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For the fourth time in four games at the Class 4A West Central/Southwest bi-district boys basketball tournament, the Bears fought back from a second-half deficit, this time against Curtis in the district title game at the ShoWare Center on Monday.
Olympia had the final shot to win the game but missed, leading to the Vikings’ 37-36 victory over the Bears to claim the district title and the No. 1 seed into Saturday’s regional round of the 4A state tournament.
As the No. 2 seed, Olympia (20-5) will face the winner of today’s Bothell/Lake Stevens game at 6 p.m. Friday at Auburn High School.
Monday was the first time the Bears played for a district title as a member the West Central District III, and also played in their first district title game since 1999. That year, as a member of District IV, the John Kiley-coached Olympia squad won the Rivers League North, then went on to defeat Centralia for the 3A Southwest District IV title. Olympia joined the Narrows League and the West Central District the following school year.
In their previous three district playoff games, the Bears clawed their way back from a second-half deficit and found ways to win. Against the Vikings, the Bears trailed by as many as 11 points (29-18) with 2 minutes, 38 seconds to play in the third quarter before their rally came up short.
“That’s kids being tough,” Olympia coach Luke Salme said of his team’s comeback. “It’s mental toughness and really committing them to do what we ask.”
Following Brendan Leonard’s free throw that made it 37-36, Curtis inbounded the ball, but it went through the hands of Cameron Howell for a turnover.
The Bears inbounded the ball with 6.6 seconds to go. Olympia ran a play not previously run in a game but one the Bears executed numerous times during practices the past two weeks, Salme said. Senior Trevor Houser inbounded the ball to fellow guard David Carlson, but Carlson’s 3-point attempt was no good.
“We executed it correctly,” Salme said.
Alex Johnson paced the Bears with 17 points, followed by nine from Houser.
Against a solid defensive Curtis (20-6) team, which defeated Olympia, 66-49, in last year’s 4A state quarterfinals, Olympia struggled in the first half.
Two Vikings – Howell and Nate Cottrill – guarded 4A Narrows League MVP Dominick Francks, holding Francks scoreless on just two shot attempts in the first half as Olympia fell behind, 22-13.
Francks finished with seven points on 2-for-9 shooting, but was productive in other ways. He registered eight rebounds and six assists. The final assist was when he found Johnson under the basket for a hoop that cut the Bears’ deficit to 37-35 with 26.5 seconds remaining.
Salme said players and coaches were all in agreement despite the loss: Finishing second in district is just fine, as long as they make it to the Tacoma Dome.
“We have one game to try and accomplish that, and I feel pretty good about us being prepared to do that,” Salme said.
GIRLS
Emerald Ridge 54, Olympia 43: The Bears (10-14) are the No. 8 seed for this weekend’s 4A regional round of the state tournament.
Alex Bassett led the Bears with nine points, followed by eight points apiece by the Spiller sisters, Molly and Jona. The Bears will play the No. 1 team from District 1 at 6 p.m. Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College.
Auburn Mountainview 44, Timberline 31: The Blazers (15-8) earned the No. 5 seed into the 3A regional round of the state tournament and will play Shorecrest, the top seed from District 1, at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jackson High School in Mill Creek. Sasha Weber led Timberline with 13 points.
Taholah 48, Mary M. Knight 43: The Chitwins went on a 12-0 run in the final four minutes to claim the 1B District IV title. As the No. 2 seed into the 1B regional round of state, the Owls will face Lummi at 4 p.m. Saturday at Timberline High School.
BOYS
Mary M. Knight 60, Taholah 41: The Owls from Matlock claimed the 1B District IV title and will be the No. 1 seed into the 1B regional round of state. The Owls will face Mount Rainier Lutheran at 8 p.m. Saturday at Timberline High School.
