Reigning 4A state champ Curtis handles O’Dea in early-season basketball clash
Curtis High School basketball coach Tim Kelly lost a bet a while back to O’Dea coach Jason Kerr on a Spokane golf course. So when the Class 4A Curtis Vikings hosted the Class 3A O’Dea Fighting Irish on Wednesday in University Place in an early-season clash between two of the state’s top programs, it was time to pay up.
The wager? Kelly, who normally dons a suit and tie on gamedays, had to wear a sweat suit.
“Coach Kelly doesn’t like to wear sweats. He looked classy, man,” said Curtis junior guard Zoom Diallo, laughing. “Coach Kelly looked good.”
Any discomfort Kelly felt sure didn’t rub off on his team. Curtis, the defending 4A state champion, looked in midseason form, handling the Fighting Irish from the tip in a thorough, convincing 81-60 win that never felt in doubt.
Curtis lost on Saturday to Lake City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. On Wednesday, Kelly felt the effort was better, particulary in the rebounding category. Curtis out-rebounded O’Dea 27 to 21 in the win.
“Rebounding was night and day,” he said. “(It has been) really horrendous, been an issue. We emhpasized it and I thought we did a great job.”
Diallo looked as smooth as ever, pouring in a game-high 24 points in the win. Senior Tyce Paulsen added 23, hitting a pair of 3-pointers but mostly making his living getting to the rim. It’s an assertiveness that Kelly likes seeing from the senior leader.
“That’s what I’m trying to get them all to do,” Kelly said. “All our guys can shoot the ball but they all want to settle for that first. Let’s go make them move, get something easy. That’s only going to make it easier for you out there.”
Curtis moves to 7-1 on the season with the win, the only loss coming to Lake City.
“I feel like nobody in the state can beat us, to be honest,” Diallo said. “The only thing that’s holding us back to ever lose is us. That Lake City game, we came back. It was just us. It was a tough loss but we used that as motivation to come back. ... We knew O’Dea was going to be a good match for us. Just a good statement win. So we just came out there with some motivation and some determination to go out there.”
The gym was packed, somewhat unusual for a Christmas break game. Fans from Seattle made the trip down to see the highly-touted matchup, which ended as a one-sided affair.
“There were a lot of Seattle dudes, a lot of people contacting me throughout the game,” Diallo said. “Everybody throughout our state. I feel like it was a Seattle vs. Tacoma match and Tacoma pulled it out on this one.”
