On a day filled with upsets, the only team in Washington to enter the state tournament undefeated found another way to win.
Enumclaw survived a late Bellevue rally and weathered a crazy final minute to defeat the Wolverines 66-63 in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
Bellevue, which trailed by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, got to within two points of the Hornets in the final minute but couldn’t overtake Enumclaw. The Wolverines had one final possession with 8.3 seconds left but Will Locke’s three-point attempt with less than two seconds left couldn’t find the mark and time ran out on Bellevue.
“We weren’t able to get over the hump,” said Wolverines coach Chris O’Connor. “That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Bellevue was plagued by spotty shooting at the free throw line. The Wolverines made just 13 of 26 attempts from the foul line and missed five in the fourth quarter – including two with just 14.6 seconds left that would have tied the game at 65.
It looked as if Enumclaw (26-0) would pull away in the fourth before Bellevue’s shooting heated up. Junior Kendrick VanAckeren scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth, including three three-pointers that got the Wolverines back into the game. His final three, with just 26 seconds left, put Bellevue down just 64-63.
“It’s a game of runs,” said Enumclaw’s Tarren VanTrojen, who scored 10 points. “We’re confident the whole game, whether we are up 10 or down 10. We know we are the best team in the tournament.”
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came from Enumclaw senior Riley Carel, who led the Hornets with 18 points. With just 12.7 seconds remaining in the game and Enumclaw nursing a 64-63 lead, Carel hit the front end of a one-and-one, missed the second shot but picked up the rebound of his own miss and was fouled again. He made one of two free throws to put the Hornets up three.
“I was fortunate to get that,” said Carel, who was the Hornets starting quarterback this fall in football. “We had a great tip to get the rebound. Even though I missed one, I knew we couldn’t lose in regulation so I was happy with that.”
The Hornets were boosted by a balanced offensive attack – all five starters scored in double figures, with Carel’s 18 leading the way. Jayson Lewis added 13 points, Coleman Clyde chipped in 12, Taylor Myers had 11 and VanTrojen scored 10.
“No one is worried about points on our team,” Carel said. “We just care about the victory.”
Enumclaw moves on to place Shadle Park tomorrow night in the semifinal round. Bellevue (23-4) will play O’Dea in a loser-out game at 3:30 p.m.
