Willapa Valley finished the season with a sixth-place state trophy as the Vikings lost to Tulalip Heritage 64-46 in the 1B State Tournament fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.

“I’m really proud of our team. It’s not easy to place at the State Tournament and our kids earned it,” Valley head coach Derek Rask said.

The third-seeded Vikings (23-4 overall) – which defeated the No. 6 Hawks (23-5) 59-51 in the second round of the state tourney on Feb. 28 – trailed 20-15 at the end of the first quarter as Heritage shooters went 5 for 5 from the 3-point line.

In the second frame, Valley trailed by as much as eight points at 27-19 after a three by Tulalip’s Davis Bachand with 3:24 to play in the first half.

Valley rallied behind two straight threes from senior guard Nathan Fluke to pull to within a bucket at 27-25 with just under three minutes left in the second quarter.

After a Tulalip free throw, Willapa Valley crashed the boards to grab two offensive rebounds, which led to a pair of made free throws from guard Brody Ritzman to trim the deficit to 28-27 with 52.8 seconds on the clock.

PHOTO BY TIA CHANNELL Willapa Valley’s Brody Ritzman (1) glides to the hoop during a 64-46 loss to Tulalip Heritage in the 1B State Tournament fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.

But whenever the Vikings got close, the Hawks answered.

Heritage guard Jaylan Gray drove the lane and hit a layup with just over half a minute left followed by two Willapa Valley turnovers, the latter leading to a layup by Tulalip’s Davien Parks with one second left to put the Vikings in a 32-27 hole at halftime.

The Tulalip Heritage lead would widen by a large margin in the third quarter.

The Hawks opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 43-29 lead as Valley struggled against Tulalip’s ball-pressure defense – particularly with trailing defenders creating havoc – and its long-outlet transition offense.

A layup by Valley’s Blane King off an assist into the interior by guard Lucas Lusk snapped the run and made it a 43-31 game with 1:30 to play in the frame.

But Tulalip forward Xerses Myles-Gilford scored seven points to close out the quarter and put the Hawks up 50-33 entering the fourth period.

Valley would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way, trailing by as much as 21 in the final frame as Rask emptied his bench to play his reserves down 64-45 with 2:30 to play.

King finished with a team-high 12 points with Fluke adding 11 points in his final game as a Viking.

PHOTO BY TIA CHANNELL Willapa Valley guard Nathan Fluke (2) drives to the basket during a 64-46 loss to Tulalip Heritage in the 1B State Tournament fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.

Valley shot 41% on 17-of-41 shooting, including 3 of 12 from the 3-point line (25%) and 9 of 11 from the charity stripe (82%).

By contrast, the Hawks shot 60% from the floor on 26-of-43 shooting and went 8 for 18 from beyond the arc (44%).

“Tulalip opened the first quarter 5-5 from three, and they continued to shoot the ball well throughout the entire game. I thought our half-court defense was solid, but Tulalip’s perimeter shooting was just too much for us to overcome.”

Valley outrebouned Tulalip 28-17 and had 15 turnovers to 10 for the Hawks.

With the loss, Valley finishes sixth in the state, with much of its team set to return for next season as the Vikings lose seniors Fluke and Aiden Sliva to graduation.

“We had a great season and I’m grateful to have been a part of it,” Rask said.

PHOTO BY TIA CHANNELL The Willapa Valley Vikings placed sixth overall in the 1B State Tournament after a 64-46 loss to Tulalip Heritage in the state’s fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.

Tulalip Heritage 20 12 18 14 – 64

Willapa Valley 15 12 6 13 – 46

Scoring: Tulalip Heritage – Myles-Gilford 17, Gray 17, Parks 11, Bachand 10, Black Tomahawk 6, Hatch 3. Willapa Valley – King 12, Fluke 11, Aust 8, Lusk 6, Russell 4, Ritzman 2, Swarz 2, Jarvis 1.

PHOTO BY TIA CHANNELL Willapa Valley’s Lucas Lusk (middle) puts up a shot against Tulalip Heritage’s David Bachand (12) and Jaylan Gray (3) during a 64-46 loss in the 1B State Tournament fourth/sixth-place game on Saturday at the Spokane Arena.