PUYALLUP — Neah Bay High School is headed to the State Class B basketball tournament for a third consecutive year, closing out Tri-District playoffs with a win and third-place finish by beating Tacoma Baptist 54-51 Saturday.
Henry Cross led the way for the Red Devils, scoring 26 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
“He just took it hard to the basket. He used his ability to maneuver inside,”‘ Neah Bay coach Gordon Smith said of Cross.
Cross also hit 3 of 4 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
Neah Bay’s Collin Johnson clenched the win for the Red Devils, scoring his only two points from the free-throw line with 10 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach.
Tim Greene added nine points while Brad Reamer dropped in six.
Darryl Svec scored eight points and collected eight rebounds.
One and only loss
Neah Bay (21-1) had gone all year without a loss until Feb. 17 when the Red Devils were defeated by Mount Vernon Christian 65-50 in the opening game of the Tri-District playoffs.
“I think we ended up going the tougher route because we ended up playing three tough teams,” Smith said of his team’s journey to state.
“I think it prepared us a lot better.”
The state tourney gets under way Wednesday in Spokane, where 16 teams are vying for the state championship.
