Mike Vlahovich

TACOMA – The styles could not have contrasted more. Central Valley, giving up an average height disadvantage of 4 inches per man to Gig Harbor, kept it deliberate Thursday at the Tacoma Dome and won 46-34 to reach the State 4A boys basketball semifinals. Ferris went up-tempo toe-to-toe with Franklin and lost 59-52 to fall into the today's consolation round.

TACOMA – Ferris and Central Valley both advanced to the quarterfinals of the State 4A basketball tournament by surviving a pair of "Clift-hangers." Once Saxon Jon Clift got the ball extensively into his hands as point guard, he did it all, scoring all 11 Saxon fourth-quarter points, including the winning basket with 4 seconds remaining for a 49-47 first-day escape over Evergreen-Vancouver.

If University coach Mark Stinson could explain how University High School came upon the patient style it employed to win both district and regional girls basketball tournaments, he said he'd be making money on the lecture circuit. Lewis and Clark coach Jim Redmon, three times a victim of that efficiency said he can sum it up in one word: "Angie."

North Central 6-foot-7 junior Justin Anderson, whose rebounding had a hand in the Indians' Friday win over Mount Rainier, got his start at Spokane Lutheran School. Indians assistant coach Len Long kiddingly calls it NC's "feeder program," saying Anderson told him they had practiced – "about three times a week." How long? "About an hour."

TACOMA – They traveled more than 300 miles to conclude their best-of-5 boys basketball series. Today, North Central and West Valley play for fifth and eighth places at the State 3A basketball tournament at 11:30 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome. In two contrasting games, the Indians (22-6) earned a wild and crazy 63-60 victory over Mount Rainier, and the Eagles (21-5) ground out a 48-39 triumph over ultra-methodical Ellensburg.

TACOMA – Their seasons were on the brink Thursday, but each team's go-to player was at his best when North Central and West Valley survived to play another day at the boys State 3A basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome. NC's Indians, spurred on by Eric Beal's 21 points, beat Squalicum 61-42 in a game that included defense so suffocating that only one Storm player had a field goal in the first 19 minutes.

Freeman's boys basketball team is participating in its eighth straight State 1A tournament, with the second round played today in Yakima. But of all the Scotties state qualifiers, this season's team is likely the most improbable.

TACOMA – With a key member of West Valley's boys basketball team watching from the Tacoma Dome stands, the Eagles saw their championship dream vanish on the opening night of the State 3A tournament. WV (19-5) lost 43-41 to the Mount Si Wildcats on a Wednesday in which Greater Spokane League 3A teams were a combined 0-3.

They say experience is the best teacher. If so, West Valley's boys basketball team has had plenty of instruction. The Eagles, making their third State 3A trip in four years and fifth since 1999, return eight players, including all five starters, from last year's state fourth-place finishing team.

There were no complaints about the draw by coaches of three Greater Spokane League 3A state basketball qualifiers, other than its 4 p.m. scheduled time. North Central's Jay Webber, in Seattle on Saturday to scout teams, didn't bother to hang around.

On a Friday night when North Central and West Valley played as if they were in a hurry to be somewhere else, several WV players provided a calming effect late and they pulled ahead to win the boys Region 3A championship at Eastern Washington University. The Eagles won 68-60 in the fourth meeting of the year between two state-bound 3A teams. WV's two playoff victories, district and regional, tied the season series at two games apiece.

For the fifth time in three seasons, Lewis and Clark and University's girls basketball teams will meet in postseason, with tonight's game determining the District 8 4A championship for the second straight year. LC's second-half pressure, inspired by Hanna Rothstrom and Ula Tauala, wore down Gonzaga Prep 58-40 on Thursday at Central Valley. In the second game at CV, U-Hi outscored the host Bears 20-2 midway through the first half during a 67-41 victory.

Scott Jones has banked a fortune in memories as Lakeside High's only wrestling coach. But his latest state championship team, the Eagles' fifth since 1997, will always have special value in the treasury.

Three wrestlers had three medals for North Central during last weekend's Mat Classic XVIII in Tacoma. Jamie Tamura finished second in the 3A tournament at 125 pounds, Dan Seibert was fifth at 135 and Scott Harris placed fifth at 145 for the Indians, who placed 11th as a team with 45 points.

Three wrestlers who have been a major part of Medical Lake's program for four years won medals in the 2A state wrestling tournament at Mat Classic XVIII in Tacoma. And two of them ended their careers together on the same mat.

There are times when discipline and basics trump athleticism in basketball. But not Tuesday night when athletic West Valley and North Central both qualified for the State 3A boys basketball tourney.