Defending 4A state champ Curtis starts fast, blows out Camas in quarterfinal
Tyce Paulsen saw his first shot go in early in Curtis’ Class 4A state tournament regional basketball game against Camas at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday morning and the rest was history.
Any concerns Curtis might start slow after not playing in the opening round on Wednesday, or might struggle with shooting in the Tacoma Dome, were immediately erased. Curtis, the defending state champion and tournament top seed, scored at will all game, cruising to a 73-46 win over Camas to advance to Thursday’s semifinal round.
“That’s everything in the Dome,” Paulsen said of Curtis’ fast start. “A lot of people can’t shoot in the Dome. Really focusing in warmups getting our shots right, I think that really helped.”
Curtis shot 50.8 percent from the field and made 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, putting on an offensive clinic against the overmatched Papermakers. Paulsen poured in a game-high 20 points, five-star guard Zoom Diallo scored 18 and Cinque Maxwell added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.
“We just told each other, even though it’s going to be our first (game at the Dome), just try to get to the paint first and try to get outside shots. We were good just shooting from the beginning. So it didn’t matter for us just to focus to get inside. Shots felt good for everybody, so that’s a good thing.”
Things seem to open up for Curtis when Paulsen is hitting shots. Such was the case again on Thursday, when Camas had to pick its poison between letting Paulsen have open looks and trying to slow down Diallo from attacking the rim.
“It puts eyes on both him and me and opens up the game for a lot of people,” Diallo said. “Tyce is a shooter and I’m an aggressive guard who can get in the paint.”
Curtis played clean, too, with just 12 turnovers to Camas’ 22.
“We are at our best when the ball’s moving,” Paulsen said. “I think that goes for everybody. When we get other people when they drive and kick, it creates for other people, we make shots and win games.”
Theo McMillan scored a team-high 14 points for Camas, while Jace VanVoorhis added 10.
Curtis will get a much stiffer test in Thursday’s semifinals, facing No. 4 Federal Way at 3:45 p.m. Federal Way handled Skyline in the day’s first game, 69-53.
“I think getting the win today helps us build a little confidence,” Paulsen said. “They’re a good team, it’ll be a good one.”
