Article Courtesy of Gerardo Bolong

PUYALLUP - When you have an opponent down, it can be difficult to keep them down.
In a game fraught with fervor, thrills and side tours, the Seattle Christian Warriors let a 10-point lead escape midway through the fourth quarter en route to a 62-57 Nisqually 1A League boys basketball loss at Cascade Christian High School on Fri., Jan. 29.

The loss enabled the Cougars to slip by the Warriors into second place at 4-2 ahead of SC's 4-3. CCHS is 7-8 overall while SC is 9-7.

Leading only 44-43 in the fourth quarter with 4:06 showing on the scoreboard clock, the Warriors blew out what appeared to be the winds of winning.

Ryan Gifford notched a short baseline basket followed by Taggart Anderson's 13-foot jumper. Next came two free throw conversions from Gunhus as Seattle Christian tried to write the final chapter of victory. Anderson angled home a 3-point basket to put the Warriors in command at 53-47 with 2:12 in regulation.
But the final chapter of four quarters strongly favored CCHS.

Incredibly, the Cougars stayed in contention by pressuring the ball to close within 53-50 on the offensive strength of an Andrew Tigges 3-point goal and standard 3-point play on a lay up following a teammate's free throw.

With less than 50 seconds left, Seattle Christian turned the ball over. The Cougars missed off the front rim on a 3-pont try and Ryan Gifford secured the rebound. SCS was unable to run out the clock or score to set up Dylan Cooley's 3-pointer with just more than seven seconds remaining. SC was able to make one pass to cross half court and call timeout with 4.7 seconds remaining. A forced 3-point try fell short as overtime beckoned.

Two ties occurred, the last at 56-all, before Tigges banked home a Cougar basket.

Following a Sam Hoffman free throw for CCHS, Zac VanderLey converted the second of two free throw chances to lessen the SC deficit to 59-57 at the 20.5 second mark. The Warriors never got closer. Anderson's trey try to tie the game at 60 hit the front rim before Tigges notched a pair of free throws for the final scoring.

In the first quarter, CCHS carried the fight to SC, scoring the final six points to lead 16-9 heading into the second quarter.

Cascade Christian led 19-11 before Seattle Christian worked itself back on short gusts of scoring to trail only 21-19.
Trailing 23-19, SCS player Evan Toy stole the ball for a lay up. Anderson fed an open Gifford for a 3-point bomb after a Max Loorem goal to place the Warriors into a 26-23 lead. CCHS led at 27-26, but Anderson's 3-pointer sent SC into intermission with a 29-27 lead.

Anderson fired home another three to open the second half only to have Cascade roll for a 9-0 sprint to lead, 36-32. It was Anderson's turn around field goal in the lane that kept SC close behind at 36-34 at the end of the quarter.

The game stayed tight, although the Warriors established 44-39 margin until the Cougars closed within 44-43.

For the Warriors in a strong effort despite the loss, Anderson fired home 21 points, including 5-for-12 from 3-point range. Gifford scored 11 points and dished out four assists. Gunhus also had four assists while VanderLey grabbed eight caroms off the glass. Evan Toy stole the ball four times along with his eight points.

Tigges found himself open often for 20 Cougar points. Hoffman scored 13 points and collected 10 rebounds.