Gar-Pal Has A Day For Its Coach
Day session
His daughter sang the National Anthem.
His freshman son made 2 of 2 free throws in front of the Coliseum crowd.
His four senior players went out in style, combining for 61 points.
If Tim Coles ever wanted to retire from coaching, now would be the time.
Yet Garfield-Palouse played so well on Saturday that Coles saw the positive side of coaching that doesn’t always
shine through.
“It was a wonderful thing to see us end the season on such a high note,” Coles said after Gar-Pal (25-4) manhandled Tacoma Baptist 86-51 for fifth place at the 53rd boys State B basketball tournament at the Coliseum. The Crusaders (21-8) finished eighth.
Coles, 41, announced last week he might retire from coaching because the stress involved has affected his health.
But from the moment daughter Tiffany completed the Star-Spangled Banner to the time son Logan scored the Vikings’ final two points, Gar-Pal was all over District 1-2-3 champion Tac-Bap.
Senior Beau Hilty-Jones scored seven points by halfway through the first quarter, sending the Vikings to a 15-2 lead.
After a pair of 7-0 Vikings runs, the edge grew to 38-14 midway through the second quarter.
The afternoon grew brighter for GarPal and more humbling for the visitors from Tacoma.
“We just played a great team today,” said Tac-Bap coach Bill Lemke, who will lose just two seniors from his lineup and brought home the Crusaders’ second trophy in 10 tries.
“When I get home I’m going to take a long walk and think about next year.”
The same goes for Coles, who speculated that a bit of rest might put his health back in form and prepare him for another basketball season.
“This was a really special day,” Coles said. “If it was the last (game), it’s the way to go out.”
“Maybe this changed his mind,” said senior Steve Colfield, who led the Vikings with 20 points and 10 rebounds. “I’d like to see him come back.”
Everything went right for Gar-Pal. Hilty-Jones had 15 points and seven assists, senior Rob Tiegs scored 14 and senior John Lawton scored 12.
Tiegs completed his State B career with 161 points. Hilty-Jones finished four shy of 100.
Gar-Pal shot 61 percent from the floor, 75 percent from the free-throw line and 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
“We really wanted to beat the hell out of someone,” Cofield said. “The other games (at state) were so close that it was nerve-wracking.”
The Vikings left 6-foot-10 Wiebe Van Der Hoek and 6-6 Adrian Russell in their wake. Fun became the operative word, as Gar-Pal’s loosey-goosey play led to 18 assists and scoring from 11 of 12 players.
“The way we were moving the ball around - I haven’t seen that in a while,” Coles said.
The question now is: Will he see it again next year?
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