Trailing for a majority of the game, the Tumwater boys basketball team made a late push before falling just short in its Hardwood Invite finale Tuesday afternoon to 4A Camas at Garfield High School in Seattle, 65-64.
Luke Brewer was on fire for the T-Birds, totaling 37 points with seven made shots from deep in the loss. Andrew Collins was the lone other T-Bird in double figures with 12 points.
Tumwater trailed by six at the end of the third quarter, but took a one-point lead with 2.2 seconds left, hoping to steal a victory away from a 4A contender.
But with .4 seconds left on the clock, a Papermaker was fouled, and he calmly drilled both free throws to give Camas the non-league win in King County.
The Thunderbirds finished the Hardwood Invite tournament at 1-3, all against opponents from higher classifications that should compete in their respective state tournaments come March.
Tumwater will return to Thurston County after a short break to play Capital on December 29.
