Bellarmine Prep stunned No. 1 Rainier Beach in regional game. Can the Lions win it all?
Bellarmine Prep’s players noticed the way Rainier Beach’s team strolled onto the floor for pre-game warmups during last Saturday’s Class 3A state tournament regional round game in Bellevue.
They were a few minutes late and didn’t appear all that focused on the game. Add into the equation that Jaylen Petty, one of Rainier Beach’s star players, didn’t play until late in the fourth quarter when the game was coming down to the wire, and Bellarmine’s players felt a certain disrespect from the top-seeded Vikings.
“They didn’t really treat us like a real opponent,” Bellarmine sophomore guard Kade Price said from practice in Tacoma on Monday afternoon. “So we came in, we were all fired up. We took it really personally.”
Perhaps Rainier Beach figured it could coast to a win without Petty, a senior New Mexico signee. Petty was reportedly nursing an injury, but he was forced into action when the upset bid inched close to reality. He played late, but it was too little, too late. Bellarmine pulled off the 59-57 win, stunning the tournament’s top seed.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, and we all believed we were gonna win,” Price said. “We went out there to win it.”
Now Bellarmine Prep has a bye into the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. The Lions are just two wins away from playing for the state championship.
However it shakes out, that’s already an accomplishment for first-year coach Bobby Moorehead, who played high school basketball at Stadium before a college career at Montana. He spent the past few seasons as an assistant under Tim Kelly at Curtis High School. Curtis won consecutive state championships with Moorehead on the staff.
Bellarmine Prep went 4-17 last season under former longtime coach Bernie Salazar with a 3-10 mark in the 4A South Puget Sound League. Bellarmine dropped down to Class 3A this season and Bellarmine is 22-7 in Moorehead’s first year and playing in the Tacoma Dome.
“(Moorehead) just gave us confidence in every part of the game, really just let us play free, and I feel like that fit in well with the guard play we have,” said guard JJ Bordeaux.
Playing with confidence — that’s been the biggest area of growth over the past few months.
“Early on, we’d dig ourselves in massive holes against Lincoln, Annie Wright, not really thinking we could play with some of those guys,” Moorehead said. “Then we realized we can.”
Bellarmine probably doesn’t have any future Division I basketball players on its roster, so getting back on defense and out-working teams have been major points of emphasis.
“(Winning with defense) has been my experience on every winning team that I’ve been a part of,” Moorehead said. “You’ve gotta guard to make it happen.”
That was particularly true against Rainier Beach, which scored 100 or more points in five different games this season, including 139 against Nathan Hale.
“Defense is our No. 1 thing,” Price said. “It wins games. We’re taking every game personally with defense and try to go get that lead.”
Bellarmine, the No. 8 seed in this year’s tournament, will face the winner of No. 2 Mount Spokane and No. 10 Monroe at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. The Lions aren’t just happy to be there.
“For us, there’s no sense thinking it’s cool to get to the Dome and that’s it,” Moorehead said. “That’s a lot of people’s mentality, and I’m just not on board with that. We’re there for a reason, and we absolutely can compete with everybody we come across.”
Bellarmine won’t be the favorite, but don’t tell the Lions. This group believes it can beat anyone on any given night.
“I used to go to state when I was a lot younger,” Price said. “It’s just crazy to think I’m gonna be playing in the Dome, finally. Our goal is the state championship.”
Consider the win against Rainier Beach a message to the rest of the 3A field.
“Now people realize we can beat anyone,” Bordeaux said. “Anything can happen.”
