YAKIMA — Luke Wicks’ lay-in at the buzzer lifted King’s to a 65-63 victory over No. 2-ranked Zillah on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2A state boys basketball tournament.
The basket by Wicks, a 6-foot-3 junior, capped an 8-1 run for the Knights, who erased a five-point deficit in the final 1 minute, 7 seconds.
King’s guard Corey Kispert, who finished with a game-high 29 points, was the catalyst behind the rally. He scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in the final 1:07. His 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play tied the game at 65.
Zillah missed a 3-point attempt on its next possession, Kispert grabbed the rebound and King’s called a timeout with 6 seconds showing on the clock.
Kispert took the ensuing inbounds pass and sprinted down court. As Zillah defenders closed in, he found Wicks open under the basket. Wicks pump faked a Zillah defender into the air, then scored the game-winner.
“I thought they’d have five guys on Corey by the time he got across halfcourt,” King’s coach Rick Skeen told the Yakima Herald-Republic. “We were pretty convinced somebody was going to be open for a layin. We needed Corey to get across halfcourt, get his head up, make a great pass for a layup and win the game.
“He executed it really well.”
The victory sends King’s (22-3) into Friday’s semifinal against King’s Way Christian, which beat Medical Lake 47-45 in another quarterfinal. The tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Yakima Valley SunDome. King’s, the defending state champion, is bidding for a fourth straight appearance in the title game.
In addition to his 29 points, Kispert finished with game-high 12 rebounds. Koa Wilkins scored 15 points for the Knights and Wicks added nine.
Trey Delp led Zillah with 20 points. Scotty Burge added 14 and Nate Whitaker 13 for the Leopards, who face Medical Lake in a loser-out game on Friday.
Yakima Valley Sun Dome
King’s 8 19 16 22 —65
Zillah 13 16 15 19 —63
King’s—Cole Mitchell 4, Koa Wilkins 15, Josh Frohardt 6, Corey Kispert 29, Luke Wicks 9, Sam Echelbarger 0, Chewy Zevenbergen 2, Taylor Schoenfeld 0. Zillah—Trey Delp 20, Scotty Burge 14, Nate Whitaker 13, Jared Ellis 9, Jacob Cleveringa 4, Beaudry Widner 3. Records—Zillah 23-2. King’s 22-3.
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