ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights (11-2) were defeated 88-84 by the Zillah Leopards after a buzzer-beater three that also drew a foul. Despite the loss, head coach Tim Ravet said it was important his players experience a competitive game like this. 

“It was a good fight,” Ravet said. “It's games (like that) you got to play in that if you want to do something special at the end of the season, you got to have games like that. Obviously, we probably learned more from a loss than a win.” 

Royal’s offense pushed the pace early as both teams threw their best shots early. By the end of the first quarter, they were tied 17-17. The Knights capitalized on Zillah’s errors in the second to take the lead 40-36 heading into halftime. Over the course of the second half, Zillah took the lead but the Knights battled back by the end of the fourth quarter to tie it 84-84. However, a last-second shot by Zillah secured the win for the Leopards.  

“Even though it hurts and it's hard to swallow, but it's in the valleys you grow, and we're in the Royal City valley right now and we got to grow up a little bit more.”  

A ruckus crowd packed Royal’s gymnasium Friday as they took on their rival. The Knights took a 9-0 lead to start the first quarter before Zillah bounced back and cut the deficit to 13-12. The teams traded buckets until they were tied 17-17 at the end of the first quarter.  

The early stages of the second quarter saw a lot of back and forth; both teams traded the lead before the Knights' passing started to lead to more scores. Grant Wardenaar also hit multiple contested shots from midrange and the three-point line. By halftime, Royal built a 40-36 lead.  

“We had some really good (shot opportunities) in the first half that weren't going down after the first five or six possessions early in the game, we got off to that good lead, and then we kind of went cold a little bit and got away from doing what we talked about doing, which was try to get the ball to the rim and take higher percentage shots,” Ravet said.  

While Royal remained competitive in the third quarter, Zillah managed to outscore them for the first time 24-16 to take a 60-56 lead over the Knights. A highlight from that period was freshman Graham Palmer who hit multiple shots that provided a jolt of momentum for Royal. Ravet called him a gamer who doesn’t shy away from big moments.  

“The more reps he gets, the more time he gets on the floor with the players, the more comfortable they get with moving the ball his way and comfortable with him taking shots,” Ravet said.  

The Knights began to rediscover their rhythm in the fourth quarter on both ends of the court. Major Andra blocked a shot, which helped them string together stops on defense to keep it close. After a three-pointer and a midrange by Wardenaar, the score was narrowed to 67-65. Zillah went on another scoring run, extending their lead to 75-68.  

However, Palmer, Wardenaar and Manny Ruvalcaba responded late in the fourth. They strung together stops on defense with buckets on the other end, including a three-pointer by Ruvalcaba to tie the game 84-84 with 19 seconds left in the game.  

Zillah took possession of the ball and ran the clock down to four seconds before calling another timeout. From there, they passed the ball back in, but it was tipped to Andra, who tossed the ball to Dax Jenks. However, it was intercepted by a Zillah player who threw up a shot from three and drilled it at the buzzer; he also drew a foul to make the final score 88-84.  

The Knights hit the road to play Chelan on Saturday; results were not available at the time of press. Though Ravet sees the game as an opportunity to rebound from the loss.  

“It's an opportunity to flush this, go up there and hopefully start with the same (intensity) but a little bit more fired up,” he said.  

After another road game against Connell on Jan. 23 at 7:15 p.m., their next home game is Jan. 24 against Wapato at 5:15 p.m. 

BOX SCORE:  

ZLLA: 17-19-24-28: 88 

ROYL: 17-23-16-28: 84 

    Royal Head Coach Tim Ravet, seated, talks with his players during a timeout against Zillah Friday. Ravet said he hopes the Knights use their loss as a learning opportunity.
  

    The Knights’ Manny Ruvalcaba (0) brings the ball across halfcourt against Zillah Friday. Ruvalcaba was efficient on offense for the Knights, contributing over 20 points.
  

    Grant Wardenaar (24) dribbles around a Zillah defender during their game Friday.