2A state finals: North Kitsap takes on No. 7 Clarkston with a championship on the line

WHO: No. 3 North Kitsap (22-4, 11-1 Olympic League) vs. No. 7 Clarkston (20-5, 11-1 Great Northern League).

WHAT: 2A state championship game

WHERE: Yakima SunDome, Yakima, 3 p.m.

BROADCAST: NFHS (nfhsnetwork.com), Eli (elisportsnetwork.com).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: North Kitsap defeated No. 11 Selah, 65-52, in the first round; defeated No. 5 White River 64-43 in the quarterfinals; defeated No. 1 Lynden 62-56 in the semifinals. Clarkston received a first round bye; defeated No. 9 Black Hills 51-42 in the quarterfinals; defeated No. 4 Lindbergh 42-38 in the semifinals.

PROJECTED STARTING FIVES:

North Kitsap: Johny Olmsted, 6-3 guard, so.; Shaa Humphrey, 6-4 forward, sr.; Kobe McMillian, 6-0 guard, sr.; Jonas La Tour, 6-4 wing, so.; Logan Chmielewski, 6-3 forward, sr.

Clarkston: Tru Allen, 6-0 guard, sr.; Alex Italia, 6-2 guard, sr.; Trey Dreadfulwater, 5-10 guard, sr.; Kaeden Frazier, 6-3 forward, sr.; Max Johnson, 6-3 forward, sr.

BREAKDOWN: The Bantams ended North Kitsap’s season last year in rather unceremonious fashion. The Vikings played poorly in the early morning game and lost 50-32 to finish in sixth place. That game happened just a week after North Kitsap had beaten Clarkston 59-51 in the regional round at Puyallup High School.

In case you missed it, North Kitsap upset the No. 1 team in the tournament and two-time defending champions last night, erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Vikings seem to have learned their lesson after consecutive losses in the district championship and regional game, but the challenge remains — after knocking off the top seed, they can’t get complacent.

The Vikings have owned the fourth quarter in their three state tournament games. They are a combined 29-for-36 from the floor (80 percent), which starkly contrasts with their first half numbers — 22-for-67 in three games (32.8 percent). A faster offensive start should be a part of the game plan.

Clarkston beat a very good Lindbergh team on Friday night, the very same team that beat North Kitsap in the 2A West Central District III championship game. Allen is a top-flight point guard and he showed it last night, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds; and the Bantams always have several capable athletes who can play at both ends of the floor. Dreadfulwater added 13 points in Clarkston’s victory over Lindbergh and 6-foot-8 Wyatt Chatfield came off the bench to pick up 11 rebounds.