ROYAL CITY - The Royal High School boys basketball team learned last weekend that there is still a way to go in catching up with Granger and Zillah.

The Knights struggled to control the ball under intense defensive pressure against Granger on Thursday and Zillah on Friday. They fell 84-52 on the road and 58-38 at home.

Royal turned the ball over to Zillah 38 times and to Granger 26, and coach Pete Christensen said it seemed like a lot more to Granger. That was probably because Granger scooped up nearly every loose ball and rebounded like a team of seven-footers.

Both contests were played full speed, full court, full time. The difference in scoring, Christensen believes, was that Royal competed better defensively on Friday.

The Granger game was decided by half-time. After Royal led 7-4, Granger exploded to a 22-11 quarter lead. Then it unloaded, 31-12, in the second period to lead, 53-23, at intermission.

The Spartans slowed the game in the second half, played several reserves and worked on half-court offensive sets.

Zillah had Royal under control, 33-16, at the half, but Royal won the third period, 10-9, and competed well in the fourth.

Good news for the Knights against Granger was team shooting. They sank 47 percent of their shots, including 50 percent of their three-point attempts.

"We just never had the ball enough," Christensen said. "Granger had something to do with that."

The shooting fell off against Zillah to 34 percent overall and 23 percent on three-pointers.

"The game against Zillah was another blowout, by the score,  but it was very positive in respect to us controlling our own fate," Christensen said. "We had way too many turnovers, and we missed at least six easy layups. Switch those things around, and Zillah is having to make adjustments to us."

Even though the weekend was rough, Christensen was glad his team played the Spartans and Leopards. He said he wanted his boys to face the best competition.

"We're going to come on," he said. "We are a second half team. That's what we did last year."

Christensen played two five-man platoons. The idea was to get every player on the floor and see their strengths in action. Christensen expects to settle on 7-8 regulars in time for South Central A Conference East play.

If Christensen was looking for shooters, a few stepped forward. Kent Christensen had 16 points against Granger on 60 percent shooting. Carter Christensen made 66 percent but shot only three times. Reed Lefler made 60 percent, but he shot only five times.

Lefler and Kent Christensen grabbed eight rebounds each against Zillah. Kent got six against Granger, and Brady Dixon took down four. There were few steals, with Ricky Ramirez totaling four for the weekend.

The Knights, 1-2, will have a shot at three wins this week. They host Naches tonight and travel to Warden on Friday and Kiona-Benton on Saturday.

"We look forward to Naches," Christensen said. "Our kids are refocused and ready."