Crusaders clinch state berth

SHORELINE — Geoff Jacobs typically isn’t the Shoreline Christian boys basketball team’s first, second, or even third option on offense.

But when it comes to free throws, the junior guard is second to none.

Jacobs went 10-for-10 from the line in the fourth quarter to preserve Shoreline Christian’s 58-44 victory over Chief Leschi in a winner-to-state Class B Tri-district playoff game Tuesday night at King’s High School.

The impeccable shooting display was reminiscent of last year’s state tournament, when Jacobs drained all 10 of his fourth-quarter free throws in a narrow opening-round win.

“I guess I was just reliving it,” joked Jacobs, who finished with 12 points and seven assists.

Chief Leschi began to foul after cutting its largest deficit of the game to 41-34 with an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter.

But the Crusaders hit 17 of their 19 free throw attempts in the final 2:42 to maintain their lead, including four straight from Jacobs in the last 28 seconds.

“He’s a classic clutch player,” Crusaders coach Adam Haulter said. “He’s done a wonderful job of finding his role this year. Sometimes he gets kind of lost in the shuffle because we’ve got some good offensive players on this team. But when it’s crunch time he wants the ball.”

The win sets up a rematch of last season’s Class B state title game between Shoreline Christian and defending champion Darrington in the finals of the Tri-district tournament at 5 p.m. tomorrow night at King’s.

Darrington squeaked by Neah Bay 45-43 in Tuesday night’s other semifinal contest and swept its regular-season series with the Crusaders, who have won five of their past six games.

“They’re kinda like us,” Jacobs said of the Loggers. “But they like to pound the ball inside more. They have a couple good guards who can penetrate and dish to the open guy.”

Driving and dishing was Shoreline Christian’s strategy against a high-scoring Chief Leschi squad that lost only three games during the regular season.

Senior point guard Tim Gunderson set the tone early, sidestepping his defender for a layup that gave the Crusaders a 7-1 edge. Gunderson scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half, pacing the Crusaders to a 26-14 halftime advantage.

“He really feels the emotion of the game,” Haulter said. “He’s the type of player who’s confident enough to take over and make plays. You want players this time of year who want to go get the ball, not run away from it. I think I’ve got four or five guys who really want the ball.”

Senior swingman Garth Brandal scored nine of his 14 points in the first half and matched Gunderson with six rebounds. Sophomore forward Grant Brandal added 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting and pulled down nine boards.

Defensively, the Crusaders were able to contain Chief Leschi’s potent trio of Wallace brothers: Sean, Marty and Curtis. Sean Wallace scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and Marty Wallace scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half.

“You can look at their scoring averages, but watching tape of them it’s incredible how good of athletes they are,” Haulter said. “We got lucky they were pretty cold tonight compared to what I’ve seen. They can really light it up.”

Shoreline Christian opened Tri-districts with a somewhat surprising 65-35 rout of Clallam Bay on Feb. 20. The teams went to overtime in a non-league clash last month.

Garth Brandal’s 26 points led all scorers. Jacobs chipped in 14 points and Gunderson added 10 for the Crusaders, who outscored Clallam Bay 16-4 in the fourth quarter.

In their 12 previous tournament appearances, the Crusaders earned three state berths but never won a Tri-district title. Darrington defeated Shoreline Christian in last year’s championship game en route to claiming its third state banner.

“The last couple years it’s come down to us and them so many times in big games,” Haulter said. “Our players know exactly what’s at stake on Saturday. We’ll come ready to play and I’m sure they will too. It should be a good game.”