Article courtesy of Gerardo Bolong

TACOMA - Simplicity of strategy and continuous attack mode delivered the Seattle Christian boys basketball team the 2016 West Central District III 1A championship in a 57-50 conquest of Nisqually No. 2 seed Cascade Christian High School on Sat., Feb. 20, on the Dalesky-Black court of Henry Foss Senior High School.

Seattle Christian (13-10) continues its quest of excellence on Sat., Feb 27, in a high noon showdown with Southwest Washington District IV No. 3 Hoquiam (19-5) in a 2016 Hardwood Classic state regional held at Renton High School for the right to reach the round of 16 at the Yakima Sun Dome. The Grizzlies tied 2A Aberdeen atop the 2A/1A Evergreen Conference ahead of district action. They are led by forward Jack Adamsill's nearly 22 points per game average and guard Jerod Steen(12.3). HHS steamrollered Eatonville to qualify for regionals.

In winning its first district title since 2003, the third place regular season Nisqually 1A League finisher kept its eye on the prize and focused strongly down the stretch.

"We kept it simple with screens and rolls," said first-year Warrior head coach Micheal Watts. "We put them on the ropes and had them on their heels. Instead of 3's, we were able to penetrate to the basket and get into the hole. Our team didn't stop attacking. We stopped their 3's, kept our rhythm and just kept playing through."

Unlike their previous regular season loss to CCHS when SC wasted a 10-point fourth quarter lead en route to an overtime loss, the Warriors knuckled down for defensive stops and converted free throws to finish their mission when the pressure peaked.

With just more than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Seattle Christian was tightly clutching a 38-37 edge.

Max Loorem drove for an SC basket followed by two Payton Gunhus free throws. Ryan Gifford's short fade away bank shot catapulted the Warriors into a 44-37 lead with 3:25 remaining in regulation. Cascade Christian drew within 44-39, but Gifford's assist to Gunhus plus Taggart Anderson's two converted free throws ballooned the Seattle Christian margin to 48-39 with 1:33 left.

The Cougars eventually closed within 50-44 as just less than 52 seconds showed. Cascade Christian continued to foul only to watch resolute Warriors drain 6-of-10 free throws to hold CCHS off.

"We knew we could beat any team," said sophomore forward Zac VanderLey, who closed out the game with 15 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. "Our role players allowed our main scorers to get open and do other things. Defense and rebounding was strong and we didn't give up 3's."

In the first quarter, the squads traded mini-scoring runs before CCHS emerged with a 12-11 edge.
More of the same style action prevailed in the second quarter, although the ball-hawking defense resulted in Gifford and Gunhus drawing three personal fouls each before intermission at which point Seattle Christian led 20-19.

Moving more into a half court offense, but still maneuvering quickly, Seattle Christian began to dominate by going to the hoop hard for close-in goals or resulting free throws. Gifford, Anderson and Zac VanderLey combined for 11 consecutive Warrior points to transform a 25-23 third quarter deficit into a 34-25 lead with 1:19 left in the quarter ahead of a quarter-closing pair of Cascade Christian free throws.

CCHS continued to fire back, closing within 38-37 as a prelude to the illuminating illustrations of game winning execution.

Seattle Christian team captain Gifford had 13 points to go along with four assists.

"Coach Watts had a great game plan for our last two games," he said. "We like being the underdogs. The strategy was to extend our defense on the shooters and fight hard on the rebounds because we're shorter. It was hard work and we had a good feeling."

Anderson was 0-for-7 from behind the arc, but used an 8-for-9 free throw shooting day to earn 12 points while dishing out four assists.

"We just played our hardest and tried to have fun," Anderson said. "We played hard the whole game."

Seattle Christian shot 24-for-29 from the free throw line including 20-for-24 in the second half.

Jesse Howells paced Cascade Christian with 14 points and Tyler Fox contributed 12.

On Tuesday, Feb.16, the Warriors earned a state Hardwood Classic Regional berth by rallying past state poll No. 5 and Nisqually League champion Vashon Island, 64-61, after two previous regular season drubbings from the Pirates.

As in the previous outings, Vashon sailed to early double-digit leads including the first 15 points of the game.

At this juncture, Warrior head coach Watts detected a mood or attitude change from the foe.

"I noticed that they started pulling back on us thinking things would just keep going this way," observed Watts. "This just upset us. They stayed off Taggart and we just kept going after it."

Max Loorem's 3-pointer midway through the first quarter touched off a Warrior surge that was aided and abetted by Ryan Gifford, Payton Gunhus and Zac VanderLey as SC closed within 15-7 en route to an 18-9 deficit after one quarter.

Anderson joined the attack by warming up from the outside to help Seattle Christian move within three points twice at 20-17 and 23-20 before the Pirates held a 32-25 halftime lead.

Payton Gunhus nailed a 3-pointer to get SC within 39-36 as 3:31 showed in the third quarter.

The difference fluctuated between four and seven points throughout the third quarter until the charging Warriors made their fourth quarter surge.

Gifford opened the final stanza by assisting Gunhus on a 3-bomb. Following an inside basket by the Pirates' Alex Symbol-Godfrey, Gunhus converted single free throws on two separate fouled occasions.

Vashon was still clinging to a 54-49 lead until Taggart Anderson hit from beyond the 3-point arc to make the score 54-52.

VanderLey's outback tied the score at at 54-all at the 5:42 mark.

Taggart Anderson assisted Max Loorem on a 3-ball for a 57-54 SC lead, but the Pirates sailed back to lead, 58-57.

With 44 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock, VanderLey pushed SC ahead for good, 61-59, on a field goal.
A pair of Gunhus free throws enlarged the margin to 63-59 before the Pirates fought back to 63-61.

Max Loorem notched a free throw with 17 seconds to go and the horn sounded as Sam Schoenberg's 3-point try from the left wing bounced off the back rim as the horn sounded to signal the Seattle Christian victory.

Anderson singed the hoop for 15 of his game total of 16 points to keep rallies going at key moments while also opening up the court for teammates to get back door cuts for lay ups.

Another key was the pivotal play of Zac VanderLey.

"Zac out rebounded the best center in the league Alex Symbol-Godfrey (as part of the comeback)," added coach Watts.

VanderLey scored 12 points with 10 rebounds to counter Symbol-Godfrey's 12 points and 14 rebounds. Gunhus played a nice floor game for the Warriors and added 15 points.

Casper Forest of V.I. was a terror from outside for the Pirates for a game-high 20 points while Sam Yates knocked down 14 points and grabbed eight caroms.

Seattle Christian trailed Port Townsend earl before moving on to a 53-48 loser-out win to open district play.

Members of the 2016 WCD III District 1A boys basketball championship team are Jack Hohimer, Payton Gunhus, Evan Toy, Alex Cook, Taggart Anderson, Ryan Gifford, Dalton Saggau, Daniel Bergquist, Max Loorem, Zac VanderLey, Harrison Hohimer and Jackson McKenna-Kier.

Assisting head coach Watts are coaches Scott Hay, Braque Hildreth and Jon Jacobs. Managers are Natalie Vittitow and Julia Nelson. Cheer squad memebers are Cassidy DeVries, Emily Galvin, Brittany Gesell, Grace Harwell, Abby Hay, Megan Holmberg, Ariana Mafi, McKenna Royal and Myah Vinther.

Craig Wrolstad is the athletic director.