It was a dark and devastating Thursday night in Burien for a local basketball team.
Startling sudden scoring strikes shot Shelton to a shocking 58-55 upset of state fourth-ranked John F. Kennedy in a first-round game at the Class 3A West Central/South Puget Sound League Bi-district high school boys basketball tournament.
With 2.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the High Climbers' Curtis Trondsen stepped clear and bombed in a 3-point basket, snapping a 55-55 tie.
Josh White of the homestanding Lancers attempted to deadlock the game at the buzzer, but his 3-point try flew wide to the right of its intended target.
In the process, Kennedy's winning streak was abruptly snapped after 19 games, sending the No. 1 seed from WCD sub-district into the perilous loser-out bracket, where the 19-3 Lancers needed to win three consecutive games to earn a state berth.
"Nineteen in a row and the No. 1 seed," a bitterly disappointed Kennedy head coach Doug Strauss somberly intoned. "I don't think our guys played hard enough to win. We played well in spurts."
Like aerial machine gunners strafing the enemy in World War II, the visiting High Climbers from the Western Cascade League shot holes in the Lancer defense and grabbed loose balls.
As teammates scraped off defenders with screens, guard Corey Golub fired in a trio of 3-pointers and Alex Olson gunned in a 3-point goal as Shelton climbed high to twice assume 10-point leads before White's 3-point goal from the corner narrowed the Lancer deficit to 18-12 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the High Climbers roared to a 28-18 advantage before the Lancers stormed back to trail only 31-29 at the half.
The teams jostled closely in the third quarter until Shelton emerged with its two point lead intact at 41-39.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Moorman's 3-pointer knotted the fray at 48-all. Gonzales converted the second of two free throw opportunities to give Kennedy the lead. White's baseline jump shot extended the JFK lead only to have the High Climbers capitalize on Lancer mistakes for a 7-0 scoring run for a seemingly commanding 55-51 margin as 1:49 remained.
Thirty-four seconds later, Moorman stole the ball right in front of the Lancers' offensive basket and pushed up a layin.
As Shelton tried to run out the clock, White stole the ball, resulting in another Moorman layin that tied the score with 28 seconds left.
