South Sound high school winter sports roundup (Jan. 16 to 21)

TUESDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

4A

TAHOMA 75, KENTRIDGE 68

Tahoma outlasted Kentridge on Tuesday night as a result of double-digit scoring performances from all five starters. The win keeps the Bears as one of two unbeaten 4A NPSL programs.

Tahoma forward Adam Davis posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, pacing his teammates in the program’s fifth straight win.

Chargers guard Jamari Harris dropped a game-high 23, sparking a late comeback that fell short by single-digits.

Tahoma (8-0, 11-3) joins Federal Way (8-0, 15-1) on the 4A NPSL mountaintop. Kentridge (6-2, 13-3) remains within striking distance, a close third with five contests to play.

“We graduated nine (seniors) last year... but we kind of knew we had pretty good guys coming back,” said Tahoma coach Rick Tripp. “But we emphasize that. Those were our five starters that (had) double-digits.”

Kentridge’s 29 points in the fourth quarter — 14 from Harris alone — and flurry of foul shots weren’t enough to claw back.

BOX SCORE

KR: 14-13-12-29—68

T: 17-15-22-21–75

Scoring: (T) Adam Davis 18, Kevin Williams 14, Jayden Stephens 12, Dalton Brown 11, Logan McGough 10; (KR) Jamari Harris 23, Jalon Blackwell 15

OLYMPIA 76, ROGERS 53

The Bears were off and running against the Rams, jumping out to a quick lead that they would never relinquish for the rest of the game.

After settling into an early rhythm, Rogers had little defensive answers for senior Andreas Englholm controlling inside the paint. The 6-foot-7 forward came away with a game-high 21 for Olympia.

Engholm wasn’t the only Bear to hit at least 20 points either, as senior Parker Gerrits also dropped 20 on the Rams. Rounding out the top scorers for Olympia was senior Mason Juergens. He knocked down 15, including four three-pointers.

“We moved the ball well. We were settling early for shots and it lasted most of the game,” said coach John Kiley. “[Engholm] did a great job inside being a consistent presence, and [Juergens] had four-three’s. That created more space for our guys… Our offense was definitely the key. This is the time that we are supposed to take additional steps, so tonight was a good night.”

Leading the Rams was senior Jackson Yoder with 15 points. Behind him were sophomores Treyshawn Witherspoon and Dylan Dilderhus, both netting 13 on the night.

Olympia (9-1, 14-3) continues to hold down the 4A SPSL South with their win and prepares to take on Bellarmine next. That will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 at Bellarmine Preparatory High School.

BOX SCORE

O: 23-15-20-18—76

R: 14-9-17-12—53

Scoring: (O) Andreas Engholm 21, Parker Gerrits 20, Mason Juergens 15; (R) Jackson Yoder 15, Treyshawn Witherspoon 13, Dylan Gilderhus 13

GIRLS BASKETBALL

4A

TAHOMA 58, KENTRIDGE 32

An unbeaten in the 4A NSPL has fallen: Tahoma (8-1, 14-2) knocked off Kentridge (7-1, 10-4) as Tuesday’s visitor, narrowing the margin for error in a top-heavy race for the league title.

A second-half surge pushed the Bears into the driver’s seat by halftime -- a position they never returned.

Junior guard Lily Cavanaugh dropped a game-high 14 for Tahoma. Angelina, a senior and Lily’s sister, posted 11. The pair were the only players to reach double-digits.

“We played well in our zone and mixed in some pressing... I thought we kept them off balance,” Tahoma coach Pete Smith said. “The kids played hard and got after it for 32 minutes.”

Freshman point guard Bailey Nettleton sunk a trio of three-pointers, and Bears senior forward Lauryn Frederickson impressed Smith around the glass. The senior added eight points.

Tahoma’s defense allowed 14 points in the entirety of the second half. The loss by Kentridge leaves two unbeaten programs in the 4A NPSL: Decatur (7-0, 12-3) and Kentwood (7-0, 11-4). Those squads meet at Decatur High School on Jan. 30.

Said Kentridge coach Brad McDowell: “We battled, we never gave up, and never stopped competing.”

BOX SCORE

T: 14-19-10-15—58

KR: 10-8-7-7—32

Scoring: (T) Lily Cavanaugh 14, Angelina Cavanaugh 11, Bailey Nettleton 9, Lauryn Fredrickson 8, Hope Hassmann 5; (KR) Jayla Keowla 7, Tia Schanbeck 6, Trinity Schanbeck 6, Andrea Pop 7

THURSDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

4A

CURTIS 71, SUMNER 46

Josiah Johnson couldn’t miss.

