Granger Boys Have the Answers

YAKIMA, Wash. — Winning a close game essentially comes down to a series of answers.

When the other team makes a move, hits a big shot, takes the lead, whatever — you have to answer. Again and again.

Here, then, were the Granger boys’ answers on Friday, the ones that carried the Spartans to their 59-54 victory over Freeman and earned them a noon date with Bellevue Christian in today’s Class 1A fourth-place trophy game.

Granger's Brandon Oswalt shoots while defended by Freeman's Peter Neinen during the 1A state basketball tournament at the Yakima SunDome, on Friday, March, 5 2010. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

The first answer came overnight, in the 20 hours since the Spartans had suffered their first loss of the year, a 68-61 quarterfinal loss to King’s. How would they respond to that?

“It was tough,” junior Mitchell Zapien said. “We were sad about losing, but that just made us want to get out and play again. You don’t want it to be something you can’t get over.”

Added Brandon Oswalt, another junior guard, “We used the disappointment of the loss to get us going today.”

That answer — an emotional quick start — got the Spartans off to a 10-0 lead, with Andrew Reddout scoring six points on a pair of assists from Zapien and one from Oswalt. But the Scotties answered with 10 quick points of its own, four of them by Taylor Vold, who would finish with a Freeman-high 18 points.

The Spartans’ answer: a 3-pointer by Zapien, ending the run and putting Granger back on top.

Oswalt and Matt James came up big in the second quarter, combining for 11 of the team’s 16 points in the quarter. Zapien’s primary contribution to the offense was his passing, with four first-half assists.

“I told him, today you have to give the ball up early,” Granger coach Miguel Bazaldua said. “If you do that, you’ll get it back later, and good things will happen.

“A lot of times the other guys think Mitchell’s the show. He’s part of the show — OK, he’s the main attraction — but the other stuff leading up to that is pretty good, too. Those other guys stepped up big today, and that forced Freeman to play them even up. And when you have to play those other guys even, my money’s on Mitchell.”

The Scotties, though, wouldn’t go away. Midway through the third period, a Vold 3-pointer put Freeman in front 34-33.

The Spartans’ answer: A 3-pointer by Zapien, followed 27 seconds later by an Oswalt 3-pointer that kicked off a 9-0 Granger run.

The Scotties’ answer: Back-to-back baskets to pull within six after three quarters.

The Spartans’ answer: It was time for Zapien to go to work, and Bazaldua knew it.

“I can tell when he wants me to do my thing,” Zapien said. “He’ll give me a little look or a sign. My coach just knows.”

So Zapien opened the fourth quarter with a play that pretty much defied belief and defensive effort. Starting on the left side of the key, he swung around to the right, cut to the left through two defenders, then back to the right around a third and then knifed back between the last two and elevated to bank in what, if you hadn’t just seen him weave through the entire Freeman lineup, would have looked like a simple layup.

The Spartans went on to open up a 51-41 lead when 5-4 guard Brandon Castro somehow found room to squeeze past two defenders and dart down the baseline for a layup.

“I don’t know how he fits through some of the places he gets himself in,” Oswalt said, shaking his head.

“That was awesome,” Bazaldua said. “He hesitated just enough to make (the defenders) come out of their stance, and then he just blew by them.”

Again, though, the Scotties had an answer. Sophomore sharpshooter Cody Unfred buried a pair of long 3-pointers, the second of them pulling Freeman within 56-52 with 1:36 remaining.

The Spartans’ answer: the uncanny offensive skills of Zapien once again, followed by the defensive acumen of Oswalt. After Zapien worked inside for an 8-foot banker, Oswalt followed with the last of his seven steals. It didn’t lead to a score, but it helped milk some clock, and the Spartans had their victory.

“(Oswalt) is a great defender,” Zapien, who finished with 21 points, six assist, five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. “He’s probably our best defender for sure — he’s got those long arms.”

And the Spartans had all the answers.