South Sound district basketball roundup: Olympia loses in overtime to Kentwood

THURSDAY’S RESULTS (FEB. 15)

BOYS BASKETBALL

4A

District 3/4 Tournament — Semifinals

KENTWOOD 51, OLYMPIA 42 (OT)

Olympia sent the game to overtime with a Matt Lindblom free throw late in the fourth quarter of the Class 4A District 3/4 semifinal matchup against Kentwood on Thursday night in Federal Way.

Then Kentwood could exhale.

The Conquerors, who let the lead slip away in the fourth, wrestled momentum back immediately in the overtime period with a Mason St. Louis 3-pointer. Kentwood never looked back, escaping from Olympia in overtime with a 51-42 win to advance to Saturday’s district championship game against league peer Tahoma.

“When we hit that three right off the tipoff, that energy really sparked us and then being able to find guys open, that energy just built up,” said Kentwood sophomore guard Brandon Tagle, who scored a game-high 19 points in the win.

“Very important,” added Kentwood coach Blake Solomon. “We didn’t score for like the last five minutes of the game. We really bogged down.”

Kentwood features a young roster — there’s one senior on this year’s team — and Solomon said he felt the nerves caught up to the group in the fourth quarter, with a district title game appearance on the line.

“We just kind of had to fight through it,” Solomon said. “We just told them to play free because at that point, we’re not trying to protect anything, we’re trying to go out and win something. I think that really helped and our guys just got into attack mode.”

Corey Tita added 16 points for Kentwood and St. Louis had 12. Matt Lindblom led Olympia with 13 points, while Julian Zapata added 11.

Tagle, in particular, was impressive, with floor vision beyond his years.

“He’s special,” Solomon said. “Ever since he stepped foot in our gym last year, we knew how good he was or how good he could be. I think it’s even happening faster than we thought. You get lost in how good he is and you forget that he’s still only a sophomore. He continues to impress me all the time and he really is a leader for us and he does a really good job.”

Kentwood faces Tahoma in the district championship game on Saturday. Tahoma has won both meetings so far.

“We’ve got a chance to go win a huge, huge championship and just staying together and keeping a positive attitude,” Tagle said. “It would mean the absolute world to me. Kind of like winning the lottery.”

TAHOMA 67, FEDERAL WAY 66

Adam Davis took a half step back and raised his arm — as if to signal he was expecting a floated pass at the 3-point line — lulling his defender to sleep at the elbow. His Tahoma Bears had an inbound play underneath their own hoop, trailing Federal Way by a point with 0.7 seconds left on the clock in a Class 4A District 3/4 semifinal game at Federal Way on Thursday night.

Once he sensed the defender ease, he bolted past him, received the inbound pass in the lane and got the quick layup off before time expired, winning the game and sending Tahoma through to the district championship game on Saturday.

“Last second, you’ve gotta do whatever it takes,” Davis said. “They give it to you, you’ve gotta take it.”

As far as where that shot ranks in Davis’ career? Already at the top.

“That’s gotta be No. 1,” he told The News Tribune, smiling.

“We saw a couple things on film that we thought we could exploit if we had to on an inbounds play,” said Tahoma coach Rick Tripp. “I think we scored six points off of that one tonight. We knew we had to get something at the rim with only 0.7. Adam’s a strong kid and we trust him. He’s hit a lot of game winners for us over the years.”

After a back-and-forth first half, Tahoma controlled the action for much of the second half, until Federal Way guard Mason Thomas began attacking the basket and willing the Eagles back into the contest late. Thomas finished with a game-high 26 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Kofi Peyton scored 17 points for Federal Way.

Tahoma’s scoring was more balanced, with four players in double digits. Carter Stonerock and Davis scored 22 apiece, Parker Plowman added 16 and Jayden Stephens added 11. That ball movement and offensive balance has the Bears a win away from a district title.

“It’s really good,” Davis said. “None of us are selfish players. All five starters have had a 20-point game. All of us can score.”

3A

District 3/4 Tournament — Semifinals

NORTH THURSTON 87, KELSO 61

North Thurston scored the game’s opening points — a four-point play by guard Liam Sheeran on a 3-pointer and made free throw — one minute into Thursday night’s contest at Mount Tahoma High School, and led the rest of the way in a convincing 3A District 3/4 semifinals victory over Kelso.

