Boys 3A final | Brrrrrr! Bainbridge goes cold

With about 30 seconds left in the first quarter of Saturday night's Class 3A state boys championship, Bainbridge's Austin Wood looked up at a point-blank layup — and missed. Teammate Steven Gray grabbed the rebound, and from about the same distance, threw up another clunker.

Nervousness and pressure? The unexpected late start? An invisible cover over the basket?

"I think it might have been more adrenaline," said Bainbridge coach Scott Orness. "They were so juiced up for the game, ready to go, that can make your shot go long or whatever."

Whatever it was, the missed layups epitomized an evening when little went right for the top-ranked Spartans, who were drubbed 56-31 by Metro League rival O'Dea in front of 6,952 at Edmundson Pavilion.

Bainbridge broke the state record for fewest points in a Class 3A state boys title game, set in 1980 when Timberline of Lacey beat Cheney, 39-32.

Bainbridge will consider any and all possible explanations after shooting 13 for 36 from the field for the game, including 4 for 16 in a brutal first half that ended with the Spartans down 28-11. They also made 4 of 14 free throws for the game.

It was hardly the ending envisioned by Gray, who Thursday after the quarterfinals exchanged hugs and smiles outside the locker room with his future Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

Gray rattled in a medium-range jumper off the opening tip but was shut out the rest of the first half and turned the ball over three times. He finished with 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting. He, and many of his teammates, were in tears well after the game.

"When you're trying to get something going for your team, it just kills you that what you've been doing, it's not working," said Gray, who averaged 16.3 points and was the MVP of the tournament.

He wasn't alone in futility and frustration. Bainbridge 6-foot-9 center Coby Gibler, who averaged 12.8 in the tournament, finished with three points and six rebounds.

By the time the Spartans awakened, sometime late in the third quarter, it was too little too late. Especially against a tournament-savvy opponent like O'Dea, playing in its fourth straight state-title game.

"They definitely had a little more poise than we did at the beginning of the game," Orness said. "There's no doubt. But it's been a heck of a ride."

At the end of the game, after the Spartans accepted the second-place trophy, Orness walked over to Gray, gave him a hug and whispered "thank you" in his ear.

"It's been an absolute honor to coach him," Orness said. "We wouldn't be here without his leadership and his unselfish play."