Quarterfinals

Franklin 55, Pasco 52

The top-ranked Quakers survived their second sluggish start in as many days, rallying from five points down in the fourth quarter to earn a spot in today's semifinals.

The victory was the 18th in a row for Franklin (23-2).

Senior guard Aaron Brooks scored seven of Franklin's final nine points and hit all four of his free throws in the final 27 seconds. He finished with a team-high 22 points, drawing chants of "NBA! NBA!" and "All-American!" from the Franklin student section.

Pasco (21-6) had one shot to tie, but Roby Clyde's three-pointer at the buzzer rattled in and out.

The score was altered by a point in Franklin's favor midway through the fourth quarter, when a tip-in by Kellen Williams off a three-point miss by Brooks was ruled a three-point basket.

Pasco point guard Kris Groce, the Big Nine Most Valuable Player, scored 28 points, 17 in the fourth quarter. Clyde had 10 rebounds.

Franklin guard Ricky Washington finished with 18 points and was 4 of 6 from three-point range.

Kentwood 56, Central Valley 46

The Conquerors won a foul-plagued game by limiting the Spokane team to only 12 field goals and 28-percent shooting.

"I think we disrupted them," said Kentwood Coach Dean Montzingo, who readily conceded that the game "wasn't pretty."

The Conquerors (25-2), who advanced to the semifinals for the first time in three state-tournament appearances, play Franklin tonight at 7.

The Conquerors are attempting to become the first 4A school to win both the big-school football and boys basketball titles in the same school year. Class 3A Centralia accomplished the feat in 1980-81.

Kentwood made 11 steals and shot 50 percent (22 for 44) but missed all 11 three-point attempts.

Junior guard Rodney Stuckey, who said he has been bothered by a knee he will have examined after the season, led the winners with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kentwood led only 6-5 after one quarter and 19-15 at halftime.

Derek Barnes led CV (20-7) with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Mead 68, Lincoln 60

Justin Dobson, a senior forward who averages 7.4 points per game, scored a career-high 26 on perfect 11-for-11 shooting accuracy and standout Adam Morrison scored 30 as the Panthers from Spokane ended Lincoln's championship reign in the state.

The Tacoma school had won the past two Class 4A titles and had an 11-game winning streak in state games.

"Some games just come to you," said Dobson.

Morrison, the all-time leading scorer in the Greater Spokane League, called the triumph "pure basketball communism — everyone does their part for the betterment of the team."

Gonzaga-bound Morrison called the triumph the biggest in his career for second-ranked Mead (27-0).

Mead dominated early but wound up having to hold off the Abes (18-11), who closed to four points late in the game. Ben Shelton led Lincoln with 18 points.

Lincoln started slowly and trailed 16-4 after one period before outscoring the Panthers 23-19 in the second quarter to trail 35-27 at halftime.

Mead led 62-52 with 1:15 left when Lincoln's Amos Saffold hit 1 of 2 free throws and Shelton nailed a three-point banker for the Abes to cut the lead to 62-56 with 1:09 left.

Matt Jorgensen missed the front end of a one-and-one for Mead and Clarence Demery scored with 59 seconds left for Lincoln to cut the gap to 62-58.

Williams hit two free throws for Mead but Saffold answered with a layup with 43 seconds to go to make it 64-60.

Morrison hit a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left for a 66-60 lead and hit two more in the final 30 seconds.

Lincoln Coach Tim Kelly called Mead "a great team with a great player."

As for his back-to-back state titles, Kelly said, "It was a heck of a run."