Led by Curt Cleveringa’s 26 points the Leopards defeated Blaine 66-56 in the Class "A" semifinals. The Leopards trailed at halftime 28-27. Wearing down Blaine with its relentless pressure defense, the Leopards erased a five- point deficit in the third quarter. The marquee match-up seemed to be how well Zillah could handle the tallest player in the tournament, Blaine’s 6’9 Rich Taylor. The Leopards concentrated elsewhere. While Taylor rolled up big numbers with 30 points and 17 rebounds, Zillah worked on the Blaine guards. Brian Reed held Blaine’s second leading scorer (Matt Dohner) to six points in the first three quarters, and Tyler Widner didn’t allow No. 3 scorer Adrian Newell a single field goal. Tyler Widner scored 17 points and Brian Reed added 13. Josh Busey also had 10 for the Leopards.

The Leopards rallied in the second half to down Connell for a 77-67 victory and a third straight district title. Shooting poorly and 16 points behind Connell at halftime, the Leopards cranked up in the third quarter and then unleashed a 34-point final period to run away from the Eagles. The Leopards charged ahead for good with a 12-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The Leopards hit their first eight field goals and finished the period 12 of 14 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free throw line. All this after managing to connect on just 9 of 35 shots in the first half. When Zillah hit its eighth consecutive shot in the final quarter, it marked an 18-point swing in just five minutes. Brian Reed led the Leopards with 21 points. Tyler Widner finished with 16 points and Josh Busey chipped in 14. Ben Delp grabbed 13 rebounds for the Leopards.

Not until the final seconds did Zillah wrap up the school’s fourth straight Valley "A" District Boys Basketball title as the Leopards defeated East Valley 54-49. Hitting 6 of 8 free throws in the final 24 seconds, Zillah overcame the shock of losing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Zillah led by 16 in the second quarter, but East Valley’s 11-2 run made a game of it again in the third quarter. The Leopards pushed away again, opening a 48-34 margin with 5:04 left in the game. East Valley then dazed Zillah with a 15-0 burst that gave the Red Devils a 49-48 lead with 29 seconds left. Eric Nelson’s free throw tied it up for Zillah, and though he missed his second attempt, Craig Pentecost grabbed the rebound. Pentecost was fouled and made both free throws to go up 51-49 with 21 seconds to go. Eric Nelson scored 15 points and Craig Pentecost added 14 points. Justin Jorgensen also had 10 for the winners.

Rallying from a 10 point second-half deficit, the Leopards roared by Connell for a 53-50 victory and the school’s fifth straight district championship. Zillah trailed 34-24 a minute into the second half, but the Leopards used an inspired defensive effort to trigger an 11-1 run. During one stretch in the second half that lasted nearly nine minutes, Connell was held to four field goals and a total of nine points. Going repeatedly to the inside strength of Curt Pentecost and Erick Delp, the Leopards built a 48-43 lead with three minutes remaining. Eric Nelson led the Leopards with 14 points. Curt Pentecost scored 12 and Erick Delp added 10 points.

It boiled down to free throws with no time on the clock as the Zillah Leopards held off the Okanogan Bulldogs 47-46 in a Class "A" State Quarterfinal game. Zillah controlled the game for 29 minutes until Erick Delp fouled out, leaving Okanogan’s 6’8 Mikel Ward free in the middle. From the time Delp fouled out till the end of the game, the bulldogs went on a 13-7 run. After milking the clock, Curt Pentecost casually drove the lane for a lay-up and the lead. The bulldogs took the ball out of bounds with two seconds left and threw it to half-court where Okanogan’s Jordan Lesamiz was fouled. He made the first and rattled the second one off the rim as the Leopards held on for an exciting victory. Ryan Simmons played perhaps his best all- around game as a Leopard scoring 18 points and having a great floor game. Wes Hinson added 13 points for the Leopards,

The Leopards went to Highland and battled for a victory to earn a Valley "A" West League Title. The Leopards dominated the inside game with the tandem of Erick Delp and Curt Pentecost, out-rebounding Highland 38-27 and leading the game from start to finish. Zillah’s two big runs came at the beginning of each half. They jumped to a 9-2 lead at the outset, hitting their first four shots, and then outscored Highland 11-2 to open the second half. Wes Hinson led a balanced Zillah attack with 14 points, and Erick Delp added 12 points along with 9 rebounds. Curt Pentecost pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Leading from start to finish and icing the game with some steel-nerved foul shooting Zillah routed its way into the State "A" Boys Championship with a 55-43 victory over Lakeside. Curt Pentecost, Zillah’s reliable 6’6 junior post, scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter, and the Leopards were on their way. Lakeside managed to stay close at the halftime break, trailing only 26-23, but an 0-7 start to the third quarter buried the Eagles. In the fourth quarter, Zillah used its spread offense and ate up considerable clock with it. The Leopards sank 13 of 17 free throws in the final period to shut the door on any Lakeside rally. Wes Hinson scored 14 points and Ryan Simmons added 10 for the Leopards.

Zillah won the Valley "A" District Boys Basketball Championship with a 55-52 victory over Goldendale. This was the Leopards sixth district title in a row! Fabian Bass had four of Zillah’s five 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 16 points, then sank a lay-up to put the Leopards up by three with just seconds left. Marshall Hunter of Goldendale fired a 3-pointer at the buzzer but the shot banged out. The Leopards improved to 20-2 despite hitting just 5 of 17 free throws in the second half. Zillah’s Curt Pentecost had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Keith Buechler added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Steve Walker made a lay-up with two seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift the Leopards. Zillah’s Tad Rowe had pulled the Leopards even with three seconds left in the first overtime with a 3-pointer. Keith Buechler led the Leopards with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Steve Walker added 25 points for the winners. Fabian Bass chipped in 12 points and 11 assists and Marty Johnson had 9 rebounds.

The Leopards ousted the Scotties in a loser-out game at the state tournament 51-45. Zillah and Highland traded dominating quarters in this battle. The Leopards took the first quarter 19-7, but Highland erased the big deficit with a 17-6 third period. Zillah dominated the boards throughout and had a 49-31 advantage for the contest. Zillah’s Tad Rowe spent most of the game defending Highland’s leading scorer, Garrett Matzke. Rowe held Matzke to six points. Tad Rowe had game-high honors with 19 points. Justin Irion added 18 for the Leopards. Justin Irion also had 13 rebounds and Marty Johnson had 10 rebounds.

The Leopards won the district title for the seventh time since 1992.  Zillah broke open a close game in the third quarter and romped to victory.  It was the third time the Leopards had beaten Highland during the year.  The Z-Leps led by fifteen points after three quarters and coasted down the stretch to the district championship.  The Leopards were led by Justin Irion with 19 points.  Tad Rowe added 18 and Mark Buechler had 10 points.  Justin Irion pulled down 8 rebounds and Mark Buechler added 7 boards.

The Leopards upended the defending state 1A champions in the second night of the Sundome Shootout 51-47.  Zillah jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter lead and led by four at the half.  The Warriors from Seattle Christian fought back and claimed their first lead with a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter for a 34-32 advantage.  Ryan Cheek led the Leps with 15 points.  Andy Collins had 12 points and Shawn Waldman added 10.  Cheek also had 10 rebounds and blocked 6 shots.