Thunderbirds Hold On Late for Win to Open Hardwood Invite

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Tumwater opened its run at one of the premier winter tournaments in the state with a non-league win Saturday, gritting out a 62-59 win over 1A Kings at the Hardwood Invite at Garfield High School in Seattle.

Andrew Collins led the T-Birds with 15 points, and Luke Brewer added 13. The two combined to hit six huge free throws in the final minute, after the Knights — who finished second in the state at the 1A level last season — pulled to within two points late. The deficit got down to one with half a minute left, before Brewer’s final two hits from the charity stripe gave Tumwater just a tiny bit of breathing room.

Brewer came a board shy of a double-double with nine rebounds, and also logged four assists. Gunnar Harroun added 10 points, five boards, and three blocks, while Luke Reid had eight points and four assists.

All eight Thunderbirds to play made a shot to get into the scoring column.

Tumwater (5-0, 3-0) advances to the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament, and will be back at Garfield Sunday afternoon, taking on either South Medford (Ore.) or Davis.