YAKIMA — The fourth quarter came, and the Clover Park Warriors seized the opportunity.
Across the way, the West Valley Rams looked gassed. Late-game conditioning helped the Warriors.
After a tightly contested game for three quarters with 10 ties and five lead changes, Clover Park took charge after holding a one-point lead going into the final eight minutes, running away for a 63-49 victory. The teams played in front of a predominantly Yakima crowd during Friday morning’s 2A boys consolation game at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Warriors (21-7) will face Sequim, which defeated Burlington-Edison, 52-49, in today’s 8 a.m. fourth/sixth-place game with a shot at earning its second consecutive fourth-place trophy after winning the 2A state title in 2011.
Clover Park defeated Sequim, 60-45, for the West Central District III title on Feb. 18.
Junior guard David Crisp bounced back from a 1-for-14 shooting performance in Thursday’s loss to Anacortes with a game-high 26 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including three 3-point shots. Philip Winston chipped in with 14 points and Travis Parker had 10.
This weekend’s games are the first for Crisp at the SunDome since his freshman year when the Warriors defeated Squalicum for the state title.
Even though Clover Park earned the fourth-place trophy last season, he didn’t see any playing time because of a broken foot suffered with eight games left in the regular season.
Clover Park coach Mel Ninnis said his team was “embarrassed with themselves” after Thursday’s 59-51 loss to Anacortes. The team had a different approach against the Rams.
“The kids came out with an attitude of abundance and their energy was abundant,” he said.
Leading 40-39 entering the fourth quarter, the Warriors were 8-for-9 on field goals and had five steals.
They began the quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 52-42 lead with 3 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game.
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