State 1B boys championship: Cusick outpaces league rival Almira/Coulee-Hartline to win first state title

Playing in the school’s first State 1B title game, the stage certainly wasn’t too intimidating for the Cusick Panthers.

The Panthers dispatched rival Almira/Coulee-Hartline and avenged their one loss this season in the process, with a 61-48 victory Saturday night at the Arena.

“It’s a very big deal,” said Louis Cullooyah, whose mother, Taunie, won a state basketball title in 2005. “We haven’t been here for a long time.”

Brothers Bode and Colton Seymour – whose father, Rob Seymour, is the team’s coach – powered the Panthers (23-1) as they did all tournament. Sophomore Bode made 5 of 9 field goals and all eight of his free-throw attempts to finish with a game-high 18 points. Senior Colton made 5 of 16 shots for 16 points. He also made 5 of 6 free-throw attempts, part of the Panthers’ 14-for-16 night at the line.

The Panthers also got 14 points from Cullooyah and another 12 from fellow senior Celias Holmes, who each hit clutch 3s to stave off ACH’s attempts to erase a lead that the Panthers never gave up.

With Kyden Nomee at the line in the final minute, the other four starters walked off the court to huge cheers from the Cusick crowd. Nomee joined them on the bench moments later.

“We believed we were going to win from the start,” Bode Seymour said.

Cusick opened the game with a 7-0 run, and though ACH tied it at 14 later in the half, the Warriors never led.

Senior Reece Isaak led the Warriors with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 4 of 6 free throws. He also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Isaak scored in the paint efficiently, but the Warriors (19-4) couldn’t consistently get the ball to him. The Warriors committed 12 turnovers – six on Panthers steals – and the Panthers turned those 12 miscues into 25 points.

The Panthers, on the other hand, committed just four turnovers. They also were called for just six fouls.

The Warriors finished second at state for the third time since their 2012 championship. They lost in 2016 to Neah Bay and to Sunnyside Christian in 2018.

Cusick had never finished better than fourth in the State 1B Tournament, but the Panthers lost to Willapa Valley in the 1981 State B title game.

The Panthers played poised basketball and often ran their offense deep into the shot clock, denying the Warriors more opportunities to come back.

Early in the second half, ACH cut what had been a 10-point Cusick lead down to three (31-28) after Isaak made a pair of free throws.

But on the next handful of possessions, Cullooyah answered with a basket at the other end, Colton Seymour hit a pair of free throws and Holmes scored a basket to restore a nine-point lead for the Panthers.

With 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Bode Seymour drove for a basket, drew a foul and hit the free throw to give the Panthers a 44-33 lead, their largest of the game. Holmes hit a corner 3 the next time down.

Colton Seymour finished the tournament with 56 points in three games.