Puyallup Grabs First Round District Win Over South Kitsap


Puyallup Grabs First Round District Win Over South Kitsap
By Nic Beckman

Wednesday- February 10th 2016 Boys 4A Districts
Puyallup High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
South Kitsap 13 17 14 11 55
Puyallup 11 23 11 14 59

First round play in West Central District 3 action had the Wolves of South Kitsap crossing the Narrows bridge to play at Puyallup. The Vikings with the timely return of second leading scorer Tony Gutierrez back from a quadriceps injury that has kept him out of action for nearly a month were happy to be playing at home. A fast paced first quarter saw South Kitsap with all five of the Wolves starters getting buckets and the first foul of the game whistled with just 3.4 seconds left in the period. Wolves on top 13-11 heading into the second. Six 3’s, 2 each by Jaden Vollmen, Landen Neff and Tony Gutierrez had the Vikings up 34-30 at half. It was Daniel Tomkiewicz with 9 second quarter points who led all scorers at half with 11.

Coach John Callaghan’s SK team kept pace with the Vikings with another 8 points from Tomkiewicz, who would tie the game at 42 with a 3 followed by Isaiah Lewis in the lane and the Wolves were up 44-42 with under 2 minutes left in the third. Gutierrez with 3 first half 3’s added another with 1:35 left to give Puyallup back the lead 45-44 heading into the final 8 minutes. Vikings coach Scott Campbell turned up the Viking pressure and kept the Wolves from scoring for more than 4 minutes. Puyallup built the lead to 54-44 until an Eric Wattree free throw broke the drought, bringing the lead back under 10 at 54-45 with 3:24 remaining. Wattree would add 7 more points in the period and end with 16 on the night, while teammate Daniel Tomkiewicz with four 3’s in the game, would lead SK with 22. The lead would prove too much as Puyallup would hold on behind the game high 23 points of Tony Gutierrez, getting 6 from beyond the arc. The Final Score Puyallup 59 South Kitsap 55.

Puyallup moves on in the winners side of the bracket to meet Curtis on Friday at Mt. Tahoma, 7:45pm tipoff. South Kitsap will head to Auburn HS to battle Kentlake in a loser out game, also with a 7:45pm tip.

The Final Score
Puyallup 59, South Kitsap 55.

Top Performers:

Puyallup
Tony Gutierrez 23
Jaden Vollmen 9
Deven Neff 9

South Kitsap
Daniel Tomkiewicz 22
Eric Wattree 16
Isaiah Lewis 8

Puyallup Secures 2nd Place in SPSL-South Over Jags


Puyallup Runs Past Rams on Rivalry Night
By Nic Beckman

Tuesday- February 2nd 2016 Boys 4A SPSL-South
Spanaway Lake High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Emerald Ridge 10 12 11 11 44
Puyallup 10 10 16 20 56

Emerald Ridge and Puyallup played at Spanaway Lake on Tuesday night to determine the number 2 and 3 seeds for the SPSL South. One week ago these two teams played to a one point, 55-54 overtime win for the Jaguars at PHS. Puyallup still without second leading scorer Tony Gutierrez suffering from a quadriceps contusion, has had to adjust their play down the stretch. The lingering injury and treatment has kept the senior off the court for nearly a month to end the regular season. Gutierrez hopes to be back for playoff action on Thursday night. The Vikings have relied on a number of other players to step up to fill the void. Emerald Ridge coach Pat Mullen and Viking coach Scott Campbell had their teams ready to play and the first quarter was indicative of these teams familiarity with each other. The Jags Daniel Gregory and Viking Deven Neff each with a pair of 3’s had their teams tied at 10 after the first quarter. The second period had the Jaguars hitting four from beyond the arc two from Donald Bango while Puyallup made 4 of 5 free throws and converted in the paint to keep it close. At the half Emerald Ridge held a 2 point lead 22-20. Vikings Deven Neff would lead all scorers with 8 at the half and Daniel Gregory had 7 for the Jags.

