If basketball gods exist, look no further than the final game of the Class 2B District 4 tournament.
Because of course Toledo’s Cooper Fallon, the C2BL Co-MVP who was struggling all Saturday night, would keep the title game alive.
Of course Conner Hill, the sharp-shooting sophomore that’s been the sparkplug off the bench, would drain the biggest 3-pointer of the season.
Of course on the Riverhawks final possession up three, Eli Weeks threw a football-style over the shoulder heave to his main connection, Adam Kruger.
And of course, as soon as the final buzzer sounded, the net was cut down and photos aplenty were taken, no one wanted to leave W.F. West High School.
“That’s what you want out of a district championship,” Riverhawks head coach Grady Fallon said.
You can say that again.
For the second straight district tournament, Toledo needed every ounce of energy and some fortuitous bounces to triumph over Napavine 60-55 in overtime to repeat as the district champions. It marks the first repeat winner since Kalama in 2021-22.
Of teams still in the league, the latest to go back-to-back was Morton-White Pass 2014-15.
“I’m glad we’re talking about a win,” Kruger said. “We’ve been in this situation. At the end (of the day), I think defense won it.”
Grady Fallon, who bleeds Toledo red as an alum, raised both arms in the air and hugged his assistants. Tears welled up in his eyes, his smile went from ear-to-ear and when he cut the final strip of the net, he let out a deep sigh.
Down years and uncertainty about if brighter years were ahead loomed over his noggin. He stood in the corner of the W.F. West locker room, collecting his thoughts about what just transpired.
“The league was really good and we were knocking on the door and when you’re not winning, you have some upset people,” he said. “All the Toledo faithful, the old timers and guys that I’ve coached or played open gyms with, it is pretty overwhelming. It’s really cool.”
There were four ties and five lead changes, majority in the second half. The third meeting between the two C2BL rivals resembled a heavyweight boxing match.
Punch and counter-punch. For 36 minutes. Each side went on their own respective runs to try and break away.
For the Riverhawks (19-3), it was a 7-0 spree capped by a Weeks three-point play to lead by four. The Tigers cooked up six straight to lead 45-41 in the fourth.
“You have to do something, so it was really easy to get into the high post,” Weeks said.
The final minute of regulation was, as the kids say, cinema.
Eric Bullock, the Tigers star sophomore that was en fuego in the semifinals, nailed his first 3-point field goal from the corner to put them up 51-46. Coach Fallon and Napavine head coach Kayden Kelly shared similar sentiments.
It felt like the final dagger.
“Absolutely it did,” Kelly stated.
“Oh 100 percent,” Coach Fallon added. “Done deal.”
Oh but of course it wasn’t going to end like that. Trevin Gale responded with a triple of his own and on the Napavine (19-5) inbounds, Toledo stole the ball and immediately called a timeout with 24 ticks left.
Kelly had a timeout in his back pocket prior to the turnover. He didn’t use it.
“We were set up, just a little miscommunication,” Kelly said.
Napavine proceeded to get its own turnover, but the layup clanked off the rim. Kruger’s circus shot didn’t go in, then the ball took several bounces and bodies sprawled all over the court, only for Cooper Fallon to put up the game-tying layup with seven seconds to go and Cal Bullock’s heave from halfcourt was just off.
Because of course, Toledo couldn’t claim the crown in regulation.
“So fun to coach and be a part of and they showed up tonight,” Coach Fallon said. “They did a good job switching man to zone, so we drew up plays for both. I can’t wait to watch it back, it is such a blur.”
Cooper Fallon, held to four points in the first half after getting called for two quick fouls, put the Riverhawks in front for good with a putback in OT and Hill’s triple made it a five-point game. Tyce Vigre made it a three-point game with a basket.
Then Weeks and Kruger, like they did so many times on the gridiron, connected on potentially one final pass and Kruger sank both free throws to send the Riverhawks into euphoria.
The crazy part? Coach Fallon asked Kruger if he needed to be subbed out.
“I said ‘Hell no, not in the district championship,’” Kruger told his coach. “It literally felt like football.”
“I was trying to get him a quick breather,” Coach Fallon added.
For Napavine, the feeling afterwards was as its first-year head coach said bluntly “F****** sucks.” It went through a four-game journey featuring a different way to play and win en route to the finals.
It came up just short.
“Don’t hang their head, they worked their asses off,” Kelly said. “That is all you can ask for.”
The start of the game for the Riverhawks was on their terms with an 8-1 lead. They saw the 2-3 zone on the first possession and attacked it with crisp passing in and around Napavine’s length. At one point, they led by seven.
When they analyzed the two regular season meetings, the opening few minutes went a long ways to determining a winner.
“We got to come out (strong),” Weeks said. “Whoever comes out harder in the first quarter, it sets the tone for the rest of the game.”
An 11-0 outburst by the Tigers resulted in the first flip of momentum. After sophomore Layton Griffith scored 10 of their 11 first quarter points, the rest of the lineup found their shots. Griffith still led with 17 and eight rebounds, but Tyce Vigre added 15 and Cal Bullock chipped in 12.
Getting out-rebounded by 21 was the only separator between the two.
“It makes it difficult on yourself,” Kelly said. “We thought that if we cleaned up the offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities, it would have gone better.”
Weeks paced Toledo with a game-high 21 points and Adam Kruger registered 11. The duo each had a double-double with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively. Cooper Fallon led with 13 boards. Weeks had the ball in his hands routinely in the third, scoring nine points.
For a team that prides itself on being unselfish on who scores, Saturday was a prime example.
“It helps when you have seniors coming back that have played in a district championship,” Weeks said.
Now, the conversations turn to seeding. Both the Riverhawks and Tigers feel their body of work is worthy of top-eight seed considerations. Will District 4 see those two plus Adna in that elusive eight?
Time will tell.
“I think Adna is a top-five team and Toledo is right up there as a top-five team and we beat both of them,” Kelly said. “We can hang with anybody and we believe that.”
Coach Fallon feels this group, another year older and wiser, is ready to get to Spokane Arena again and not lay an egg like they did in 2025.
“We are in the conversation,” he said. “Play well at the right time, hopefully they are not star-struck. They are focused on getting it done.”
