Prep roundup: Jace Barrett helped Rogers’ basketball do what it hasn’t done in six years … beat Curtis
Boys Basketball
Top Performer: Jaylen Scott, Bellarmine Prep
Scored 19 points in 51-37 win over Graham-Kapowsin
Rogers 51, Curtis 43: Think back to about this time last year.
The Rams were on their way to a 5-15 season with three league wins. Curtis was headed toward its third consecutive 4A South Puget Sound League title and a trip to the 4A state quarterfinals in the Tacoma Dome.
Now? Well, Curtis is still sitting atop those league standings. But look out for Rogers.
Jace Barrett scored 15 points, Matti Turco had 13 and James Baker 11 as Rogers handed the Vikings their first 4A SPSL loss of the season.
And Rogers (11-3; 8-2 4A SPSL) now has more than twice as many wins as it did all of last year – with plenty of games still to go.
“We know how tough this league is and everyone has different styles,” Rogers coach Rico Ancheta said. “That's what makes it so fun. We know we have to come back Saturday and we got another game Tuesday, we got to play our best down the stretch."
Curtis (9-5; 9-1) won the first matchup against Rogers, 62-56, on Dec. 5 and hadn’t lost a 4A SPSL game in more than a year – losing to Bellarmine Prep on Jan. 10 last season.
Rogers hasn’t beat Curtis in six years, and not since Ancheta took over.
“We know how good they are and what good players they are,” Ancheta said. “We did a better job handling them on the boards in the second half.”
Rogers took a 27-24 lead into halftime and Ancheta told his team that rebounding would be key in keeping the lead.
So Nikita Apansevich was big in that department, with the 6-foot-4 post handling a smaller Curtis lineup.
“We are very fortunate to come away with a win,” Ancheta said. “It was a truly balanced team effort … we got contributions from lots of different players.”
But Rogers has league losses to Bellarmine Prep and Curtis, so it needs Curtis to lose at least one game to have a shot to at least share the league title for the first time in more than a decade.
Bellarmine Prep 51, Graham-Kapowsin 37: The Lions jumped out ahead of the Eagles, quickly outpacing them in the first half.
Leading the way for Bellarmine was Jaylen Scott, scoring a game-high 19 points.
Jadon Whiteside was Graham-Kapowsin’s leading scorer with 13 points.
Olympia 46, Sumner 31: Lucas Bowser and Logan Wood combined to score half of the Bears’ offense in their win over the Spartans.
Bowser knocked down 13 points and Wood came up with the other 10 to lead their team in scoring. No other Bear had more than six points.
Thane Birrer was the biggest source of offense for Sumner, netting 12 points.
Puyallup 61, Emerald Ridge 42: The Vikings smothered the Jaguars in the first half and quickly ran away with the game.
By halftime, Puyallup was up 26-12. Cobi Campbell scored 16 points for the Vikings.
Jerry Hayes scored 12 for the Jaguars and Tyler Matthew also scored 10, as they were the leading scorers for Emerald Ridge.
Girls Basketball
Top Performer: Abbie VanMarter, Northwest Christian
Scored 16 points in 49-34 win over Three Rivers Christian
Emerald Ridge 45, Puyallup 38: With the Jaguars in need of a win after losing their past two games, they turned to their captain, Jill Harris.
And she delivered 16 points, while Sammie McGinty had 10 in the win over the Vikings, who lost their fourth consecutive game despite getting 11 points from Athena Taylor.
Puyallup held the lead after one quarter, but the Emerald Ridge defense held it to single-digit scoring in the second and third quarters.
Sumner 49, Olympia 48: Despite trailing the Bears by five after the first quarter, the Spartans came from behind on a 10-2 run in the second quarter to earn the third win their past four games.
Kelsey Bell led the Spartans with 16 points, while Kaitlyn Clark scored 13.
Northwest Christian 49, Three Rivers Christian 34: One quarter really can make all the difference. It certainly did for the Navigators.
They outscored the Eagles 20-0 in the second quarter, led by senior Abbie VanMarter, who scored 16 points, to earn their second win of the season.
Northwest Christian (2-10) has struggled to find wins this season because they have yet to find the offensive rhythm that best suits their starters, but Navigators coach Rich Thomas said they found something on Thursday.
“This was by far our best game of the season,” Thomas said. “Since our second game, we’ve struggled to find our offense. But after great ball movement and fewer turnovers, we might have found it.”
Boys Swimming
Top Performer: Jeffrey Harn, North Thurston
Swam state-qualifying times in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and was part of two relay wins against Timberline
North Thurston 131, Timberline 55: Jeffrey Harn continues to swim well for the Rams as he earned two state qualifications in the meet against the Blazers.
Harn earned both qualifications with the freestyle stroke, winning in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association lists the 50 free state qualifying time at 28.15 seconds, and Harn finished at 22.14, well under the mark.
He also had to beat the time of 1:01.16 for the 100, and easily got under it with a time of 48.72. Not only did Harn get some state times with a couple of solo wins, he also won two relays for the Rams; swimming in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.
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This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 11:43 PM with the headline "Prep roundup: Jace Barrett helped Rogers’ basketball do what it hasn’t done in six years … beat Curtis."