Puyallup starts hot, holds off Jackson in 4A opening round for first win in Tacoma Dome in 15 years

As the high school state tournaments begin each year, it seems the narrative of how difficult it is to shoot in the Tacoma Dome becomes a storyline.

The No. 11 Puyallup boys (21-7) provided an argument for both sides of that narrative in their 56-50 win over No. 6 Jackson (18-6) in a Class 4A opening-round loser-out game Wednesday.

The Vikings shot 14 of 25 in the first half — including 4 of 10 from 3-point range — to build a 33-17 lead at halftime. But, Puyallup shot just 14 of 30 from the free-throw line, missing many in the fourth quarter, to allow the Timberwolves to hang around late.

“We practiced in a gym where there was some depth perception,” sophomore guard Cobi Campbell said. “That definitely helped with our shooting. Everybody was just moving the ball and getting great shots. It’s not that hard to shoot when you’re open.”

Campbell scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, including two big 3-pointers, to help the Vikings build the lead, which proved too much for the Timberwolves to overcome.

Campbell is the son of Puyallup coach Scott Campbell, who enjoyed not only getting a win, but seeing his son excel on the big stage.

“It’s the best,” Scott Campbell said. “I think it’s a really unique experience. We just have a great team and a great group of kids, and I’m thankful that my kid is one of the group and gets to play with those guys. We were just talking in the locker room, ‘It’s sometimes you, sometimes me, always we.’

“Today, Cobi started us off and played really well. As a dad, it’s a pretty special feeling to get to coach your kid. There is up and there is down, but to see him come out and play like that is pretty fun.”

Despite the hot shooting in the first half for the Vikings, their struggles from the free throw line down the stretch were a concern.

“We’ve been a really good free-throw shooting team,” Scott Campbell said. “Clearly, we didn’t shoot them very well today, but everything else we did put us in a position where we could not shoot them well, and still win.

“I have total confidence that we’ll shoot them better tomorrow.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Vikings in Thursday’s quarterfinals, when they’ll face No. 4 Mt. Si (24-2) at 9 a.m.

Puyallup’s victory over Jackson was its first victory in the Tacoma Dome since 2004.

“I knew that stat, but obviously there is so much turnover (in high school),” Scott Campbell said. “These guys weren’t even aware of what was happening in 2004.

“I am really proud of this group and how they’ve come together this season and responded. They just keep growing and improving and meeting every challenge.”

TEAM STATISTICS

P – Shooting: 19 of 42 (45.2 percent). Free throws: 14 of 30 (46.7). Turnovers: 14.

J – Shooting: 15 of 49 (30.6 percent). Free throws: 16 of 17 (94.1). Turnovers: 10.

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

P – Cobi Campbell 20, Jacob Holcomb 7, Zane Foster 7, Kendall Munson 7, Jaeden Ingram 11, Luke Holcomb 4.

J – Christian Liddell 17, Jaylen Searles 7, Carter Korab 5, Ben Olesen 9, Kyle Bigovich 10, Nick Sysum 2.

This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 1:31 PM.