Saxons shine on

Ferris assistant coach Jason Gilman knows that state boys basketball championships don’t come easily and how appreciative a team should be to win one.

Following the Saxons’ second title, Gilman was best able to put into perspective the accomplishment by a talented mix of juniors and seniors who survived a tournament grinder in Tacoma to win in a double-overtime dandy in Saturday’s State 4A boys final, a 68-61 victory over Kentwood.

They were only the 13th team since 1923 to win a state title with a perfect season.

Sehome, which went 30-0 under current Eisenhower mentor Pat Fitterer in 1996 two years after Ferris’ first state championship, is the only school to have won more than Ferris’ 29 games.

The Saxons are athletes who many believed from the outset had what it took to win state. Potential is one thing, winning four games in four days another.

“The game comes easy to these guys,” Gilman said. “But this brought home to them how tough it is. They are very mentally strong and a very special group.”

Ferris faced teams with differing styles and was able to accomodate each. In Kentwood they played a team with a 6-foot-8, 270-pound budding freshman star who proved nearly impossible to get by inside, but managed to do so.

Against Redmond they took on an outside oriented team that slowed the pace to a crawl, and somehow finally got a lead, which, said Ferris coach Don Van Lierop, was the best antidote.

Then it was high energy Franklin that takes uptempo basketball and athleticism to another level, with University of Washington bound Venoy Overton and high-flyer and outside shooter Peyton Siva providing the spark. The Saxons went right at them, scoring 100 points.

And finally, against Kentridge they faced a combination of well-conceived inside offensive attack using two burly posts that made them work overtime. Different players found ways to score before 6-5 Renado Parker and 6-6 Travis Sterling fouled out to ease the way in the second overtime.

“All four teams were so different one night to the next,” said Van Lierop. “Fortunately we got balance from different guys at different times.”

One telling statistic: over four days Ferris made 102 of 129 free throws, a 79 percent success rate. The Saxons have a blend of size, speed and depth. Such free throw success was a sign of mental toughness, and that can’t be understated in bringing the title home.

“It was our goal all year long,” said tourney MVP Shawn Stockton. “We wouldn’t settle for anything less.”

Tigers join select crowd

Lewis and Clark’s second straight girls State 4A title made them one of five schools to accomplish the back-to-back feat.

Sammamish (1976-77), Shadle Park (1988-89), Prairie (1998-99) and Central Valley (2001-02) are the others.

But it’s difficult to imagine that any team had a tougher road. The Tigers had to beat two west side teams with perfect records, Roosevelt and talented Kentwood. Then they faced long-time rival University in the championship, defeating the Titans 39-34 on Saturday.

“It comes back to what the other coaches have said,” said coach Jim Redmon. “I think our league prepares us so much better for state. I truly believe that and think our record shows that. U-Hi beat us two in a row – they were close, but they still beat us – and I think people counted us out. We never lost faith. I think any time you play defense, you’re still in games.”

Kentwood tournament MVP Courtney Vandersloot scored 113 points, a 28.3 average, led in field goals, 3-pointers, free throws and was second to teammate Lindsey Moore in assists. Gonzaga University struck gold by signing Vandersloot.

Two straight for NC

Qualifying for state last year was so nice, North Central decided to do it twice. During a year in which the Indians were 4-16 in regular season, they won four of six in the postseason to earn their second straight 3A state trip.

“People will look at our record (8-17) and laugh,” said coach Jay Webber. “That’s fine. We feel good and are going over with confidence. We’re not going to just show up, but want some hardware.”

It was, he said a disappointing year from the standpoint of the regular season record.

“We had higher expectations,” he said. “We played people tough, but couldn’t get over the top in close games.”

Beating East Valley in a loser-out district game was a confidence boost, Webber said. Lo and behold, he added, they beat Mt. Spokane and were in the double-elimination portion of regionals.

There they won two of three games, firing past Kennewick and avenging an opening loss to West Valley-Yakima in the state qualifying game.

“We were down nine points in the fourth quarter, but hung around,” said Webber.

Nick Rijon hit two 3-pointers for a lead and NC parlayed turnovers into free throws. Rijon is the season scoring leader, but it was late-season all-around contributions by state veterans Cody Hauenstein and Justin Anderson, that got the team over the hump, Webber said.

“We talked about it (returning to state) during the year,” he said. “They made a decision once their backs were against the wall to make it happen on the court.”

Kudos to….

East Valley girls who also are in this week’s State 3A tournament. It will be the Knights’ first trip to state … to West Valley’s boys and Clarkston girls, making their regular pilgrimages west, Clarkston boys and Cheney girls, all qualifiers for the State 2A tourney in Tacoma … State A girls champion Colfax for its fourth straight title and State 2B boys winner Northwest Christian … and, last, but not least, to the 4A eastern region with two state champions, the second-place University girls, fourth-place Mead girls, fourth-place Eisenhower boys, and sixth-place Pasco boys. Six trophies out of six berths is remarkable.