical foul afterward. Still, Gonzaga Prep led 28-17 at halftime.

Chiawana came out strongly in the third quarter as Smith and Castillo hit back-to-back 3s to cap an 8-0 run to draw within four.

Miller picked up his third foul with just less than 3 minutes left in the quarter, forcing G-Prep to go with a smaller lineup ahead by six.

Carter Verrett found space underneath for a one-handed dunk, Jayce Swanson turned a steal into a layup and Gonzaga Prep led 42-34 after three quarter.

Miller hit a baby hook to get it back to double digits early in the fourth, but Chiawana used a 5-0 run to get it back to five.

McIntyre called timeout and Miller said the message was clear.

“We just kept playing, you know, we were giving all of our effort,” he said. “We’re not gonna quit, you know, even if we’re up we’re not gonna be satisfied. We’re just gonna keep going.”

Sandberg hit a 3-pointer from the wing at the 4-minute mark to provide some cushion then made 4 for 4 at the line in the waning moments to seal it.

“I was trying to get us the win,” Sandberg said. “My teammates trust me, threw me the ball on the wing and I rose up with the confidence to make it. End of the day, we got the win. That’s all that matters.”

“It could be a different guy on any night,” McIntyre said. “We’ve proven that throughout the season that it’s not just one or two guys. The moment’s not too big for anyone, and I have a lot of confidence in anybody that’s out there.”