Curtis’ senior guard dropped a game-high 17 points off the bench, netting all eight field goal attempts in University Place.

The Vikings were wildly efficient, shooting over 65 percent as a team (30-for-46). Guard Tyce Paulsen went 5-for-8, totaling 15 points and a game-high six rebounds.

Curtis cruised to a double-digit lead in the opening period. They snagged 21 steals on Thursday night, headlined by Cinque Maxwell’s five — a game-best.

Curtis widened its lead on SPSL North foes, now three and a half games above the division. Thursday’s win thrusted the Vikings into a tie with Olympia, the SPSL South’s leader, for the best record (9-1) in the league.

BOX SCORE

S: 7-13-14-12–46

C: 21-15-24-11—71

Scoring: (C) Josiah Johnson 17, Tyce Paulsen 15, Zoom Diallo 11, Devin Whitten 11; (S) Karl Liedtke 11

AUBURN 60, AUBURN MOUNTAINVIEW 47

At one point in the game, the Trojans were up 28-6 over the Lions. Even though Auburn Mountainview ended the first half on a seven-to-zero run to cut the score to 28-13, they were not going to catch up with Auburn.

The Trojans’ (6-2, 11-5) defense proved to be too much as they kept the Lions’ shooters in front of them, forcing bad shots, and out rebounding Auburn Mountainview.

Auburn also had some big scoring performances from sophomore Jaylen Petty, who had a game-high 22 points. Junior Luvens Valcin chipped in 16 and senior Semaj Brown had 13 as well.

“We did a good job at keeping them in front of us in the first half. The defense forced them to take tough shots and at one point it was 28-6,” said coach Ryan Hansen. “I wasn’t happy with that seven-zero run at the end though. Offensively, we did a good job getting out in transition even though I thought we were a bit stagnant at times.”

The Lions’ high scorer was junior Mande Wanlemvo, knocking in 19 points.

BOX SCORE

A: 15-13-20-12--60

AMV: 4-9-20-14--47

Scoring: (A) Jaylen Petty 22, Luvens Valcin 16, Semaj Brown 13; (AMV) Mande Wanlemvo 19

GIRLS BASKETBALL

4A

EMERALD RIDGE 57, BETHEL 45

Emerald Ridge outlasted the home Bison in this SPSL meeting, now winners of four straight.

The Jaguars (9-2, 13-4) hold a two-game cushion on the remainder of the SPSL South following Thursday’s victory. Sumner (10-1, 15-3), paces the league.

BELLARMINE 62, OLYMPIA 42

The Lions’ strategy against the Bears was to push the pace of the game. Their offense scored quick, and the defense did a great job suffocating any response Olympia might have had.

Getting a quick start to the game by finishing the first quarter up 17-7, Bellarmine continued their strong offensive output by ending the half up 37-23. The quick start really helped the Lions as they would only score 25 points in the second half, yet only allow 19 as well.

Leading Bellarmine offensively was juniors Jada Travis and Kiara Stone, both of whom scored 19 points. Sophomore Keiara Curtis also etched in 12 to help her teammates out.

“We just pushed the pace a lot. Olympia ran out of gas, and that’s what we had to do to beat them,” said coach Chelle Miller. “It was mostly forcing turnovers. As a team we’re getting better, every day we are getting better. Our keys are trying to get the other team to turn the ball over and take advantage of it. Once we can get both the offense and defense to mesh, we’ll be great.”

Olympia’s high scorers were senior Hannah Bershauer with 17 points and sophomore Lauren Wolin with 11.

BOX SCORE

BP: 17-20-12-13--62

O: 7-16-7-12--42

Scoring: (BP) Jada Travis 19, Kiara Stone 19, Keiara Curtis 12; (O) Hannah Bershauer 17, Lauren Wolin 11

FRIDAY

GIRLS BASKETBALL

4A

TAHOMA 54, KENTWOOD 39

From the start of the game, the Bears’ defense made sure to conquer whatever offense the Conquerors tried throwing at them.

Playing a zone defense, Tahoma (10-0, 15-2) did a great job getting into the passing lanes of Kentwood (7-1, 10-5). The Bears forced turnovers, and ran the ball quickly in transition to get up big on the Conquerors.

Rebounding also played a big factor in the first half as Tahoma found themselves in the right spots to make it a 28-13 game at the half.

“I thought our defense set the tone from the start of the game. We weren’t as sharp offensively, and we really bothered them on defense,” said coach Pete Smith. “We play zone defense and it works for us. Our kids were ready, in the right spots to make turnovers and we competed on the boards. That led to a pretty good first half. Kentwood came out in the second half and we struggled on the glass. At one point they made it a nine point game, but then our defense closed it back down.”

