Curtis beats Union in semis, will play for state title for first time since 2013
Devin Whitten licks his chops when opposing defenses go into a 2-3 zone. That’s when the Curtis High School sophomore guard gets a chance to shine.
In Curtis’ 4A high school boys basketball state tournament semifinal game against Union at the Tacoma Dome on Friday night, he let it fly early and often, converting five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 16 points.
His biggest of the bunch? Curtis was clinging to a three-point lead with 1 minute, 23 seconds to play. Whitten launched a deep three from the left wing — right in front of Curtis’ bench — as the shot clock was winding down. He drilled it, got fouled, and converted the four-point play to extend the lead and effectively ice the game.
Curtis hung on to win, 49-40, advancing to Saturday’s 4A state championship game against No. 1 Mount Si. It’s Curtis’ first trip back to the title game since 2013.
“When teams run zone, I know it’s a game that I can stand out,” Whitten said. “So today was a day and I just know I have to hit shots in those moments. … I just want to help the team win, anything. Just hitting shots, doing anything on offense just to help them. We knew we had to win, so I knew I had to step up today.”
Curtis raced out to an 8-0 lead, forcing Union coach Blake Conley to call an early timeout. While the Vikings kept the Titans at arm’s length for most of the game, Union wouldn’t go away. The game resembled the teams’ early clash in the District 3/4 semifinal game on Feb. 17. Again on Saturday, Union clawed back into the game, making it interesting late before Curtis went on to win.
It wasn’t their most explosive offensive effort, but the Vikings won with defense, holding Union to 37 percent shooting from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range.
“Our defense tonight, I thought was outstanding,” said Curtis coach Tim Kelly. “To hold them to 40 points, we were struggling offensively. We weren’t getting good shots, we turned it over a bit. Keep playing defense, keep getting stops and something will happen. We did that and Devin get ths 3-point play in front of us, it opened it up to basically seal it.”
Curtis has a young roster, which is a scary thought for the rest of the state. This team should be back again next year. But for senior forward Trent Williams, this is his first and last crack at a state title. He’s soaking it all in.
“It’s exciting,” Williams said. “Every senior’s goal is to go out with a state championship. That’s what we’re all fighting for, that’s what I’m fighting for.”
Cinque Maxwell added 13 points for the Vikings, Tyce Paulsen had nine and Williams had seven. Curtis star sophomore Zoom Diallo had a quiet night, scoring just four points, but impacted the game in other ways, racking up five assists. Union was paced by forward Yanni Fassillis’ 17 points. Guard Bryson Metz added 11 for the Titans.
And for the first time since 2013 — when Curtis defeated Jackson to win the state title (Tim Kelly was the team’s coach then, too) — Curtis will play for a state championship.
“It feels great,” Whitten said. “We’ve had a long season, fought through adversity the whole season, gotten better throughout the season.”
