As the defending 4A state high-jump champion, and one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the nation, it’s no secret — Skyline junior Kasen Williams can leap with the best of them.
The spring-loaded legs of the 6-foot-3 forward certainly don’t go unnoticed by Spartan head coach J. Jay Davis, who asks the player he affectionately refers to as “freak,” to crash the boards on every single shot.
“Coach always tells me, ‘Expect everything (to be) a miss,'” Williams said.
The philosophy worked to perfection Monday afternoon when Williams slammed home a miss in the final seconds of regulation, leading Skyline to an eventual 48-40 overtime victory over KingCo rival Garfield.
Down 37-35, with 8 seconds left the fourth quarter, Spartan center Cory Hutsen drove into the lane amongst a swarm of Bulldog defenders. His shot skidded off the rim, right into the hands of Williams, who emphatically slammed it down with his right hand. The play sent the hundreds watching the King Holiday Hoopfest at the University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena into an uproar.
“I saw my big man, Cory, go up for the layup and I saw that he was a little bit off-balance, so I just took that opportunity in case he was going to miss it,” Williams said.
After a timeout, Garfield had 6 seconds to push the ball the distance of the court, but a long three-point heave from Des’ Juan Newton barely drew iron.
From there, it was all Skyline.
The Spartans won the overtime tip and capitalized right away on a drive and layup from Connor Gacek. Michael Ford followed with his third steal of the game, cruising in for a quick two points, and a 41-37 lead.
Skyline never looked back.
The Spartans knocked down five of nine free throws down the stretch. Garfield went 0-for-5 from the field in the OT, missing all of its shots from behind the three-point line.
The first three quarters of Monday’s matinee game were a mystery. Both squads struggled from the floor. Skyline was just six of 34 from the field headed into the fourth quarter, and trailed 26-20. Garfield had its own problems hitting just nine of 30 attempts through the first three quarters. The score was tied 7-7 after the first quarter and was 17-15 Garfield at the half.
“It took us three and a half quarters to wake up and figure it out,” Davis said.
The important thing for the third-year Spartan coach is that his team, which is alone atop the KingCo 4A at 6-1 in league and 11-1 overall, has figured it out when it counts during recent close battles.
“We’ve struggled the last three games,” Davis said. “The simple fact is in the end we’ve said ‘OK, this is ours, lets take this.'”
Williams led the Spartans with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Hutsen had 11 points and seven rebounds. Garfield was led by the 10 points and eight rebounds of Daeshon Hall.
Skyline hosts Ballard (3-5, 4-8) at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday and travels to Garfield (5-2, 8-4) for a rematch at 8 p.m., Friday.
