Ferron Flavors wanted the final shot for his team.

He got his wish and made the most of it as Federal Way moved on to the state championship with a thrilling 46-44 win over Gonzaga Prep.

With the Bullpups and the Eagles tied at 44, Marcus Stephens missed a driving layup for the Eagles with 8.6 seconds left to play. The ball bounced off a Gonzaga Prep player and went out of bounds.

“As soon as the ball went out of bounds, I told coach the play for me,” Flavors said. “They got me the ball. I’d been struggling all game, so I had to get it for my team. I told them I wasn’t going to fold on them and that’s what I didn’t do.”

Flavors took the ball from the left side of the court near the arc and drove into a crowded lane. With a defender draped on him, he put up a layup. As he fell to the court, the ball rolled around the rim once and fell through the net.

With 4.9 seconds left, the Eagles were up 46-44.

Gonzaga Prep got the ball up the court for the final shot, but Anton Watson’s 3-point attempt hit the backboard before bouncing harmlessly off the rim.

The Eagles’ win moves them on to their second consecutive state championship game.

It was an unusually poor shooting night for Federal Way, particularly from beyond the arc. The Eagles were 0-7 in the first half from 3-point range and 2-13 in the game.

Both of their made 3-pointers came when they needed them most in the fourth quarter. D’Jimon Jones’ only made 3-pointer put the Eagles up 44-42 with 1:02 left to play.

It was the Eagles first lead since they were up 16-15 near the five-minute mark of the second quarter.

After taking a 14-12 lead into the second quarter, the Eagles struggled to get anything going offensively. They were outscored 14-5 in the quarter.

Brandon Bieber hit two 3-pointers in the quarter that got the crowd and the team going.

The Bullpups built their lead to nine points at the beginning of the third quarter, but the Eagles began to cut into the lead.

Federal Way cut the lead down to one point after a Malcolm Cola block and a Jalen McDaniels turnaround jump shot brought the score to 33-32 with 3:20 left in the third.

McDaniels kept the Eagles in the game with his 24-point performance, the most of any player.

The Eagles then went cold the rest of the quarter and Gonzaga Prep scored the final five points. McDaniels blocked a Brandon Morse dunk attempt at the end of the quarter to keep the Bullpups lead at 38-33.

As the fourth quarter rolled along, Gonzaga Prep got plenty of opportunities to add to their lead at the free throw line.

They couldn’t. In the second half, the Bullpups went 6-13 from the foul line and failed to close out the Eagles.

Leading 42-41 with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter, Gonzaga Prep’s Sam Lockett went to the line for two free throws. He missed both.

After Jones’ 3-pointer that gave Federal Way their 44-42 lead, Gonzaga Prep’s Logan Adams was fouled on a 3-point shot of his own with 29.8 seconds left in the game.

He was only able to convert two of the free throws, allowing Federal Way to be a little more calm as they ran the clock down for their final shots.

It’s the second year in a row that the Eagles escaped with a narrow semifinal victory.

Last season they had to hold off a Union comeback in a 61-58 win.

“I want a championship,” Flavors said. “My team wants a championship. We want a championship. We worked to hard for this. We weren’t going to let nobody come and take it away from us. We’ve got one more game, one more game.”

Federal Way (28-0) will play Kentwood (22-6) in the state championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. Kentwood defeated Curtis 66-59 in their state semifinal game.

It will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Federal Way won the previous games by scores of 78-62 and 58-48.

Ferron Flavors hits the game-winning shot against Gonzaga Prep during Federal Way’s 46-44 win in the state semifinals on March 4, 2016 at the Tacoma Dome. Dennis Box, for the Mirror

Jalen McDaniels shoots over a Gonzaga Prep defender during Federal Way’s 46-44 state semifinal win on March 4, 2016 at the Tacoma Dome. McDaniels led all players with 24 points. Terrence Hill, the Mirror