EVERETT — Kamiak boys basketball coach Cory West has seen Christian Clausen hit a lot of difficult shots in his time coaching the junior, but none quite as special as the one he made at the end of Saturday’s 4A District 1 Tournament semifinal game against Jackson.
Clausen’s baseline off-balance 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining gave the Knights a third victory this season over the Timberwolves — this time by a score of 62-58 — but more importantly sent them to the district championship where they will meet No. 1 seed Cascade next Thursday.
Clausen had made three of his first 11 3-pointers before delivering the dagger.
“He’s confident,” West said. “He missed a lot, but he just kept shooting. That’s what it comes down to. He puts in the time. He’s one of the only one that consistently texts me if he can come shoot in the morning.”
Clausen may have put in the time, but a contested 3-pointer with one second remaining on the shot clock is tough for even the best of shooters.
“Coach West puts all the confidence in me,” Clausen said. “That’s pretty much my job on this team. You play those minutes for a reason, shoot the ball.”
That the Knights even needed Clausen’s shot to hang on for the win was a bit of a surprise. Kamiak led by 10 with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but poor free-throw shooting and the efforts of Jackson senior Sam Saufferer got the Timberwolves back in the game.
Saufferer scored nine points in the final 2:01 of the game to cut Kamiak’s lead to one before Clausen’s big three.
“We pressed and we got some steals and extra possessions and he did hit some tough shots,” Jackson head coach Steve Johnson said. “Obviously, he didn’t shoot as well as he’s capable of in the earlier part of the game, but to play a big role in helping us come back at the end (was special).”
Saufferer finished with a game-high 24 points.
Clausen hit the big shot for Kamiak, but sophomore point guard Carson Tuttle paced them throughout the game. Tuttle finished with 18 points and seven assists. Tuttle was 0-for-6 from 3-point range, but 7-for-13 from inside the arc.
Until earlier in the season, Kamiak hadn’t beat Jackson since 2006. Now it appears the Knights have started a streak of their own. Beating the Timberwolves three times, coupled with advancing to his first district championship as a head coach, has made this a season to remember for West.
“It’s the most special (season) so far,” West said. “As a varsity coach this is my first time going to the district championship game. I want so badly for these guys to experience (winning a district championship), not for my own gratification, but for them. It’s the most gratifying thing to go up there and cut down nets and know that you’re going to state.”
The Knights’ victory ends Jackson’s run of five straight district championships. The Timberwolves were a disappointed bunch after having their comeback fall just short.
“It’s disappointing,” Johnson said. “We had a hand up, but he can make those kinds of shots. He made the shot, what can you say? It’s tough to come all the way back. I would have loved to have got a rebound there and come down the floor with a chance to win it, but it didn’t happen that way and that’s the way it goes.”
At Everett Community College
Jackson 10 11 18 19 —58
Kamiak 16 14 13 19 —62
Jackson—Brian Brown 6, Parker Manalo 7, Ian Willgress 0, Brock Peterson 8, Jordan Brajcich 2, Connor Marschall 3, Avery Goodwin 5, Hunter Johnson 1, Sam Saufferer 24, Islim Ouldtaki 2. Kamiak—Carson Tuttle 18, Christian Clausen 12, Jase Wiley 0, Trevor Gray 2, Coleman Grayson 14, Gavin Patrick 7, Daniel Sharpe 3, Nate Shubert 6. Records—Jackson 14-8. Kamiak 16-5.
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