TACOMA – All Zachary Albright could do was watch.
Glacier Peak boys basketball led by two in the dying seconds of overtime against Camas in the WIAA Boys 4A State quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday. Glacier Peak senior Jo Lee missed his second free throw with 15 seconds left, and the ball got to Camas’ 6-foot-8 junior Ethan Harris under the basket.
Albright fell to the ground contesting the first shot, which rolled off the rim and back into Harris’ hands. The 6-foot-5 forward could only look up to see Harris attempt to force a second overtime. Harris put the ball back up, but it rolled out again and onto the floor.
Glacier Peak’s Zachary Albright looks for a teammate to pass to during the 4A boys quarterfinal game against Camas on Thursday, March 6, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
“I’m just happy our defense was able to come through, just right at the end,” Albright said. “And come through at the most important time.”
Time ran out, and the No. 3 seed Grizzlies (23-3) stood victorious, 44-42, over the No. 5 seed Papermakers (21-8). In a rematch of last year’s Round of 12, which Glacier Peak won 65-61, Camas fell short of revenge.
Final: GP wins 44-42
A missed FT and two missed layups under the basket from Camas ends up being the difference, as the Grizzlies hang on to advance to the semis@HeraldNetPreps— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 6, 2025
“If you’re gonna move on, every now and then, you gotta get a little something that says, ‘Hm, maybe we got lucky,’” Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter said. “Every team that wins this had a moment where they were like, ‘Well, maybe that shouldn’t have happened,’ but it did. So now let’s take advantage of it.”
With 15 rebounds and a pair of clutch free throws to go up by two with two minutes left in overtime, Albright (7 points) played a crucial role in pulling out the win. In an off-day for Lee (11 points, 4-of-17 from the field), Glacier Peak’s star player, it took contributions from everyone. Junior Reed Nagel (16 points) led the scoring, while seniors Jack Taylor and Jayce Nelson each chipped in five points and four rebounds.
Harris (14 points, 8 rebounds) and senior Jace VanVoorhis (13 points, 7 rebounds) led the way for Camas, who battled hard to force overtime to begin with. The Grizzlies had three inbounding plays on the Papermakers’ side of the court in the final 32.3 seconds of regulation, with the score tied 39-39. Glacier Peak ran time off the clock on the first play before calling a timeout with 11.9 seconds left.
Lee’s shot missed the rim on the second one, but Albright snagged the offensive rebound and got fouled with 2.7 seconds left to set up one last play. With Nagel inbounding at the baseline, his pass was tipped down by Camas senior Cade Washington, negating any chance to get a final shot off.
“If I just make a better pass, we win the game. There’s no overtime,” Nagel said.
Truth is, if not for Nagel’s shot-making against a suffocating Camas defense, the Grizzlies may not have been in that position. After holding a slim lead for nearly the entire first half, Glacier Peak allowed the Papermakers to jump ahead 22-19 a couple of minutes into the third quarter.
Glacier Peak’s Reed Nagel looks for an open lane to the basket during the 4A boys quarterfinal game against Camas on Thursday, March 6, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
That’s when Nagel started to show off his offensive arsenal. First, he swirled in a corner 3 to tie it 22-22 with five minutes left in the quarter. After Camas went back ahead, he responded by dropping his shoulder into a defender to create space and nailing a fadeaway to tie it again. An acrobatic layup in the final 40 seconds cut it within five for the Grizzlies. Lee followed it up with a shot in the final seconds to make it 31-28 entering the fourth quarter.
“We have players on every part of the court,” Albright said. “Everyone can play defense, everyone can score. So I think it just gives us the spread that we need, and it gives us more opportunities.”
Nagel hit a jumper with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter as the shot clock expired to go up 39-35. Glacier Peak would not score for the rest of regulation, but they fought tooth and nail to avoid trailing.
Glacier Peak’s Jack Taylor sticks his tongue out next to his chipped tooth while making a free-throw during the 4A boys quarterfinal game against Camas on Thursday, March 6, 2025 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
With around two minutes left, Camas senior Nyima Namru was driving in the lane, so Taylor ran in to contest. He caught Namru’s elbow against his mouth on the way up. He felt a tooth chip in his mouth.
“Coach Hunter came up and talked to me and said, ‘Are you good to go?’” Taylor recalled. “I said, ‘Yes sir.’”
He told the official about what had happened and tossed the fragment onto the scorer’s table. Nothing was going to stop the Grizzlies from returning to the semifinals, where they lost last year to Richland. This time, they will face No. 1 Gonzaga Prep on Friday.
“Winning three games here (at the Tacoma Dome) last year gave us a different mindset. … We got a ton of work to do,” Hunter said. “But back-to-back semis for a team from Wesco, we’re trying to give Wesco a little bit of credit, a little bit of a higher reputation in the state, and hopefully we’re helping out.”
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