A late Wednesday afternoon game against a formidable adversary marked the Klickitat High School boys basketball team's return to the state tournament stage after 41 years.
The Vandals (11-12) drew the Garfield-Palouse Vikings (19-4), champions of the perennially strong Southeast Region, as their opening-day opponent.
Noted Vandals Coach Kirk Huwe: "Gar-Pal is a very quick team that presses very well. They're a top-tier team."
In the lead-up to Klickitat's first tournament game since 1967, Huwe put the Vandals through a variety of press break situations in practice to help them prepare for the speed they will face.
Klickitat qualified for the 2008 WIAA Class 1B Boys Tournament last Saturday in Zillah by beating Greater Columbia B League rival Trout Lake/Glenwood (6-16) for the fourth time this season, 52-39.
Jeromie Mason led the way for the Vandals, scoring 16 points and collecting five rebounds. Michael McConville added 14 points, and Ron Prominski chipped in off the bench with six points and five rebounds.
Devin Dean led all scorers with 17 points for TLG, which also got 10 points from Dannon Kavanagh.
Momentum in the game shifted Klickitat's way in the second quarter, when the Vandals outscored the Eagle Mustangs, 11-3, to establish a 22-12 halftime lead.
In the third quarter Klickitat extended its lead to 34-20, then withstood a TLG comeback attempt in the fourth to clinch the Yakima Valley District's No. 2 state seed.
"It was difficult to beat a team of TLG's quality four times in one season," Huwe said, "but our switchng man defense helped keep the score down."
Sunnyside Christian 49, Klickitat 29:
The defending state champions mounted a 26-8 halftime lead in last Friday's district championship game in Zillah on their way to clinching Sunnyside Christian's 10th consecutive state tournament berth.
Joel Koopmans led the Knights (16-5) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Herschel Sanchey's 10 points paced the Vandals.
Trout Lake/Glenwood 73, Yakama Tribal 51:
Five players scored in double figures last Friday as the Eagle Mustangs stayed alive by eliminating the Eagles from the four-team district tournament.
Bradley Woodruff scored 14 points to lead TLG, which got 11 each from Alex Whitefield, Dannon Kavanagh, Kristian Rubesh and Devin Dean.
Rubesh added a team-high 10 rebounds and blocked two shots, Dean doled out six assists and Kris Wood made six steals.
TLG, which led 17-14 after one quarter, increased a 34-24 halftime lead to 61-40 with a 27-point third quarter. The win earned the Eagle Mustangs a rematch with Klickitat in the district consolation final.
Anthony Eyle tallied 18 points and Simeon Jim totaled 13 for Yakama Tribal, which finished the year at 4-17.
Klickitat 44, Trout Lake/Glenwood 36:
An 11-2 run during four key minutes of the fourth quarter last Wednesday gave the Vandals the edge they needed to hold off the Eagle Mustangs in a semifinal game of the Yakima Valley District tournament.
Jeromie Mason's 3-point play with 1:45 remaining earned Klickitat its biggest lead of the game at 41-30. From there on, the Vandals maintained a working margin of seven to 10 points, defeating the Eagle Mustangs for the third time this season.
Herschel Sanchey and Michael McConville scored 13 points each and Mason added 10 to lead Klickitat into the district championship game against Sunnyside Christian, which routed Yakama Tribal, 94-26, in the first district semifinal.
For TLG, which fell into the consolation bracket, Dannon Kavanagh netted 10 points and Bradley Woodruff and Colton Smith each accounted for seven.
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