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YAKIMA -- Tri-Cities Prep made the 1B state tournament with its well-organized zone defense.
But in their biggest game of the year, the Jaguars strayed out of their comfort zone and went to a seldom-used man-to-man defense.
Turns out, they can play pretty good man-to-man when they need to.
Tri-Cities Prep swarmed Almira/Coulee-Hartline on its way to a 43-35 state semifinal victory Friday night at the Yakima Valley SunDome, earning a berth in tonight's championship game.
"We wanted to show that we can play different types of defense," said Prep coach Joe Perez. "We can play man-to-man if we have to."
The Jaguars (20-6) play Moses Lake Christian (23-2) at 9 p.m. in the title game, with both teams looking for their first championship.
The Lions, who beat Cusick 70-54 in the other semifinal, beat TC Prep 64-58 in overtime earlier this season in Moses Lake.
For Moses Lake Christian to be in the state championship game isn't a shocker. Prep, on the other hand, is a big surprise.
The Jaguars, making just their second state tournament appearance, needed to weave through the consolation bracket of the district tournament last week to make it to Yakima.
"I don't think anyone would have thought we would be here," said Andrew LeBrun, who was one of three Prep players in double figures with 10 points.
Now they have a state title within their grasp.
"I told the kids that we didn't just want to show up," Perez said. "We wanted to win some hardware."
That hardware could be the biggest trophy the tournament has to offer, and it's all because of defense.
Tri-Cities Prep neutralized ACH's size at nearly every position with its relentless pressure on the ball, forcing 16 first-half turnovers and 25 for the game.
That defense helped TC Prep overcome 8-of-29 shooting (28 percent) from the field in the first half to lead 18-14 at halftime. The Jaguars were just 17-of-56 (30 percent) for the game.
Second-ranked ACH (21-5) finally got going on offense to open the third quarter with a 15-6 run to take a 29-22 lead. But the Warriors went cold again, scoring just six points over the next 12 minutes and hitting just two of their last 13 shots.
Prep, like it did in the first half, continued to pick its way through the Warriors' defense for some easy layins and short jump shots.
All that added up to a 19-4 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, and the Jaguars never let ACH get closer than six in the final 21/2 minutes.
"We just kept playing defense," LeBrun said. "We never quit."
Antonio Ledesma led the Jaguars with 12 points and Will Hoppes added 11.
