A Crown Fit For King, Ephrata
TACOMA - Ephrata's Travis King got his record - and a state championship last night.
The 5-foot-10 King scored 17 points to lead the Tigers to a 67-58 victory over Port Townsend for the Class A boys state championship at the Tacoma Dome.
The victory allowed third-ranked Ephrata to win its first-ever state basketball championship.
The Tigers had finished third twice in the Class A tournament, including a third-place showing last season. Port Townsend was making its first appearance in a state title game.
Not only did King get a state championship, he also set a Washington state career boys scoring record. His 17 points gave him 2,292 for his four-year career, eclipsing the old mark of 2,283 held by Dale Smith of Brewster (1973-77).
"It was a story that worked out perfectly," Ephrata Coach Marty O'Brien said. "To win a championship and see a kid get a state record in the final game is almost too unbelievable."
King needed nine points in last night's championship game to get the record. His record work done by the second quarter.
King tied the record with a three-point bomb in the first quarter and then broke it with 5:12 left in the second quarter on another three-pointer off a fast break.
The Ephrata crowd gave King a standing ovation and King responded by pumping his fist in the air.
"I didn't even know about the record until the crowd started screaming," King said.
Eric Davis led Ephrata with 19 points while Dan Rough paced Port Townsend with 18 points.
-- CHELAN 81, COLFAX 76 (2 OT) - Eric Boyd hit four of Chelan's seven free throws in the second overtime as the No. 5-ranked Goats (21-5) beat Colfax (19-9) in a game for third and sixth places.
Colfax's Jon Kincaid, a 6-foot-5 senior who is headed to Washington State on a football scholarship, poured in 38 points to become the No. 1 career scorer in tournament history. He also pulled down 20 rebounds.
David Kollmeyer, who finished with 23 points, had two free throws and Nathan Boyd had one free throw for Chelan, which outscored the Bulldogs 7-2 in the second three-minute overtime period.
Kincaid scored 34 of his points in regulation play in setting his tournament career scoring record with 248 points, seven more than Blaine's richard Hanson had in 1963-64. He played in the 1990, 1992 and 1993 tournaments.
Kincaid's four-game total of 122 points fell 13 shy of Hanson's single-tournament record of 135, set in 1964. -- CONNELL 44, BLAINE 40 - Jason Broberg scored 13 points and Kyle Hogaboam 12 as eighth-ranked Connell beat No. 1-ranked Blaine in a game for fifth and eighth places. Connell finished with a 21-7 record for fifth place. Blaine wound up eighth with a 24-3 mark.
Blaine got 12 points from Brian Thornton. -- ZILLAH 64, EAST VALLEY (YAKIMA) 62 - Jason Pollock's three-point basket with four seconds left gave No. 2-ranked Zillah (24-2) a victory over No. 6 East Valley (21-6) of Yakima in a game for fourth and seventh places. The Leopards scored the game's final 11 points.