By Eli Thomas
The Chronicle
McMINNVILLE – Two red-hot teams faced off in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Thursday at Linfield University. Either Thurston or Summit had to prevail, but the spectators might have ended up the real winners, given the spectacular game.
With just over a minute left in the contest, the Colts had Storm junior Owen Hill in a perfect trap. As he was being hounded by two defenders, he threw an errant pass right into the hands of Brody Corgain, who took a couple of dribbles and finished a reverse layup to cut the Storm lead to only three at 65-62.
Corgain made three of the final four field goals during the Colts’ 14-4 run, which took the game from 61-48 at 4:01 in the fourth to 65-62 at 1:07.
“We haven’t folded all year. That’s not what we’re made of,” said Colts coach Blaine Liberatore. “That’s not what wearing Thurston across your chest means. You don’t fold. You’re tough. You battle. You fight.”
The Colts faithful were roaring at this point, chanting even through the entirety of a Storm timeout.
“We’ve had great support all throughout the year from our student section and parents. It’s part of being at Thurston. It’s a really tight-knit community, and they show out for big games,” Liberatore said.
The Colts chose to foul rather than play out their next defensive possession, and Storm senior Foster Kettering put the finishing touches on his masterpiece by hitting both free throws. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and three blocks.
The Colts had multiple chances to score in the final minute. Lucas LaBounty was called for a travel on a stepback 3-pointer he made, while Treyson Hill was a little too long on an open 3-point attempt from the right wing. LaBounty banked in a 3 with 4.2 seconds left to cut the deficit to 68-65, but it was too late.
The Colts controlled the first half and led 34-29 at halftime, but the Storm came out of the locker room with a lightning quick 12-2 run to take a five-point lead, their biggest of the game to that point. They continued to stifle the Colts offense throughout the quarter, outscoring them 18-6.
As it has all season, the Colts defense was what carried them. They came in with the fewest points allowed in Class 5A with 1,117, only 44.7 per game. When they found themselves in a hole in the fourth, their full-court press worked its magic. From 2:30 in the fourth to 1:07, they stole the ball in the Storm backcourt four times, and converted those into six easy points.
“We don’t want to have to do that. We’d like to defend well enough in the first three quarters that we don’t have to. But it’s nice to know we can when we need to,” Liberatore said. “It’s tough to come back. It’s just a big hill to climb. And the kids almost got to the top.”
The Storm have reached four consecutive state championship games, including one at the 6A level, so they were always going to be a tough out. Thurston’s highest possible finish now is 4th, which is still a considerable achievement. It needs to win its next two games, starting with Midwestern League foe Crater on Thursday at 9 a.m.