The Rams led by double digits as early as four minutes into the game, and their lead never dropped below 10 after a Micah Anderson 3-pointer early in the second.

“It was really important,” forward Ray Adams said of North Thurston’s quick scoring runs in the first half. “It got us off to a big start. We needed that in this game.”

The lead reached as high as 31 points in the fourth — on the last of Adams’ three dunks in the contest — and North Thurston cruised into Saturday night’s championship game.

Adams paced all scorers with 28 points, completed a double-double with 18 rebounds and added another six assists.

Micah Anderson had 22 points for the Rams — including five 3-pointers — while Sheeran added a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists.

The Rams combined for 10 3-pointers in the contest on the way to their season-high 87 points.

“Our coach asked us to get into the paint, try to get paint touches, and we kick it out to our shooters, so that was good,” Adams said.

Hayden Yore led Kelso with 22 points, while Easton Marshall had 13 and Michael Henderson added 10.

North Thurston (20-3) advances to Saturday night’s district championship game against Auburn (20-1). The game is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. at Tacoma Community College.

AUBURN 67, TODD BEAMER 47

Two-time defending 3A District 3/4 champion Auburn will play for a third consecutive district title Saturday night following Thursday night’s win over 3A NPSL rival Todd Beamer.

Though, it wasn’t until a 28-point third quarter that the Trojans ran away with their semifinals victory at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Auburn built as high as a nine-point lead in the first, but the Titans responded in the second with a 9-0 stretch that eventually gave them a 27-25 lead in the final minute of the half. Auburn answered by scoring the next five points, including a Michael Reed 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 30-27 advantage into halftime, but several more ties and lead changes followed early in the third.

Auburn eventually took the lead for good on a Carter Hansen free throw with 3:02 left in the third, which was also the first point scored in a decisive 18-0 run that gave the Trojans a 58-40 lead by the end of the quarter.

“We just keep telling them to stay the course, keep believing in each other,” Auburn coach Ryan Hansen said. “ … If we can defend and rebound, we’re going to stay in games, and we really want to take pride in doing that.“

And I feel like we’ve got a team that can score pretty well, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re going to hit a couple shots in a row or get a couple good possessions in a row, and we did that in the third quarter, and it kind of just opened things up for us.”

Five Auburn players contributed to the 18-point run, including guard Jaylen Petty, the two-time 3A NPSL MVP, who gave the Trojans a double-digit lead for good with an offensive rebound, contested layup and made free throw with 1:45 left in the third. Freshman Isaiah Englund and sophomore Chase Mentink later hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the quarter.

Auburn extended the lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth, but was without Petty much of the final quarter. He left the game with a possible broken nose with 6:47 remaining after he was fouled attempting a shot on a fast break.

“They’re going to take him to the emergency room,” Hansen said. “They think it’s broken.”

Petty led Auburn with 18 points in the contest. Mentink also finished in double figures scoring for the Trojans with 11. Will Tellis scored a game-high 19 for the Titans. Both programs already secured a 3A state regionals appearance with victories in the quarterfinals last week.

Auburn (23-1) is now set to meet North Thurston (20-3) in Saturday night’s district championship game, which is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. at Tacoma Community College.

“I’m excited for what we’ve got ahead of us these next two weeks, to see what we can do,” Hansen said.

2A

District 2/3 2A Tournament -- Loser Out

ENUMCLAW 62, FOSS 27

Enumclaw’s Wyatt Neu and Jason Feddema dropped a team-high 13 points apiece, keeping the Hornets alive in the 2A state-tournament race Thursday night.

Neu paced all scorers with 11 in the first half, and Feddema dropped a game-high three treys in Enumclaw’s big win at Foss High School.

Feddema’s hit a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter that powered Enumclaw’s 16-4 run in the frame. Eight Hornets logged at least four points.

Enumclaw (12-5, 15-8) would advance to the regional round with a win over Port Angeles in a winner-to-state, loser-out contest that awards fifth-place district honors Saturday at Foster High School.

BOX SCORE

EHS: 14-18-16-14–62

FHS: 6-8-4-9–27

District 2/3 2A Tournament -- Loser Out

FRANKLIN PIERCE 67, SEQUIM 49

Two days prior, Renton snapped Franklin Pierce’s nine-game win streak – but the Cardinals rebounded convincingly over Sequim to remain in state contention Thursday night.

