Bellarmine Prep 56, Olympia 39: Cold shooting, physicality buries Bears

John Kiley hopes that one was just a blip on the radar.

Olympia High School has, after all, already shown early signs it could compete for one of the top spots in the Class 4A South Puget Sound League.

But on Friday night, a familiar opponent from the now-disbanded 4A Narrows League tested that reality.

Behind the physicality of Joey Bodoia, who scored a game-high 21 points, Bellarmine Prep routed the Bears, 56-39, in a renewed rivalry, now played in the 4A SPSL.

“It was a tough night,” said Kiley, who resumed his role as Olympia’s coach last season after a 13-year break. “They physically took it to us tonight. That was evident in the first minute, and it was evident in the 32nd minute.

“That was something that we weren’t expecting. We expected to put up a physical fight. That was where they convincingly did what they wanted to do.”

The Lions were, indeed, convincing as early as the first minute.

Bodoia was barely contested as he collected six points early, triggering a 10-2 Bellarmine run to start the game.

Olympia never led, and quickly fell into a hole, after missing seven of its first eight shots, and turning the ball over on three consecutive possessions.

“We have the team to hang in this league,” junior guard Casson Rouse said. “Tonight we just came out flat right from the start.”

As the Bears continued to struggle, the Lions continued to find the hoop, and took a 28-16 lead into the break.

Jaylen Scott, who added 15 points for Bellarmine, scored eight unanswered points midway through the third quarter as the Lions continued to pull away.

Bellarmine (4-2, 3-1 4A SPSL) extended the lead as far as 26 points in the fourth quarter.

Olympia went on a 9-0 run to end the game, aided by a pair of buckets from Hunter Sipe but it was far too late.

Sipe, who was averaging 20 points per game entering Friday, was limited to six and Rouse and Ketner Young had six apiece for Olympia.

“Credit to Bellarmine, they played a great game,” Kiley said. “They were tough, schematically they were great.

“That’s first and foremost, but we were a little bit disappointed with the way we reacted to how they played.”

The Bears shot 12 of 35 (34 percent) from the field, including just 2 of 12 (17 percent) from the perimeter.

“This is not like us,” Rouse said. “This was not our team tonight.”

Bellarmine has won four consecutive meetings against the Bears. Olympia’s last win in the longstanding rivalry was in 2015, when it edged the Lions, 47-46, at home.

“They came out harder, they definitely wanted it more, but this was not us,” Rouse said. “Next time we see them, we’ll be a different team. That’s not going to be the result.”

Olympia (3-2), which already has wins over South Kitsap, Sumner and Graham-Kapowsin in 4A SPSL play, meets a new opponent at 7 p.m. Tuesday, when it hosts Rogers.

“We keep talking about this league like it’s the old Big East, where every night you’ve got to come and play, and if you don’t, that’s going to happen,” Kiley said.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Bellarmine Prep 56, Olympia 39: Cold shooting, physicality buries Bears."