Senior leads Prep back to 1B boys state today

PASCO -- Tri-Cities Prep boys coach Joe Perez values senior Sergio Lopez's versatility and selflessness.

A three-year starter and a veteran of Prep's only other state tournament appearance in 2007, the 5-foot-9 Lopez plays either guard position or small forward.

"But if I need him in the post, I can put him there," Perez said. "We can put him wherever we need him. His best attribute is he just gets the team involved. He knows what the team can do, and he pushes it to achieve it."

And what Lopez knew about the Jaguars was it was a state-caliber team.

"Ever since the beginning of the season, I felt we deserved to be at state," he said. "We had the team. We had the chemistry. We just needed to be focused."

On Saturday night, Prep fulfilled Lopez's vision, routing Touchet 59-39 to earn the Southeast District's No. 2 seed to the 1B state tournament at the Yakima SunDome. The Jaguars (17-6) open against Clallam Bay at 10:30 a.m. today.

Lopez values this trip more than the one two years ago, when as a sophomore he helped Prep to a fourth-place finish.

"It's a different experience," he said. "Two years ago, I had seniors around me who'd been playing for four years. That experience helped me to mature into the player I am now. I can pass along that, 'Hey, it's state. Have fun, but we're here to compete.' "

Lopez knows all about competing. Two years ago, he moved to goalkeeper for the Pasco soccer team -- Prep doesn't offer the sport -- in order to get on the field.

"I'd never played goalie in a real game in my entire life," he said. "But coach (Mike) Pardini said if I wanted to play, he had an opening there."

In the fourth game of the season against Davis, he went up in the air for a ball and collided with a Pirates forward.

"He tried to avoid me, but his hip hit me in the face," said Lopez, who suffered a broken nose and eye socket. His doctors still require him to wear a face mask when playing basketball.

But Lopez most values this trip because of what happened to him two weeks ago that nearly cost the Jaguars.

The top seeds in the district tournament, they lost their semifinal game in overtime to Touchet on their home court. Lopez could only sit and watch, having failed to make up a math quiz he missed while being sick in time for weekly grade checks.

"Just sitting on the bench, watching my teammates battle on the court and knowing I couldn't do anything to help them, I just felt I'd let the team down," said Lopez, a 2.8 student who hopes to study engineering at Saint Martin's University in Lacey.

Lopez earned his redemption with 13 points in a win over LaCrosse-Washtucna and 16 against St. John-Endicott in the win that got them their second chance against Touchet.

"In the back of my mind, I wanted a shot at Touchet again," he said. "I had a chip on my shoulder."

He also has a small chip because of the all-league voting released last week. Not because he was left off -- he was a first-team selection -- but because for the second year in a row, he was the only Jaguar honored.

"That I received it totally surprised me," said Lopez, who averaged 9.2 ppg. "But I was disappointed nobody else got it. What I really focused on this season was letting the team take center stage."

Any wonder why he's one of Perez's favorites?

* Rene Ferran: 582-1526; rferran@tricityherald.com. Read his prep sports blog