Junior guard Javon Barbee dropped a game-high 28 points, and six Cardinals tallied six-or-more points for a balanced attack at Franklin Pierce High School.

“(Javon) did a good job of facilitating the offense, and got us into our stuff,” Cardinals coach John Barbee said. “He’s an opportunistic scorer. I think he did a good job of getting others involved early -- that was really, really important.”

Sequim was swarmed in the opening minutes. Franklin Pierce (13-3, 16-6) pressed immediately, forced a slew of early turnovers, and Barbee directed the scoring show in a do-or-die performance.

Sophomore wing Hakeen Collins scored 14 points and junior forward Jordan Disney added seven. Amaar Coleman, Ezekiel Isaacson, and Jimrac Newmann-Godful tallied six points apiece in the win.

It sets up a rivalry game for fifth-place honors in the district with 2A SPSL-foe White River. The programs split a pair of regular-season contests, and what serves as a best-of-three tiebreaker Saturday also sends the winner to the state bracket.

Franklin Pierce’s winner-to-state, loser-out bout with White River tips off noon Saturday at Foster High School.

BOX SCORE

SHS: 10-6-14-18–48

FPHS: 26-19-10-12–67

MORE SCORES

2A

District 2/3 2A Tournament – Semifinals

North Kitsap 72, Sammamish 70

Renton 68, Bremerton 65

1A

District 3 1A Tournament – Semifinals

Annie Wright 82, Life Christian 41

Bellevue Christian 52, Cascade Christian 48

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS (FEB. 14)

GIRLS BASKETBALL

4A District 3/4 Tournament -- Semifinals

BELLARMINE PREP 57, TAHOMA 53

Lions forward Kyla Frazier (23 points) and guard Jada Travis (22) exploded for 45 combined points Wednesday night, lifting the Lions over Tahoma in Saturday’s district semifinal at Tacoma Community College.

Travis was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, including six foul shots in the fourth quarter that denied a Tahoma rally.

Frazier, meanwhile, dropped a game-high four treys.

Both programs are off to state, but the Lions first meet top-ranked Camas in the district title game on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Tahoma sophomore Adalynn Busch led the Bears with 18 points.

BOX SCORE

BP: 14-12-13-18–57

THS: 7-13-15-18–53

3A District 3/4 Tournament -- Semifinals

AUBURN 45, BONNEY LAKE 44

Bonney Lake rising freshman Azy Jackson exited with a knee injury in the first quarter, and Auburn outlasted the Panthers by one point in Wednesday’s District 3/4 semifinal at Mount Tahoma High School.

Jackson crashed into a padded wall beyond the baseline and left with a possible hyper-extension, Bonney Lake coach Kim Peters said.

Auburn point guard Avery Hansen dropped 20 points with a pair of treys, and the Trojans now prepare for a district championship Saturday at Tacoma Community College.

Will Jackson return in time for Bonney Lake’s next contest, potentially in the state’s regional round? “I hope so,” Peters said.

“It rattled us when she went out,” Bonney Lake’s coach added. “She hit the wall. I’m hoping it’s not bad.

“It took us a while to get back in rhythm. Just a lot of bad passes, turnovers, and it cost us. We stayed in the game… but obviously if Azy was helping us, it’d be a different game, I think.”

Bonney Lake’s Jazmyn Shipp, a senior center, dropped a game-high 22 points in the loss. Down two in the final seconds, Shipp split a crucial pair of free throws and Auburn retained their next possession until the buzzer.

“She led our team,” Peters said of Shipp. “She’s that person who takes charge and leads our team. She did phenomenal tonight… she played the one, she played the five, wherever we needed tonight. We just fell short.”

Bonney Lake guard Evin Elias tallied 11 points and a game-high three triples.

Auburn shooting guard Kyla Howard delivered 10 points in the win.

Both Bonney Lake and Auburn are off to state. It’s a loss the Panthers feel they can bounce back from.

“We’ve been here before,” Peters said.

BOX SCORE

AHS: 9-16-15-5–45

BLHS: 15-6-18-5–44

2A

WHITE RIVER 65, NORTH KITSAP 28

Hornets guard Josie Jacobs dropped a game-high 18 points, and White River ran away with Wednesday’s district opener in dominant fashion.

A more-than-30-point win pits White River against rival-Enumclaw in Friday’s district semifinal, and regardless of outcome, guarantees both programs a trip to the state bracket.