The opening of the second half saw the Vikings start with 3 turnovers and ER’s Chase McGuire with back to back buckets gave the Jags their largest lead at 26-20 with 6:37 left in the quarter. Coach Campbell called time out to settle his team. The Vikings responded as Jaden Vollmen and Brennan Winter with a pair of baskets followed by a Deven Neff 3, put the Viks up 27-26. Andrew Boston put the Jaguars back on top with a bucket inside. Jaden Vollmen with a dime to Brooks Ballmer under the hoop followed it up with two hard drives to the rim and Puyallup was up 33-30. ER had problems from the free throw going 1-5 in the third. Chase McGuire would add another field goal for all 6 of his points on the night, but Puyallup’s leading scorer Deven Neff with a pair of 3’s and strong move in the lane, would get 8 of his game high 17 and the Vikings out scored ER 16-11 in the period to take the lead at 36-33 heading into the fourth.

Fouls mounted for PHS and Emerald Ridge got to the line early in the fourth, where they collected 5 of 9 for half of their quarter total. On the other end, Puyallup gained momentum from sophomore Landen Neff, who converted at the rim twice and Brennan Winter stepped up and knocked down a 3 and the Vikings built a 9 point lead at 45-36. Winter who did a great job rebounding also put in 13 points for his team helping to fill the Gutierrez void. Jaden Vollmen continued to push the pace for the Vikings keeping the pressure on Emerald Ridge. Vollmen would tally 14 for Puyallup. Jags senior Raeshon Scales with a pair of 3’s in the first half tried to keep his team in it with two jumpers just inside the arc, would finish with a team high 10 points. A Tyler Torgerson 3 put the Viks on top 50-39 giving them their largest lead of the night at 2:50 left in regulation. The lead forced the Jags to foul PHS with the clock winding under 2 minutes, but with only 3 fouls in the half cost Emerald Ridge nearly 30 seconds as ER tried to get the Vikings into the bonus. Puyallup would hit 6 of 8 from the line to close out the game. Puyallup’s top 3 scorers would equal the total ER output as Brennan Winter with a season high 13, Jaden Vollmen’s 14, combined with Deven Neff’s 17 would secure the #2 seed from the SPSL South. The Final Score Vikings 56 Jaguars 44.

Emerald Ridge will face the winner of Kent Meridian vs Rogers on Saturday at 6pm as the #3 seed to gain either the 7th or 9th seed from the SPSL heading into West Central District III play. #2 seed Puyallup will see Kentridge at the ShoWare on Thursday, the winner getting the SPSL #4 seed, the loser will play Jefferson on Saturday for either the SPSL #5 or #6 seed.

The Final Score
Puyallup 72, Rogers-Puyallup 57.

Top Performers:
Puyallup
Deven Neff- 17 points
Jaden Vollmen- 14 points
Brennan Winter- 13 points

Emerald Ridge
Raeshon Scales- 10 points
Daniel Gregory- 8 points
Donald Bango- 7 points

Puyallup Survives Defensive Battle With Braves


Puyallup Survives Defensive Battle With Braves
By Nic Beckman

Tuesday- January 19th 2016 Boys 4A SPSL
Puyallup High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Bethel 6 13 10 3 32
Puyallup 16 10 11 8 45

The Puyallup Vikings coming off an 84-80 loss to division leader Curtis were back at home Tuesday night to host the Bethel Braves. Dakaline White, 6’1” senior for Bethel got the opening two buckets as the Braves got up 4-2, that would prove to be their last lead. The short handed Viks squad looked for scoring as their second leading scorer, Tony Gutierrez was unable to play due to injury. They had seven players score in the first quarter and finished the first up ten, 16-6.

PHS up 20-6 and in the bonus at 6:41 of the second had the game looking to get out of hand. But the Braves weren’t going easy, as Jon Taimanglo and Matt Anderson both hit 3’s and Brian Shaffer added 5 in the quarter going on an 8-1 run to pull back within 7 at 21-14. Viking leading scorer senior Deven Neff, in early foul trouble went 3-4 from the line was held to just 3 points at the half, while sophomore brother, Landen Neff led the team with 8 points, 4-6 from the line as the team collected 11-16 free throws in the first half. Puyallup up 26-19 at the break.

