The Decatur Gators came into the 2010 Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament with a goal of playing all four days.

Mission accomplished.

The Gators (19-11) ended their season Saturday inside the Tacoma Dome with a 48-38 loss to the fourth-ranked Walla Walla Blue Devils to finish up as the seventh-place team in Washington.

“If not winning a championship then playing on Saturday was one of our goals,” junior Jerron Smith said. “So we can’t be too upset.”

Losing their final game of the season was a tough pill to swallow for the Gators, especially considering Decatur totaled only two field goals and four points in the decisive fourth quarter against Walla Walla.

The Gators got back into the game during the third quarter when they rallied from a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 34-34 heading into the final eight minutes.

But all the momentum Decatur established in the third quarter went away in the fourth. The Blue Devils outscored the Gators 14-4 during the final period.

“I don’t fault our effort at all,” said head coach Kevin Olson. “Getting here is a great accomplishment. We just wanted to win one more and get fourth. We just didn’t make plays and didn’t make shots in the fourth quarter. You have to credit Walla Walla’s defense.”

Smith led the Gators with 16 points and senior Jordan McCloud finished with eight points and 14 rebounds. Fellow senior Anthony Williams had 12 rebounds.

“I’m proud of the way we played today,” junior Terrell Williams said. “We didn’t come out and throw in the towel. We had a good season.”

University of Idaho-bound guard Gary Winston scored a game-high 24 points and Montana-bound Michael Weisner added 18 points and six rebounds for Walla Walla. The pair combined to score 42 of the Blue Devils’ 48 points.

This will be the Gators’ last appearance at the Class 4A state tournament, at least for the next two years. Decatur is moving into the Class 3A division of the SPSL in the fall. It was also the Gators’ fourth-straight appearance at state.

McCloud played on all four of those state teams and was Decatur’s second-leading scorer (18.3 points) this season. Also gone next year will be Williams and starting guard Robert Oliver.

“Those guys did a great job for us,” Olson said. “Four trips to state and two trophies? You can’t beat that.”

Smith, who averaged 22 points a game this season, will lead a very strong group of returners next year. Also back will be starting guard Terrell Williams (9 points) and Dom Hunter (5 points).

“We got a lot of exposure playing on the big stage,” Smith said. “It was exciting.”

Decatur 48, Gonzaga Prep 45 (Friday)

The Decatur Gators accomplished the goal that is emblazoned across the backs of their warm-up shirts, “Back again, State 2010. Play hard, play together, play on Saturday.”

The Gators won a hard-fought game over the second-ranked Gonzaga Prep Bullpups, 48-45, Friday afternoon at the Class 4A State Boys Basketball Championships inside the Tacoma Dome. The victory guaranteed Decatur a trophy.

The win over Gonzaga Prep came just a day after a heart-breaking, last-second 58-54 loss to the Jackson Timberwolves in a quarterfinal Thursday night when Brett Kingma nailed a four-point play with 1.8 seconds remaining.

“A couple guys were upset Thursday night,” Olson said. “There are some people in the community that think if you’re not No. 1 than you’re nothing. I had to reiterate that we have a game tomorrow. There is no need to be crying and all upset. The Jackson kid made a phenomenal play. I walked off the court with no regrets.”

But the Bullpups were in the same mental state as Decatur. Gonzaga Prep (24-4) lost in overtime to Federal Way in an instant classic, 60-59.

Gonzaga Prep had a couple chances to tie the score late in the game, but the Bullpubs missed a pair of 3-pointers in the last five seconds. Oliver had a chance to ice the game, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.1 seconds left.

Both teams started the game in a lackluster way, which was to be expected after their state title hopes were dashed Thursday night. Decatur finished just 1 of 10 from the field during the first quarter and the Bullpups weren’t much better and held an 8-4 lead after the first eight minutes.

But the Gators and Gonzaga Prep seemed to get back into the grove during the second quarter. Decatur outscored the Bullpups 14-11 in the period to trail by only one point at half, 19-18.

The Gators and Bullpups played a back and forth third quarter before Decatur took the lead for good, 40-38, midway through the fourth quarter on a putback by Smith.

McCloud led the Gators with 14 points and eight rebounbds. Smith added 12 points and Terrell Williams chipped in 11. Decatur outrebouned the bigger Bullpups, 36-24.

Gonzaga Prep was led by their all-state forward Ryan Nicholas, who finished with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. But the Gators didn’t allow the Bullpups’ secondary players to get going.

Gonzaga Prep’s second-leading scorer, guard Parker Kelly, finished with just seven points and was just 1 of 11 from behind the 3-point line.