Class 3A: Kamiakin boys fall short of trip to Tacoma

In a season full of promise, the Kamiakin Braves earned a trip to Class 3A state regional, but that’s where the train would stop.

Lincoln’s Willie Thomas scored two baskets and had a key block in the final 48 seconds of the game to rally the Abes to a 51-45 victory over the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Richland High School.

“We had two sophomore guards, two juniors and a senior out there,” Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said. “What they accomplished was tremendous. I’m proud of them.”

The Abes (21-4), who at one point trailed 14-2 in the first quarter, earned a trip to the final eight at the Tacoma Dome.

“I wasn’t worried,” Abes coach Aubrey Shelton said of the deficit. “We have battled adversity before. We tend to play better from behind; it causes us to focus.”

Heading down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Lincoln’s Trevion Brown drilled a 3-pointer at 2:43 to put the Abes out front 46-44. From there, no one scored again until Thomas scored with 48 seconds left for a 48-44 lead.

Just 17 seconds later, Thomas stole the ball, and the 6-foot-5 sophomore dunked it to make it 50-44.

“That kid is a just a sophomore,” Shelton said. “It’s unbelievable for a sophomore to do that. It speaks to his character.”

The Braves (17-7) opened the game with two 3-pointers by Garrett Paxton and led by 12 midway through the first quarter. They still had a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Abes kept coming.

“I think we lost what we were doing and let them back in,” said Paxton, who had a game-high 23 points. “We got stalled and held the ball. We needed to swing it and drive past them.”

Meneely said he knew Lincoln would not fold.

“I loved our mentality to start the game,” Meneely said. “They were aggressive and assertive. But this is a game of runs. We had ours and so did they. No one is going to roll over. We both had to make adjustments.”

The Abes went on a 15-11 run in the second quarter, getting 3s from Trevante Anderson, Tashon Brown and Brandon Cotton.

The Braves led 23-12 with 3:43 to play in the second, but a 10-3 run by the Abes helped close the gap.

Kamiakin big man Hayden Nelson had three points in the first half, all coming off free throws. Nelson would finish with 12 rebounds and just the three points as foul trouble kept him out of action.

“He caused them a lot of problems at the start, and they had to help out on him,” Meneely said of the 6-8 Nelson. “When he was out, we had to make some adjustments. Our small lineup caused them fits.”

Lincoln went on a 19-11 run in the third and took its first lead at 4:53 on a pair of free throws by Thomas. The Abes led by as many as six before the Braves cut the lead to 38-37 with a basket and free throw by Paxton with 34 seconds left.

“I was proud of our kids in the third,” Meneely said. “We got down and they showed great heart and great resolve.”

Isaiah Brimmer added 12 points and six rebounds for the Braves.

Anderson led the Abes with 16 points, while Trevion Brown added 12. Thomas chipped in 10 points, six blocks and nine rebounds.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Class 3A: Kamiakin boys fall short of trip to Tacoma."