Tumwater boys can’t find usual defensive spark, drop quarterfinal to Lindbergh, 57-54
Tumwater High School didn’t get the result it wanted from its 2A state boys quarterfinal matchup with fourth-seeded Lindbergh on Thursday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Yes, the No. 6 Thunderbirds (20-5) were outrebounded by the Eagles, 36-29, and were whistled for 19 fouls, as opposed to Lindbergh’s mere eight.
But at no point did either team seem vastly superior to the other. Lindbergh (25-3) led most of the way, but Tumwater stalked the Eagles throughout, before falling 57-54 to drop into a consolation bracket game with either Black Hills or Clarkston, who met in the late game.
“I don’t think we had the stellar defensive effort that we’ve had the past few weeks,” said Tumwater coach Josh Wilson. “We didn’t do a good job rebounding. They had some easy transition buckets.”
Two personnel issues limited Tumwater.
Early in the third quarter, Peyton Peterson, who would finish in double figures with 11 points despite playing just 19 minutes, picked up his second, third and fourth fouls in a span of 25 seconds. Earlier, reserve guard Jaylen Clay had suffered a twisted ankle and wound up playing just 10 minutes.
The lead changed hands seven times in the first half, with the T-Birds pulling ahead for the final time, 19-16, on a 3-pointer by Kaden Lewis midway through the second quarter.
But, Xavier Bailey evened the score with a trey of his own from the top, followed quickly by a 3-pointer from Brian Pocaigue that put the Eagles in front.
Lindbergh continued to score in threes the remainder of the half.
Both Bailey and Deonte Formenette scored fast break layups while being fouled and converted the free throws before Pocaigue connected on another three at the second quarter buzzer.
The Eagles stretched their lead to ten for the second time, 35-25, right after Peterson’s fourth foul, but Tumwater, with Ethan Dillon doing damage from outside and inside on his way to team-high 16 points, gradually wore the lead down.
“Ethan really wanted to win,” said Wilson. “He dug deep and tried to make it happen.”
With just more than five minutes left in the game, Camden Oram drove for a layup that cut Lindbergh’s edge to only a single point, 48-47.
But Mo Kora, who contributed a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double, scored on a putback and a floater. Bailey, who had a game-high 17 points, scored on a one-on-one move and the Eagles were back up by seven, 54-47.
The T-Birds still wouldn’t go away. Despite 3-of-4 free throws from Formerette in the final minute, Tumwater cut it to 57-54 with three-plus seconds to go on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Peterson.
After a timeout, the Eagles threw the ball away and Tumwater had the ball under its offensive basket with time enough to get off a tying shot. But Pociague deflected the inbounds pass into the hands of Mora and Lindbergh was on to the semi-finals.