Kamiakin boys bid farewell to influential senior class after regional loss

The Kamiakin High School boys basketball team saw its season come to an end on Saturday in a 64-57 loss to the Stanwood Spartans in a Class 3A state regional game at Henry Jackson High School in Everett.

Champ Grayson drained 6 of 8 3-point attempts to pour in a game-high 25 points for the Braves, who led 14-9 after the opening period, but trailed by two at halftime.

“They scrambled their defense in the second quarter and caused some problems for us,” Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said. “They got that lead at halftime and we weren’t able to get it back.”

Kamiakin (17-7, No. 14 in 3A RPI) featured seven seniors this year, and won its second straight district title, beating Mt. Spokane 48-45 last week at the Spokane Arena for the championship. The Braves hadn’t lost a game to a team currently outside of the top 10 in its respective RPI rankings before falling to the No. 11 Spartans.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Meneely said. “Unfortunately it never really works out how you want unless you’re the last team standing.

“We had seven seniors this year and they were such a tight-knit group. ... Those kids brought it every single night and I’m so proud of what they were able to accomplish.”

Kamiakin’s career scoring leader Garrett Paxton had nine points and handed out four assists in his final game as a Brave.

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Kamiakin boys bid farewell to influential senior class after regional loss."