3 takeaways from Puyallup’s 86-31 win over Lincoln (Seattle) in T-Town Throwdown tournament
The Puyallup High School boys basketball team cruised past Lincoln (Seattle) in the opening round of the T-Town Throwdown holiday tournament on Thursday afternoon, 86-31. Here are three takeaways from the Vikings’ win.
COBI CAMPBELL CAN LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD
The 6-foot-3 junior lefty has a smooth stroke and can hit from deep, as he showed in Thursday’s win, scoring a game-high 35 points and connecting on seven 3-pointers for the Vikings.
“It’s pretty nice,” Campbell said. “It’s just a product of our team moving the ball and I just want to be open and hit those shots.”
Scott Campbell, Puyallup’s coach and Cobi’s dad, said it’s tough to defend the Vikings when Campbell is knocking down shots behind the arc.
“Cobi can shoot it and score the ball and make plays,” he said. “Everybody has been putting a lot of focus on him this season. I think we have a really close team and multiple guys who can do things offensively. I don’t think anybody on our team cares who scores or how we score. We just want to win and play good basketball.”
Marquel Thomas scored 10 points for the Vikings in the win; Taki Uluilakepa and LJ Lemalu scored seven apiece, Charlies Schoos and Gibson Hooper chipped in six each, Hayden Lovett scored five and Joseph Dwyer and Eli Visser both added two points apiece.
TOUGH SITUATION FOR LINCOLN
The Seattle-area high school reopened this year after being closed since 1981. Currently, the student body is comprised entirely of underclassmen, with only freshmen and sophomores on the Lynx’ roster. In reality, Lincoln should probably be playing a JV schedule this year.
“It’s a really hard situation for everybody — for them, the teams they’re playing,” Scott Campbell said. “You’re trying to coach your team, have them play hard and get ready. Nobody wants to be a poor sport or running it up or anything like that. But you’re trying to play and get ready. I think they understand that. It’s hard for those kids.
“They wanted to play JV. Hopefully those kids stay positive and keep working. The coaches are doing a good job being positive with them.”
MATCHUP WITH FEDERAL WAY NEXT FOR VIKS
It might have been a blowout, but Thursday’s win proved useful as a tune-up game for Puyallup, after taking a few days off for Christmas break.
“Christmas break is always hard. You want to get your kids a rest. They’re on a different sleeping schedule. It’s a great chance to get refreshed but there’s a fine line. You can give them too much free time and then you’re starting all over again. We were able to have a couple practices and give them a couple days off, so this is a good way to get going again.”
Friday night’s matchup against Federal Way at 5:30 p.m. figures to be a much more competitive game for the Vikings in the tournament semifinals. Federal Way advanced earlier in the day with a 78-33 win over Franklin Pierce.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” Cobi Campbell said. “We both like to run up and down. I think it’ll be high scoring and fast-paced and a fun game to watch.”
