State 1B boys: Despite loss to Lummi Nation in title game, Almira/Coulee-Hartline ‘wouldn’t trade this for anything’

Right after the final horn sounded on Lummi Nation’s victory over Almira/Coulee-Hartline on Saturday, senior Carter Pitts went right for his ACH teammates.

He started with sophomore Max Grindy, and then he consoled Max’s younger brother Nolan, the eighth-grader who was such an impact player for the Warriors during this week’s State 1B boys basketball tournament.

Then, with his teammates gathered around him, Pitts took the second-place trophy, held it above his head and smiled.

“It hurts to lose, but I’m so thankful for the chance to get to lose in this game and to get to play basketball,” Pitts said . “I wouldn’t trade this for anything else.”

The top-seeded Warriors (25-2) trailed early before taking a 26-23 lead into halftime.

They held that lead until the final minute of regulation, when No. 2 seed Lummi Nation scored the final four points to earn a 53-50 victory at the Arena, securing the school’s first title since 2015.

Much of the Warriors’ roster should be back next season, including the Grindy brothers, Max (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Nolan (nine points, nine rebounds). So will junior Josh Booker, who scored a team-high 18 points in the championship game.

But this was it for the team’s three seniors – for Jameson Conley, Toby Schmauder and Pitts, who grew up next door to the Grindys and played basketball with them almost every day as kids.

“I am a 5-foot-6, 185-pound basketball player, and I understand that I am blessed with the opportunity to play basketball, and I am making the most of it with the little things (I’ve been given),” he said, “A guy like Max (Grindy), Max loves basketball. He has all the God-given talent you can have. He’s 6-5, he’s got long arms, he lives across the street from the school and his dad’s the coach.”

Basketball was still Pitts’ thing growing up, back when “I was the same size as everybody,” he said. But as he got older, and as he recognized he couldn’t do everything on this court that his teammates could, he embraced the role of being a leader.

So, at the end of the Warriors’ loss, Pitts – who scored 13 points during three games – was just doing what Graham Grindy said he’d always seen Pitts do.

“He’s always talking to the guys, rallying them and getting them to believe like he believes,” the ACH head coach said. “Carter, overall, as a senior, is one of the most selfless kids I’ve ever been around, and it’s been that way since he was a little kid with my sons.”

Against Lummi Nation, the Warriors made 16 of 43 shots (37.2%), their lowest percentage of the tournament.

The Warriors made 38.5% in a semifinal win over DeSales and 43.6% in the quarterfinals against Moses Lake Covenant Christian.

In the second half, they led by as many as 11 – but they could never quite shake the Blackhawks, who drew within 50-49 on a basket by sophomore Deandre James with a minute to go.

Then ACH turned the ball over, and James (10 points) hit another basket inside with 28 seconds to go to put Lummi Nation up 51-50.

The Warriors turned the ball over on their next possession, and junior Jerome Toby (23 points) hit two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to make it 53-50. Pitts’ 30-foot shot in the final seconds fell short.

“This game’s taught me more about who I am than anything else, and that’s sports in general,” Pitts said. “I think that’s what they’re about. I know they’re fun, and man they’re fun. And it hurts when you lose here, but it just teaches you so much.”