MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Get ready for one more King’s-Bellevue Christian slugfest for bragging rights.
The Chinook League boys basketball powers collide for the fifth time this season in the Class 1A Tri-district championship game at 8 p.m. tonight at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Both teams have already locked up top seeds to next week’s state championships in Yakima and will be placed on opposite sides of the 16-team bracket.
After the rivals split their regular-season series, King’s topped the Vikings in a half-game league tiebreaker matchup. Three days later, Bellevue Christian edged the Knights 42-41 in the finals of the league tournament.
King’s (14-9 overall) will put a slightly different lineup on the court this time around.
On the eve of the Tri-district playoffs, the Knights had to tweak their game plan due to the loss of senior Josh Drenth for the remainder of the season.
When the 6-foot-5 center was ruled ineligible due to grades following the league tournament, the Knights lost their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.
And all of their height. The King’s roster now tops out at a modest 6-2.
“When we lost Josh, we became the smallest team in the state tournament,” King’s coach Marv Morris said. “But I told our guys, ‘Let’s be proud of that.’ They’ve come out with a lot of heart.
“They’re diving on the court, they’re taking charges. It’s a pleasure to watch them rally around the loss of a player.”
The Knights had to get by another Chinook League foe in last weekend’s semifinals to reach the title game.
Senior guard Chris Faidley’s 26 points on 10 of 19 shooting powered King’s to a 55-32 victory over Life Christian on Feb. 21.
Faidley drained five 3-pointers and pulled down 14 rebounds and junior Calvin Fujii added 15 points and six boards to pace the Knights to their fifth win in six games.
“Now Chris is being asked to rebound and Fujii is asked to rebound a lot more,” Morris said. “My question to guys when we lost Josh was, ‘Who’s going to get the extra rebounds?’”
With a diminished post presence, Morris wants the Knights to create more mid-range shots and penetrate as much as possible.
“Any time you lose somebody of that size, it hurts you,” Morris said. “But you’ve got to find other ways to make up for it.”
King’s clinched its sixth straight state tournament berth by outlasting Friday Harbor 59-48 in an opening-round contest Feb. 19.
Sophomore Jared Madrazo chipped in a career-high 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting for the Knights.
“Every night somebody new is stepping up,” Morris said. “I never know for sure who that person is going to be.”
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