YAKIMA — The Clarkston boys’ basketball team fought until the bitter end during Saturday’s Washington Class 2A state championship game against third-seeded North Kitsap. But as senior Alex Italia’s last-second 3-point attempt came careening off the iron as time expired, the seventh-seeded Bantams fell 56-53 in heartbreaking fashion at the Yakima SunDome.

Senior point guard and first-team all-tournament selection Tru Allen finished with a game-high 26 points, adding five rebounds and two steals. He went 9-of-12 at the free-throw line. Senior Trey Dreadfulwater recorded nine points, and Italia finished with eight points and seven boards.

The Vikings (24-4) were led by sophomore Jonas La Tour, who had 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

North Kitsap seniors Kobe McMillian and Shaa Humphrey had 17 points and 11 points, respectively.

“Our goal this year was to stay together and go hard,” Humphrey said. “Bring home that gold trophy.”

The title is the first boys’ basketball state championship for any school in Kitsap County in 37 years.

“It’s so nice to bring one home to the community,” McMillian said. “Hard work pays off, and it feels so good.”

After grinding out a 51-42 victory against Black Hills in the quarterfinal round Thursday, then beating Lindbergh 42-38 in Friday’s semifinal round, the Bantams were looking for one final show of resilience and a third state title in six years.

“We went on a scoring drought and had some bad turnovers late,” Clarkston coach Justin Jones said. “And when you are playing in the state final, that costs you, and it did cost us.”

Allen, as he had done throughout the past week, almost willed his team to the promised land after senior Gus Hagestad was lost for the season with a knee injury in a 53-49 win Feb. 29 in a regional game against Toppenish.

“I was trying to lead them all the way, (but) we fell short,” Allen said. “But that’s nothing to hang your head (about).”

To begin the game, North Kitsap rushed to the rim for back-to-back scores, jumping out to an early 4-0 advantage. Allen responded by converting a traditional three-point play as he pushed through heavy traffic in the lane for a layup, then converted the free throw.

At the end of the first, Clarkston (20-6) found itself down 13-8.

But Allen was being contained by North Kitsap. He went just 3-of-12 from the field in the first half. However, the Bantams’ other players were stepping up.

Dreadfulwater was able to close the gap for the Bantams as they headed to the locker room, ringing up a 3-pointer from the right wing, then making a defensive stop on the other end as Clarkston shaved its deficit to 26-24 at intermission.

Allen made it a priority to attack the rim aggressively in the second half, and he was able to put the Bantams on his back.

Allen drove into the lane multiple times in the third quarter, and that enabled him to get to the free-throw line with some frequency. He went 5-of-6 at the line in the period, and he scored 12 of his points in the quarter as Clarkston took a 40-34 lead with two minutes left in the third.

A 3-pointer at the buzzer from La Tour, however, put the Vikings back within a single possession, trailing 42-41 going to the fourth.

The momentum shifted back and forth for the first few minutes of the quarter, but McMillian was fouled by Dreadfulwater attempting a 3-pointer with three minutes to go. He hit all three to put the Vikings up 51-48 with less than three minutes to play.

Humphrey skated into the paint and floated home a jumper to give North Kitsap a 56-51 cushion with 33 seconds to go.

Allen pushed the ball up the floor and muscled in a running scoop shot with 26 seconds remaining to make it 56-53.

Humphrey missed two free throws, then Allen was unable to hit a 3-pointer. However, Italia gave his team a shot after forcing a turnover by Logan Chmielewski. But Italia missed his game-tying shot as it was short off the rim.

With a team headlined by nine seniors, Jones was impressed with the work the group had put in to get to such an important moment.

“Today was a true testament to my team and players,” Jones said. “When I think of this team, I think about defense and grit, and they showed it, especially in the last few weeks.

“This team really cares about each other and the program. All of them, along with the nine seniors, etched themselves in as one of the best teams I’ve had.”

Allen was also proud of the overall effort.

“We came into the game with the same confidence we had been having,” Allen said. “It is what it is. This was a blessing to even be here.”

CLARKSTON (20-6)

Tru Allen 8 9-12 26, Alex Italia 2 2-2 8, Christian Robbins 1 1-1 3, Trey Dreadfulwater 3 1-1 9, Kaeden Frazier 2 0-0 5, Max Johnson 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Chatfield 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 13-16 53.

NORTH KITSAP (24-4)

Johny Olmsted 1 0-0 2, Shaa Humphrey 4 2-4 11, Kobe McMillian 4 7-7 17, Aiden Olmstead 0 2-2 2, Jonas La tour 8 1-2 21, Logan Chmielewski 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 13-17 56.

Clarkston 8 16 18 11—53

North Kitsap 13 13 15 15—56

3-point goals — Allen, Italia 2, Dreadfulwater 2, Frazier, Humphrey, McMillian 2, La Tour 4.