Huge Third Quarter Propels Rainier Beach over Bellevue

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Saturday March 8th 2014 3A Boys Basketball
Tacoma Dome 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Bellevue 11 16 11 23 61
Rainier Beach 9 17 28 19 73

Huge Third Quarter Propels Rainier Beach over Bellevue
By Colin Caruso

The second semifinal matchup for 3A boys saw the undefeated Rainier Beach Vikings against the 3A KingCo champion Bellevue Wolverines. Bellevue faced a tough match in this game; going against the state’s finest.

The first half of this game progressed exactly how Bellevue wanted. They kept the game low scoring by significantly slowing the pace and keeping the Vikings off the offensive glass. Rainier Beach shot 55% from the field in the first half to Bellevue’s 41%, but still the Vikings trailed by one entering the third quarter.

Rainier Beach adopted the full court press to start the second half and it worked to perfection, leading to a quick 8-0 Viking run. Bellevue struggled to keep the slow pace from the first half, as Beach put up two more points in the third quarter that they did in the whole first half. Beach gained the momentum going into the final quarter, holding a 54-38 lead. Four Vikings were in double figures at the end of three, compared to just one Wolverine.

The Beach lead hovered around fifteen points until just over a minute remaining, when Bellevue hit two threes to cut the lead to single digits. But a steal by Djuan Piper and a leak out and one finish put the Vikings back up 12 with 45 seconds to play. Beach won the contest by that 12 point margin, 73-61, to face Eastside Catholic in the state final, which will be their fourth matchup of the year.

Top Performers:
Bellevue
Jack Walton – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Sharif Khan – 12 points, 3 rebounds

Rainier Beach
Elijah Foster – 18 points, 7 rebounds
David Crisp – 18 points, 4 steals
Djuan Piper – 13 points (6/7 FG), 7 rebounds

Bellevue Spoils Kangs’ Senior Night, Remains Undefeated in KingCo

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Tuesday Jan 28th 2014 3A Boys Basketball
Lake Washington High 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Bellevue 21 11 7 14 53
Lake Washington 9 11 8 13 41

Bellevue Spoils Kangs’ Senior Night, Remains Undefeated in KingCo
By Steven Dion

Winning league games on the road this time of the high school hoops season is a tall task. The Bellevue Wolverines (11-0 league, 14-2 overall) were set to face off against the Lake Washington Kangaroos (9-2, 12-4) on senior night. In order for BHS to pick up their fifth win away from Wolverine Way and stay unbeaten in KingCo play, they would need to weather the storm brought by the Kangs on Tuesday night.

The first quarter of this ball game was dominated by the visitors as Bellevue picked up a double digit lead after eight minutes of play. Their choice to play the Kangs man-to-man on the defensive side of the ball showcased their size advantage and led to numerous turnovers. Chris O’Connor’s Wolverines were lethal in transition early as precision passing primarily through junior guard Kyle Foreman led to scoring in bunches. LWHS coach Ryan Staudacher called a timeout after trailing 26-9 and was able to motivate his guys to go into halftime with a pulse. A much-needed 11-6 run to close the second quarter left the visitors leading by a dozen with much work needed by the Kangaroos to climb back into the contest.

Refusing to let this game spiral out of control, Lake Washington was motivated to close the gap in the final sixteen minutes of play. The Kangaroos were able to limit Bellevue to only 7 points in the third quarter, but failure to capitalize by scoring only 8 with such a sizable deficit hindered the comeback. A critical moment in the game was a blocking foul called on Jamal Muhammad with LWHS trailing by single digits. After two made free throws, the Bellevue lead was back to 11. In the final quarter, the Kangs would catch some fire from three point range as senior Jeffrey Staudacher brought his team within 7. However, a gutsy response by BHS junior K. Foreman in the form of a floater took the wind out of the home team’s sail. A putback and one by Dylan Foreman was the cherry on top for the Wolverines as the guests picked up a quality win by the final score of 53-41. Timely responses to LWHS runs shows that Bellevue will be a tough contender come postseason.

Top Performer:
Bellevue
Kyle Foreman-Bellevue-18 points (7/11 FG’s), 5 assists