Current conditions unavailable
The seventh-seeded Tigers were in prime position to pull off a stunner in Saturday’s opening round, but just three field goals in the final frame allowed the second-seeded Crusaders to hold on for a 58-55 victory at Cheney High School.
Napavine (19-6) led 41-31 with over five minutes to go in the third quarter. From that point on, NW Christian won the ball game 27-14. It went on a 6-0 run to make it a three-point game in the third and a 13-2 run to open the fourth to lead by five.
Tigers forward Hudson Chambers made it a one-point contest with 42 seconds remaining, then Crusaders leading scorer Caleb Grant put the finishing touches on his 21-point, 13-rebound double-double with a sealing layup with 16 ticks to go.
Chambers finished with a team-high 16 points and Eric Bullock added 13 points while Cal Bullock registered 10 points. Napavine, despite losing the rebound battle by 11 and only went to the line a handful of times, put up 32 points in the first half to lead by six.
The Tigers will now take on 10th-seeded Freeman in the Round of 12 on Wednesday night inside Spokane Arena. The Scotties reached the Class 2B finals last year.
