Stevenson hammers down 4 dunks as Timberline rolls on senior night

Timberline High School wrapped up its regular-season run with an exclamation point.

Well, four of them.

Senior shooting guard Erik Stevenson, a Wichita State signee, threw down four slam dunks as the ninth-ranked Blazers flew by Central Kitsap, 84-54, on Thursday night in Lacey.

The Blazers (16-4, 12-2) left no doubt, leading from Conner Warick’s opening bucket, and winning their third consecutive game to cap 3A South Sound Conference play.

Timberline sent the crowd into a frenzy several times on senior night as 11 different players — including six seniors — scored for the Blazers, led by Stevenson’s game-high 25 points and eight rebounds.

Casson Rouse (13 points), Hunter Campau (11) and Eli Morton (10) all had double-digit nights for the Blazers. Morton also recorded four assists.

“We wanted to come out here and have fun, get a big win on senior night for our last regular-season game,” Stevenson said.

Timberline ignited its fans less than three minutes into the game, when Morton tossed up a long pass to Stevenson, who ran down the baseline and slammed down the alley-oop.

The second dunk came just before the half, when Stevenson scooped a long lob pass from Rouse, and hammered the ball down over a Cougars defender.

“I got the ball on the break,” Stevenson said. “I took my dribble and I saw him. I just kept looking back at him. He decided to jump, and I just did what I did.”

Stevenson drew the foul and made the ensuing free throw. The play seemed to deflate Central Kitsap, which opened the quarter on a 10-2 run to trim Timberline’s lead to six points.

But the Blazers built on the momentum, entering the break with a 40-24 lead, and didn’t falter in the second half.

Stevenson added two more dunks in the fourth quarter to close the night.

Rouse again set Stevenson up in transition. The two raced down the floor, Stevenson caught the ball behind his back in midair, and threw down the dunk with his right hand.

Morton and Stevenson connected again for the finale. Morton found Stevenson in space in the closing minutes, and Stevenson took one dribble before leaping up for the 360-degree slam.

When the bench emptied, the crowd continued to cheer for each new Timberline player that scored.

Mason Simeta, who was an All-Area and all-state linebacker for the Blazers, got perhaps the biggest roar of the game late in the fourth, when he scored in the paint, drew contact, and completed the 3-point play.

“It was good to see a football player come out here and get some buckets,” Stevenson said. “It was just a good team win.”

Timberline hosts the Pierce County League’s No. 5 seed next week in the opening round of the district playoffs.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Stevenson hammers down 4 dunks as Timberline rolls on senior night."