Kentridge’s big second quarter, clutch 3-point shooting leads to 4A opening round win over Battle Ground
In Wednesday’s loser-out contest between ninth-seeded Kentridge High School and eighth-seeded Battle Ground, it took both teams a minute to shake the rust off and get in their groove.
And once Kentridge got into it, they stayed there.
Spurred on by dead-eye 3-point shooting, the Chargers defeated the Battle Ground, 66-54, in the opening round of the Class 4A boys state basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
After a close 17-13 first quarter, the Chargers let loose for a 23-point second quarter, and used tough defense to trigger seven first half turnovers.
Adding to the Tigers’ struggles was the foul trouble of 6-foot-9 standout forward Kaden Perry, who picked up an early second foul in the second quarter.
“We talked about being aggressive and going at him,” Kentridge coach Dave Jamison said. “He’s going to block your shot and go at you no matter what so you might as well stay aggressive.”
The Chargers pushed the lead to as much as 19 points in the first half by connecting from long range. Kentridge made six of their first eight 3-pointers and finished the game shooting 60 percent (9 of 15) from the perimeter.
“We talk about taking good shots and thought the first five or six were really in rhythm and good shots,” Jamison said. “We went for a couple of heat checks there ... banked one in, so that’s always nice.
“When guys are getting hot, they’re feeling it. It’s hard enough to shoot in here when you’re not used to it but that was a bonus and we’ll take that”
Kentridge will face No. 2 ranked Gonzaga Prep on at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
NO. 9 KENTRIDGE | 17 | 23 | 15 | 11 | — | 66 |
NO. 8 BATTLE GROUND | 13 | 10 | 14 | 17 | — | 54 |
TEAM STATISTICS
K – Shooting: 26 of 62 (41.9 percent). Free throws: 5 of 9 (55.6). Turnovers: 6.
BG – Shooting: 22 of 53 (41.5 percent). Free throws: 8 of 13 (61.5). Turnovers: 12.
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
K – Cruz Medina 14, Moses Moore 12, Jeremy Banks 9, Jett Briceno 3, Owen Paznokas 22.
BG – KeAndre Hunter-Holiday 6, Vincent McCormic 6, Nathan Millspaugh 13, Brendan Beall 5, Kaden Perry 20.
