Fantastic Franklin wins 5th state championship
TACOMA — The night belonged to Franklin.
And, for the second time in four years, so does the Class 4A state boys basketball championship trophy.
Using their lacerating quickness to force 28 turnovers, the Quakers rolled past Central Valley of Spokane 70-51 Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome.
"They're the most athletic team we've ever played against," said Kevin Cameron, Central Valley's junior guard. "My hat's off to them."
That athleticism enabled the Quakers to make 14 steals and fire off 69 shots, making 29, while Central Valley only shot 37 times, making 17.
"We knew that going against a physical team like this on Day 4 of the tournament would be a struggle," said Central Valley coach Rick Sloan. "They wore us down."
Junior guard Venoy Overton led the winners with 20 points. No one else was in double figures, typical for balanced Franklin, but eight other players scored.
"We've worked hard for this," said senior Donnie Cheatham. "Nobody thought we could do it, but we proved everybody wrong in the state of Washington."
Three things you shoulda seen
No doubting Thomas: Curtis junior Isaiah Thomas had 33 points to wrap up a spectacular four-day scoring binge. The 5-foot-9 dynamo broke tournament records for points in a game (51), individual tournament points (162) and career tournament points (241).
He passes, too: Thomas' best play of the day was a pass from the baseline over the hoop that Chris Sprinker caught before dunking with two hands.
Three spree: Franklin's three three-pointers over a 1-minute, 13-second span during the second quarter. Peyton Siva hit the first two, and senior Tabid Mohamed the third.
John Boyle
The fifth-ranked Quakers are never taken lightly by anyone in the state, but they had lost the KingCo 4A Conference championship game to Inglemoor of Kenmore and weren't on most lists of the four teams likely to walk out of the Tacoma Dome with the championship trophy.
The real surprise team in the title game was Central Valley, which had tied for fifth in the Greater Spokane League before winning the Spokane District and finishing second at the Eastern Regional.
Franklin trailed 16-13 after one quarter, then took over the game by outscoring the Bears 22-7 in the second quarter. After that, the outcome was never in doubt.
When the victory was clinched and the clock was running out, Franklin students chanted, "Quaker State! Quaker State!"
The victory provided a bookend championship for Franklin senior Jordan Daisy, who missed the beginning of this season because of an enlarged heart.
"I started with a state championship and I ended with a state championship," he said. "It doesn't get any sweeter than that."
Daisy was a freshman when Franklin beat Mead of Spokane 67-55 for the 2003 championship. In that memorable title game, future Oregon Duck Aaron Brooks scored 38 points for Franklin and future Gonzaga star Adam Morrison scored 37 for Mead. That game is remembered for the scoring duel between the future college stars. This one will be remembered for Franklin's defense and quickness.
This latest state championship is the fifth in Franklin history. The Quakers, who have never lost a state-title game, won the big-school tournament in 1954 and won back-to-back 3A titles in 1994 and 1995.
Central Valley's only state basketball title was in 1968.
The pivotal second quarter featured a 14-2 run highlighted two three-pointers by freshman Peyton Siva sandwiched around a layup by Cheatham followed by a three-pointer by senior Tabid Mohamed. Central Valley was held scoreless for a four-minute stretch in the period.
Central Valley was led by sophomore guard Luke Clift, who scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the first quarter. He made the Bears' only three-pointer of the night, and the team from Veradale in the Spokane Valley attempted 11.
Franklin finished its season 23-5 and Central Valley wound up 22-7.
The teams were well acquainted with each other because both attend summer team camp at Eastern Washington University.
Both teams had reached this year's championship game with upsets in the semifinals. Franklin outlasted Curtis, 80-76, which got a tournament-record 51 points from Isaiah Thomas. Central Valley stunned top-ranked South Kitsap of Port Orchard, 58-48.
Franklin had arrived at the tournament to "have some fun" according to coach Jason Kerr and "not get caught up" with the hype of winning it all.
Kerr, 33, who now has won two state championships, said it is too easy to forget that a state tournament is "the experience of a lifetime" for players.
Saturday, Franklin made their experience was exactly that.
FRANKLIN — Venoy Overton 9-17 2-4 20, Peyton Siva 3-7 0-0 9, Jordan Daisy 3-7 2-2 8, Tabid Mohamed 3-10 0-0 8, Donnie Cheatham 3-11 1-4 7, Chris Holmes 3-4 0-0 6, Jody Johnson 2-3 1-2 5, Zach Williams 2-3 1-2 5, Johnnie Stroud 1-2 0-0 2, Nate Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Robert Dampier 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel Vasquez 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-69 7-14 70.
CENTRAL VALLEY — Luke Clift 6-8 5-8 18, Kevin Cameron 3-7. 2-2 8, Brad Dieter 3-4 0-0 6, Brad Johnson 1-5 4-4 6, William Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Connor Janhunen 1-2 2-2 4, Matt Morgan 1-7 0-0 2, Nick Ambrose 0-1 2-2 2, Chris Burdick 0-1 1-2 1, JC Agen 0-0 0-0 0, Sean Thompson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-37 16-20 51.
Three-point shooting — Franklin 5-18 (Siva 3-5, Mohamed 2-6, Jackson 0-1, Vasquez 0-1, Daisy 0-2, Overton 0-3); Central Valley 1-11 (Clift 1-2, Dieter 0-1, Cameron 0-2, Johnson 0-2, Morgan 0-4). Rebounds — Franklin 32 (Johnson 7); Central Valley 34 (Clift 6). Assists — Franklin 11 (Cheatham 4); Central Valley 9 (Cameron 2, Clift 2, Ambrose 2). Steals — Franklin 14 (Cheatham 4); Central Valley 4 (Morgan 2). Blocked shots — Franklin 0; Central Valley 2 (Clift, Ambrose). Turnovers — Franklin 11; Central Valley 28. Total fouls — Franklin 20; Central Valley 10. Fouled out — Clift, Central Valley.
| Franklin's high-five | |||
| Franklin is a perfect 5 for 5 in boys state championship games: | |||
| Year | Class | Result | W-L |
| 1954 | 4A | Beat Garfield, 46-42 | 15-3 |
| 1994 | 3A | Beat Aberdeen, 71-55 | 19-9 |
| 1995 | 3A | Beat White River, 70-69 | 24-4 |
| 2003 | 4A | Beat Mead, 67-55 | 25-2 |
| 2006 | 4A | Beat Central Valley, 70-51 | 23-5 |
| 1994 and '95 titles were Class AA, now 3A | |||
| Fab 5 | ||
| Franklin's victory gives them five Class 4A or 3A boys basketball titles, more than any other school except Seattle rival Garfield: | ||
| No. | School | Years |
| 11 | Garfield | 1955, '61, '62, '74, '78, '80, '83, '86, '87, '91, '98 |
| 6 | Walla Walla* | 1923, '24, '34, '37, '52, '99 |
| 5 | Franklin | 1954, '94, '95, 2003, '06 |
| 4 | O'Dea | 1993, '97, 2004, '05 |
| 4 | R. Beach | 1988, '98, 2002, '03 |
| 4 | Mercer Is. | 1985, '93, '97, '99 |
| 4 | Renton | '53, '60, '66, '67 |
| * W. Walla's 1923, '24 titles came in state invitationals. | ||