With such a big night for the defense, the Bears had to make sure they still outscored the Conquerors themselves. Leading the way for Tahoma was junior Lily Cavanaugh with 20 points.

Behind her was senior Hope Hassman adding in another 17.

For Kentwood, their leading scorers came in the form of seniors Dee-vyne Salu with 11 and Tia Pam with 10, as well.

BOX SCORE

T: 14-14-10-16--54

KW: 9-4-14-12--39

Scoring: (T) Lily Cavanaugh 20, Hope Hassman 17; (KW) Dee-vyne Salu 11, Tia Pam 10

3A

LINCOLN 52, SILAS 37

Despite it being their first game with a different lineup, the Abes were able to find their groove early on defensively. Meanwhile, their offense was off and running against the Rams.

Locked into their assignments, Lincoln (10-0, 14-3) shut down Silas’ (7-3, 10-7) offense and outscored them 32-11 in the first half. The Abes were able to force turnovers, get out in transition, and out rebound Silas.

However, the Rams came out firing in the second half. Outscoring the Abes 19-10 in the third quarter, Silas cut down the deficit to 42-30 entering the final period. Lincoln’s first half defense showed back up in the fourth quarter and shut the Rams down again, leading to their 52-37 win.

“We played with our discipline on defense. The kids are still trying to gel out there,” said coach Jamila Jones. “We turned the ball over in the third quarter and we didn’t play with patience. We needed stops but they didn’t get them. Our team has to finish games and not get complacent. It’s important to grow as a group, especially down the stretch. As a coach, I have got to keep us engaged with the right mindset. The whole team played well, and all 11 players are ready to go.”

The Abes’ high scorers were freshman Oliviyah Edwards with 16, and junior Deandra Woods-Singleton with eight.

The Rams were led by senior McKenna Jacobs’ 11 points.

BOX SCORE

L: 15-17-10-10--52

S: 6-5-19-7--37

Scoring: (L) Oliviyah Edwards 16, Deandra Woods-Singleton 8; (S) McKenna Jacobs 11

BOYS BASKETBALL

3A

LINCOLN 61, SILAS 50

The Abes are Pierce County League champions.

Lincoln (9-1, 14-6) outscored Silas (6-4, 9-8) in every quarter, guided by Omarion Boston’s 20 points in a win to secure the PCL title on their home court Friday night.

In a corresponding 7:30 p.m. tipoff, league-rival stadium Stadium lost to Mount Tahoma, 67-61 — providing Lincoln with a clinch opportunity.

Abes sophomore guard Isaiah Cunningham posted 18 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field. Boston scored in every quarter.

Silas guard Taveonte Webster dropped a game-high 21.

BOX SCORE

S: 10-7-16-17—50

L: 12-13-17-19—61

Scoring: (L) Omarion Boston 20, Isaiah Cunningham 18; (S) Taveonte Webster 21, Tre Walker 11

SATURDAY

BOYS BASKETBALL

3A

JACKSON 63, STADIUM 51

Jackson doubled the Tigers’ third-quarter score, holding onto a late lead for a road win at Stadium High School on Saturday night.

Stadium’s two-point lead diminished in the second quarter when five Timberwolves converted field goals, including six points from Sylas Williams. The senior forward finished with a game-best 21.

Senior Kellen O’Halloran led Stadium’s scoring attack with 17 points. Standout guard and Washington High School transfer Ne’Quan Brown added nine.

The loss was inconsequential for Stadium’s PCL title hopes; Lincoln secured the league crown with a win over Silas on Friday.

BOX SCORE

J: 13-16-18-16—63

S: 15-10-9-17—51

Scoring: (S) Kellen O’Halloran 17, Baaroc Rivers 10, Ne’Quan Brown 9; (J) Sylas Williams 21, Harris Kampe 11

SATURDAY SCORES

BOYS BASKETBALL

4A

Curtis 69, Bellarmine Prep 51

Graham-Kapowsin 80, Battle Ground 62

Emerald Ridge 83, Kentlake 49

Issaquah 70, Kentwood 52

3A

Lakes 60, Olympic 46

Eastlake 71, River Ridge 54

1A

Vashon Island 76, Life Christian Academy 60

GIRLS BASKETBALL

4A

Union 60, Olympia 51

Kentridge 45, Rogers 39

Curtis 62, North Creek 57

Newport 58, Kennedy Catholic 31

This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 10:04 PM.