Behind strong outings from Paulsen and Maxwell, Curtis smokes Rogers 63-42 in 4A SPSL semis
And finally, a year later, the Curtis Vikings find themselves exactly where they wanted to be.
Curtis earned a return trip to the South Puget Sound League 4A boys championship game with a dominant 63-42 semifinal victory over visiting Rogers on Friday night. The Vikings will face Olympia for the second straight year, scheduled for Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Bethel High.
The Bears earned their spot in the title game with a 63-30 semifinal win over Graham-Kapowsin on Friday.
“Everything we’ve done was to get back here, against Olympia,” junior Cinque Maxwell said.
A year ago, the SPSL league championship was the only title available with no state playoffs taking place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That Curtis campaign ended with a 69-49 loss to the Bears.
“We want a championship,” Curtis coach Tim Kelly said. “We actually haven’t had one in three years.”
This group hopes the SPSL title will be just the start of a long run into the post-season. Already, by advancing to the league championship, Curtis has earned a home game to open the District 3/4 tournament next week. The Vikings (19-3), who have lost only one time all season in the state of Washington, are planning on trips beyond the districts to regionals and ultimately the Tacoma Dome for the 4A state tournament in early March.
Continued consistent performances like Curtis got against the Rams (12-7) on Friday could ensure the fulfilling of those goals.
The Vikings got early fireworks from junior Tyce Paulsen, built a 34-23 lead by the half and extended the lead to as many as 36 points, 51-15, on Zoom Diallo’s drive and layup with 3 minutes, 18 seconds to play in the third quarter.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Kelly said. “We want to come out, set the tone. Defensively, that’s what we hang our hat on. They had 13 points at halftime.”
Meanwhile, offensively three different Vikings scored in double figures. Paulsen scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, while Diallo scored 10 of his 12 in the second 16 minutes after sitting much of the second quarter with foul trouble.
“He was a lot more assertive tonight,” Kelly said of Paulsen, who went six of seven from the field. “He missed one shot. When he does that, he’s a pretty good player.”
Then there was the consistent presence of Maxwell, who matched Paulsen for game-high scoring honors with 16 points one night after he poured in 22 in a first-round victory over Emerald Ridge. In addition, despite a game that was called tightly, Maxwell remained a presence on both ends of the floor without picking up a single foul against Rogers.
“He does everything right,” Kelly said. “He takes great shots, he shoots almost 70 percent from the field. He averages 15 points a game, he’s our leading rebounder at about seven and a half, and he plays the post as a 6-1 player.”
For Maxwell, it’s simply a matter of getting done what needs to get done to help Curtis continue to win.
“For me, it’s being around my teammates that allows me to do what I do,” Maxwell said. “Obviously, we have Tyce and Zoom on our team. They clear a lot of things up.”
That gives Maxwell room to operate, and leads to open shots, he said. Those shots have turned into consistently good performances all season.
“I don’t really have an answer for that,” Maxwell said. “I try to only take good shots. I don’t take a lot of shots. I’m not trying to force anything.”
Nobody for this Curtis team seemed to force anything on Friday, and it landed them right where they wanted to be all along. Curtis won the only regular season meeting this year between the two, 51-44.
“All of these playoff games, we’re all about playing Olympia,” Maxwell said. “It’s the rivalry game because last year, it was heart-breaking. This year we’re just coming with a different mindset and ready to win that.”