Bremerton star Jalen Davis pulls one out of fire for Knights in OT thriller over Columbia River
Davis' buzzer-beater fuels defending 2A boys champions' 55-54 state semifinal victory in Yakima Valley SunDome
YAKIMA, Wash. — Bremerton High School star junior Jalen Davis continued to be must-see basketball in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The state’s top-ranked player in the class of 2027, whose otherworldly offensive efficiency has wowed the state crowd for two-plus tournaments, outdid himself Friday night.
With the top-seeded defending Class 2A champion Knights against the ropes in a semifinal against greatly-undervalued Columbia River, Davis – who can be unselfish almost to a fault – took over.
First, with the Knights trailing the 11th-seeded Rapids by three in the final seconds of regulation, Davis drove the baseline, scoring and drawing a foul. He sank the free throw to send the game to overtime.’
In the waning moments of the extra session, Columbia River, which had already ousted No. 3 Selah and No. 4 Pullman, again seemed poised to break what remained of the bracket.
Davis’ last-second heroics prevented it as Bremerton pulled out a dramatic 55-54 victory Friday.
The Rapids were unable to seal the game at the free-throw line, and – trailing 54-53 – Bremerton pulled down one of the Columbia River misses and called a timeout with 3.3 seconds left.
Aaron Matthews lobbed the inbound pass over a defender to Davis, who caught the ball and shifted left across midcourt, splitting a pair of Columbia River players.
He then sprinted to the basket and flipped it up right-handed over the Rapids’ Chase Fitzwilson at the buzzer, off the backboard and into the basket.
“Once my dad (Knights coach Miah Davis) drew the play, I kinda knew what it was because we practice it a lot,” Davis said. “I was about to pass it to my cousin in the corner, but I was like, ‘Nah, I’m just going to take it.’”
Davis finished with a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds to send the Knights (23-2) into Saturday’s 3 p.m. championship against second-seeded R.A. Long (27-0).
Editor’s note: This game story was originally published by content-sharing partner Stat Hound Media, founded by journalist Jerrel Swenning. Support that venture at stathoundmedia.com.
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