Gonzaga Prep wins with defense, 61-41 | 4A Boys

TACOMA — Curtis' cold-shooting spell snapped a little too late to prevent the boys Class 4A state championship trophy from heading to the east side of the state for the first time since 2008.

Gonzaga Prep of Spokane exploited a night of icy shooting by Curtis to defeat the Vikings and claim its first state title with a 61-41 victory Saturday night in the title at the Tacoma Dome.

The Vikings (23-6) hit 13 of 40 shots (32.5 percent) for the game, just 4 of 17 in the second half (23.5 percent) as Gonzaga Prep's high-intensity defense held Curtis without a field goal for nearly a nine-minute span in the second half.

"That's how it's been the whole year," said Gonzaga Prep's senior guard Chris Sarbaugh, the tournament most valuable player. "We just make sure that we don't let them score.

"They only scored five points in the third quarter, and that was the game."

It's a fact. Leading 29-22 at the half, the Bullpups (24-3) outscored Curtis 15-5 in the third quarter as the Vikings managed just a single field goal in the period, missing eight in a row after James Cooks hit their first attempt of the half.

"Our kids buy into our defense," Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre said. "We've got six kids out there who are as tough as nails.

"I can't believe this is happening," said McIntryre. "This isn't just a one-year performance. This has been building for a long time."

After going nearly nine minutes without a basket and falling behind 46-28, the Vikings made a move early in the fourth quarter with a 12-5 run sparked by three-pointer by Davonte Lacy.

Curtis cut the lead to 51-41 with 3:30 to play but never scored again while Gonzaga Prep put in its final 10 points.

"Down on the post with us, they were physical and we got frustrated," said Curtis coach Tim Kelly. "They really took our inside game away and we forced some shots early in the game and they got the lead on us. Our inside, it really wasn't there.

"We had to take guys out of the game (with fouls)," Kelly said.

"Credit them with a good game plan. They took our posts away and our perimeter guys were standing around. Davonte tried to carry the load and forced some things probably. They were just better than us tonight."

Parker Kelly led the Bullpups with 24 points. Sarbaugh had 17 and 10 rebounds. Lacy led Curtis with 24 points.

CURTIS — Dominuque Jordan 1-2 0-0 2, Vinnie Gallo 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Howell 0-0 0-0 0, Julian Vaughn 2-4 0-2 4, Sam Siler 0-1 0-0 0, Nate Cotrill 0-0 0-0 0, Darius JohnsonWilson 0-2 1-2 1, Pastricks Cooks 2-4 4-4 8, Davonte Lacy 7-19 9-11 24, Riley Brittain 0-0 0-0 0, Darrielle Dixon 0-2 0-0 0, James Cooks 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 13-40 14-19 41.

GONZAGA PREP — Parker Kelly 10-16 2-3 24, TJ Bracey 1-2 2-2 4, Shane Schmidlkofer 0-2 0-0 0, Stephan Ferraro 4-11 2-2 12, Chris Sarbaugh 5-10 7-8 17, Ryan Gregory 2-4 0-0 4, Max Gruber 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 13-15 61.

Three-point shooting — Curtis 1-5 (Siler 0-1, Lacey 1-3, Cooks 0-1); Gonzaga Prep 4-10 (Kelly 2-4, Ferraro 2-5, Sarbaugh 0-1). Rebounds — Curtis 26 (JohnsonWilson 7); Gonzaga Prep 31 (Sarbaugh 10). Assists — Curtis 3 (JohnsonWilson 1, Lacy 1, Dixon 1); Gonzaga Prep 13 (Sarbaugh 6). Steals — Curtis 5 (Lacy 2); Gonzaga Prep 7 (Gregory 2). Blocked shots — Curtis 4 (Lacy 2); Gonzaga Prep 2 (Bracey 1, Ferrero 1).