Knights bring home fifth-place in 1A state basketball

The Royal Knights with their fifth-place trophy at the state Class 1A basketball tournament Saturday.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD

Royal guard Dax Jenks (10) passes the ball to forward Jackson Larson (21) in the Class 1A state tournament game.

Forward Jackson Larsen (21) puts up a shot against Zillah at the Class 1A state tournament.

Guard Ezra Jenks (3) splits the defense for Royal in the Knights’ state tournament game against Zillah.

Royal guard Dax Jenks (10) puts up the shot against Zillah in Saturday’s third/fifth place game at the Class 1A state tournament game.

Manny Ravalcaba, Royal guard, drives for the basket in Saturday’s Class 1A state tournament game.

Grant Wardenaar goes up for the shot against Zillah at the state Class 1A state tournament.

by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Staff Writer | March 11, 2025 2:25 AM

YAKIMA — Royal High School fell just short in overtime and brought home a fifth-place trophy from the Class 1A state boys basketball tournament after a 75-70 loss to Zillah on Saturday.

The Knights and Leopards were playing for third place in their fourth meeting this season. Royal lost in the state semifinals, 56-49 to Lynden Christian, which put them in the third/fifth-place game.

“Four times we played (Zillah) this year, and the last three times all went to overtime,” Royal coach Greg Jenks said. “That’s one little thing here, one little thing there. The same thing with Lynden Christian game. We just didn’t get it done offensively against Lynden Christian, and we did get outrebounded.”

The Royal-Zillah game was hard-fought all the way, with numerous ties and no team getting a lead of more than about seven points. Royal led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and 31-27 at the half.

The Leopards hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to tie the game at 50 at the end of the third quarter. Zillah found the range on a couple of shots and took a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Royal came back to tie with 6:29 left in regulation. Zillah again took the lead, but Royal came back to tie with seven seconds left. The game was tied at 64 going into overtime

Zillah outscored Royal 11-6 in the overtime period to take the win.

Jenks said they were tough losses but that Royal basketball made a lot of progress over the season. The Knights qualified for the state tournament in 2024 but were defeated in their only game at the Sundome.

“The season, to me, was more than just the state tournament,” Jenks said. “We played some really good basketball, we got better as the year went along, and hopefully the boys learned some valuable lessons about life.”

It was Royal’s eighth appearance at the state tournament and the highest finish since the Knights placed fourth in 2018. Royal will graduate five varsity players but seven will return, including six players who will be juniors.

Jenks said he’s optimistic about next season.

“We expect to be right back there,” he said. “Our (incoming juniors) can play basketball and they really enjoy it. They’re going to be playing in the offseason without a coach telling them to.”