“We’re finally healthy, and the kids are playing hard,” White River coach Chris Gibson said. “They’re really excited.

“North Kitsap is a better team than the score shows.”

Jacobs stuffed the stat sheet, tallying five rebounds and six steals in a do-it-all performance for White River. She drained two treys en route to 18 points as White River won each of the first two quarters by double digits.

“A little bit of everything tonight,” Gibson said.

Hornets forward Vivian Kingston delivered 10 points in the win and forward Ava Bright added nine.

BOX SCORE

NK: 4-6-10-8–28

WR: 16-19-16-14–65

MORE SCORES

4A District 3/4 Tournament -- Semifinals

Camas 49, Sumner 41

3A District 3/4 Tournament -- Semifinals

North Thurston 70, Evergreen (Vancouver) 43

2A District 2/3 Tournament -- Opening Round

Clover Park 58, Lindbergh 38

Enumclaw 66, Sequim 49

North Mason 55, Fife 38

BOYS BASKETBALL

3A District 3/4 Tournament

LINCOLN 62, MOUNT TAHOMA 61

Lincoln led by double digits much of the way, and by as many as 18 points in the second half, but Mount Tahoma went on a 16-3 run over the last five minutes to close the gap to one possession in the final seconds of Wednesday night’s 3A District 3/4 loser-out game in Tacoma.

After the T-Birds cut the lead to one point on a goal tending call with 9.3 seconds to play, a pair of key defensive stops by Abes senior forward Omarion Boston — a steal under the basket with 2.5 seconds left, and a deflection on the game’s final play — eventually lifted Lincoln to a win.

“Defense wins championships,” Boston said. “So that’s what we’ve got to do.”

The Abes had a 14-point lead with 5:30 remaining in the fourth, but a basket from Mount Tahoma’s Carter Williford then keyed a three-minute stretch during which the T-Birds scored on seven of eight possessions. Damarion Sawyer’s layup in transition with 1:42 left cut the lead to 62-59, and the goal tending call against the Abes made it 62-61 with 9.3 to play.

Three more changes of possession followed before Lincoln closed out the victory.

The Abes turned the ball over on an in-bounds play moments later, but Boston intercepted a pass underneath Mount Tahoma’s hoop to give Lincoln back possession with 2.5 seconds to go. An offensive foul called on the Abes on the next in-bounds play then gave Mount Tahoma the ball with 1.6 left.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we stay composed, and handle adversity and go back to our fundamentals, and just make sure we play sound defense,” Abes coach Ryan Rogers said of the game’s closing moments. “Communicate, talk to each other and make sure that we’re helping each other out so that we can get a stop that we needed.”

Mount Tahoma in-bounded the ball to Sawyer on the game’s final play, but the pass was deflected by Boston, trailing close behind on defense. Sawyer fell to the floor on the sequence, but no foul was called, and the buzzer sounded as the ball bounced into the corner.

“It was so loud,” Boston said of the final play. “Everybody was rattled up. We’ve got to stay focused during those moments. And everybody on our team, I was telling everybody right before we got out there that we’ve got to lock in right now. So, that’s what we did and we closed it out.”

Earlier on, there were 12 ties or lead changes during the opening quarter before a 3-pointer from LaVhanta Sandling-Green in the final seconds of the first gave the Abes an 18-15 lead they never lost.

Lincoln’s lead extended to 36-26 by the halftime break, and another basket from Sandling-Green gave the Abes their largest lead at 55-37 at the end of the third before Mount Tahoma’s late comeback.

Boston recorded a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds, and added six steals. Sandling-Green also scored 14 to lead the Abes, while Dairius Dillard had 10 points and TeShawn Ports-Jackson added nine.

Tre’ Walker was one of four players in double figures scoring for Mount Tahoma with a game-high 15, while Williford had 12, Zane Cordero had 11 and Sawyer had 10.

Mount Tahoma’s season ends at 13-9 following a third close loss to Lincoln this winter. Each of the three meetings between the two programs were decided by single digits, and by a combined 10 points.

Lincoln (18-4) advances to play rival Stadium (17-5) — the Tigers remained in postseason contention with a 41-35 victory over Auburn Mountainview on Wednesday — for a third time this season in a winner-to-state contest at 3 p.m. Friday at Mount Tahoma. Both league meetings between the two programs last month were decided by one possession.