Joe Kline / The Bulletin Davis Holly shoots the game-winning shot over Parkroseís Marshawn Edwards during the Class 5A playoff game on Friday night at Mountain View High School.

Davis Holly had been struggling all night.

He made just four of his first 17 shots, and only one 3-pointer in 11 attempts, in Mountain View’s Class 5A first-round state playoff game against Parkrose on Friday night. But it was not about how the Cougars junior started.

It was how he finished.

On his 18th shot attempt of the night, with 1 minute, 28 seconds left, Holly rose from the right wing and canned a 3-pointer to tie the game after the Cougars trailed by as many as nine points in the second half. His 19th attempt — his last of the night — Holly knew was true on the release.

With less than 30 seconds left, Holly received a pass. He was not giving up the ball. He was determined. He milked the clock to under 10 seconds and broke for the top of the key. He vaulted for a straightaway midrange jumper and splashed home the go-ahead bucket with 2.5 seconds remaining.

The student section flooded the floor prematurely, but it returned moments later as Parkrose’s last-ditch heave from three-quarter court went wide. The Cougars, with a 63-61 victory, booked a return trip to the state tournament.

“I just kept the confidence going throughout the whole game,” Holly explained. “Even though the shots weren’t falling, you just have to keep your confidence going and think they’re going in.”

For the fourth time in the past five years, the Cougars (20-5 overall), seeded No. 1 in the 16-team field, are heading to the final site, and Mountain View will begin preparations for the 5A state tournament which begins Tuesday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

Like the determined Holly, Mountain View persevered. And like their late-game hero, the Cougars finished strong.

At the start of the third quarter, No. 16 Parkrose (13-13), which has not advanced to the final site since 1991, used a 10-2 run to jump ahead 45-37. The Broncos grabbed their largest lead of the night soon after, a 48-39 advantage, before Mountain View began its rally.

“We were just saying we have to stay composed, to stay poised, to be able to come back and win,” Holly recalled. “We just have to keep defending and rebounding, and our shots will fall at some point.”

Following a defensive rebound, Mountain View’s Ments Haugen received a pass and connected with Will Johnson on the other end of the floor for a layup, capping a 7-0 spurt by the Cougars to whittle the deficit to two points. The Cougs hung with Parkrose throughout the final quarter, and Holly took the reins and led Mountain View to victory.

“Davis, that’s a massive shot,” Mountain View coach Craig Reid said. “He struggled tonight, but he had the courage to knock that down.”

Holly paced the Cougars with 16 points and four assists, while teammate Ments Haugen totaled seven assists and four rebounds to go with 13 points — 10 of which came in the opening quarter.

“It’s my senior year,” Haugen said. “It’s my last time playing here. I was ready to go.”

Austin Albin posted 15 points for Mountain View, and Kaimi Kurzynowski logged monster minutes for the Cougs, hitting 5 of 8 shots for 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, including six offensive boards.

“Seniors, man,” Reid gushed. “They lose, they go home. I think Kaimi, in particular today, that second half, he played with a tremendous passion.”

Isaac Bonton led Parkrose with a game-high 20 points — 15 in the second quarter — while hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. Isaac Mbuyama had 10 points and 11 boards, and Chris Wilson logged 10 points and six rebounds.

Despite the effort of Bonton, who went off for 48 points in a play-in victory over Ridgeview on Tuesday, Mountain View persevered. And the Cougars are heading back to the state tournament, where they open play against No. 8 Pendleton.

“We deserve this, man,” Haugen said. “We worked our butts off. We deserve to go to Corvallis this year.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.