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Union rallies for title

Enumclaw’s Riley Carel grabs the ball while Union’s Chris Morgan comes up short. (Associated Press)
Enumclaw’s Riley Carel grabs the ball while Union’s Chris Morgan comes up short. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Chris Morgan had plenty of reason to pull off his jersey and race around the Tacoma Dome court Saturday night.

Morgan hit two free throws with 8.4 seconds left and Union rallied from down nine points entering the fourth quarter for a 51-50 win over Enumclaw and its first boys State 3A basketball title.

Riley Carel missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have given Enumclaw (27-1) the win and completed a perfect season.

“It wasn’t looking like we were going to win so it was not a planned thing,” Morgan said about running around shirtless. “A WIAA official told me I needed to put my shirt back on. It was a compulsive thing. I put it back on as soon as I could.”

Caleb Whalen had 11 points to lead Union (19-9), a third-year school from Camas. Whalen had confidence Morgan would make the free throws after he was fouled on a drive.

“I knew he was going to make them both,” Whalen said. “He’s lights out in practice and I could tell he was locked in.”

Carel and Taylor Myers led Enumclaw with 11 points apiece.

Union rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and didn’t lead until the final margin. The Titans outscored Enumclaw 17-7 in the final quarter.

Morgan had eight points, 11 less than his tournament average coming into the game. He had nine rebounds and four assists.

Enumclaw seemed to take control in the third quarter in its quest for an undefeated season. Coleman Clyde hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half to ignite a 20-12 run that put Enumclaw up 43-34 after three quarters.

Union’s victory marked the first time since 2001 that a Seattle-area Metro League team did not win the state title.

2A boys

With its long-range shooting uncharacteristically quiet, Michael Greene took things inside and delivered Squalicum its second straight State 2A championship with a 67-63 win over Burlington-Edison.

Greene led four Squalicum players in double figures with 24 points, and the Storm beat Burlington-Edison at Yakima to claim back-to-back state titles.

The Storm, who beat B-E 60-49 for the 2009 title, finished 26-1 in each of the last two years. It was the third time the Storm have beaten the Tigers (22-5) this year.

Mike Greene made 10 of 11 shots, grabbed 11 rebounds and had five blocks for the Storm.

Though its long-range shooting was absent in the title game the Storm worked the ball inside to Greene and Christopher Qualls, who finished with 11 points.

Derek Dickerson and Patrick Voeut each added 11 points each for Squalicum. B-E was led by Evan Coulter, who scored 25 points.

3A girls

Tournament MVP Cheyenne Wilson scored 20 points in leading Cleveland (22-7) to a 47-44 victory over the Holy Names Cougars (26-3) to win the 3A tournament title at Tacoma. The first-time champion Eagles hadn’t been to state since 1978.

2A girls

Tournament MVP Jennifer Cole scored 16 points to lead River Ridge to its third State 2A title with a 57-46 win over Prosser (22-4) at the Yakima SunDome.

Cole spearheaded a 13-0 third-quarter run with six points, which snapped a 28-all tie and put the Hawks (26-1) in the lead to stay.