Brian Shaffer had 7 points for the Braves but also picked up 3 personal fouls would pick up his 4th at 6:11 of the third and finish with 7. On the Viking side, Deven Neff earned his 3rd personal foul just 23 seconds into the quarter and before Coach Campbell could get a sub in, Neff was called for his 4th at 6:21 of the 3rd. He would end up with 3-4 from the line in the 4th matching his first half for 6 points from the stripe and 0 field goals never getting into the flow due to foul trouble. Leo Muchiri, 6’0” senior guard for Bethel found his range in the 3rd getting two from beyond the arc and a midrange for all 8 of his points. The Braves would get just 10, as White would add 2. Jaden Vollmen, 6’1” senior for the Viks answered with two 3’s of his own and 3-4 from the line for 9 of the Vikings 11 points, helping his team to a 37-29 lead after the 3rd.

The Vikings defense was able to hold Bethel to only three 4th quarter points. The Braves without a field goal until Dakaline White’s bucket under 1:00 left. Puyallup found themselves at the line 7 times in the quarter going 4-12 along with field goals from Brooks Balmer and Landen Neff totaling 8 to get the win. Free throws would be the difference on a night when scoring was at a premium, Puyallup with a 16 point advantage from the line would win!

The Final Score
Puyallup 45, Bethel 32.

Top Performers:
Puyallup
Jaden Vollmen- 16 points
Landen Neff- 10

Bethel
Dakaline White- 8 points
Leo Muchiri- 8 points

Audio Recap: Puyallup vs. Rogers-Puyallup

Game Recap
Puyallup vs. Rogers-Puyallup 1-7-16

Thursday night featured an SPSL-South rivalry game between the Puyallup Vikings and Rogers-Puyallup Rams. Listen as Nic Beckman provides an audio recap of the contest including in-game sound!

To listen to the game recap, simply click on the PLAY BUTTON below.

 


Puyallup Prevails in Crosstown Rivalry With Rogers


Puyallup Prevails in Crosstown Rivalry With Rogers
By Nic Beckman

Thursday- January 7th 2016 Boys 4A SPSL-South
Paul B. Hanawalt Pavilion (Puyallup HS) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Rogers 10 17 15 15 57
Puyallup 16 15 22 15 68

Thursday night basketball might not be as much fun as Friday, but rivalry basketball on any night is fun. The Rogers Rams coming off a 53-50 loss at Spanaway Lake who were vying with Puyallup for the 2nd spot in the SPSL South felt like they could head into the valley and get a win at Puyallup High School. The Vikings conversely were coming off a tough road win 48-43 over the other rival from up on the hill, Emerald Ridge. The Vikings were happy to be back in the friendly confines of Paul B. Hanawalt Pavilion, in the new year. Braden Hannold knocked down a high arcing 3 to get the Rams going, the Vikings were able to answer and put up 16 points, Tony Gutierrez contributing 8, matching the two 3’s by Hannold who had 6 of the Rams 10 points. As the Vikings heated up from outside hitting 3 more 3’s for 7 total in the first half, the Rams 6-5 senior post Daniel O’Brien worked inside for 12 points to lead his team and all scorers into the half with the Vikings up 31-27 as Jaden Vollmen was able to convert a lay in before the buzzer to give his team the 4 point lead.

In the 3rd, the Rams hit the bonus first going 7-11 from the line, Braden Hannold hitting 4-5 and added a high flying tip back to score 6 in the quarter. With just 15.4 seconds remaining on the clock Hannold with a strong move to the hoop was met by Jaden Vollmen at the pinnacle and came down hard to the floor, Vollmen was called for a foul, but Hannold was unable to take the free throws. He was helped off the floor and would return for a short stint in the 4th and would finish with the 15 already in the book. The Vikings 3rd quarter was highlighted by the tandem of Vollmen and team leading scorer Deven Neff who each scored 8, Neff would finish with 17. Vollmen going 4-4 from the line would finish with 14, along with Jacob Holcomb’s 3rd 3, Puyallup built on their halftime lead of 4 to stretch it to 11, at 53-42. Both teams kept up the pace and the pressure as Konnor Bandley of the Rams knocked down a couple of 3’s and went 2-2 from the line for 8 of his 16 points and Daniel O’Brien added 5 to his 12 point 2nd quarter to lead Rogers with 17 total. Tony Gutierrez after taking a fall in the 3rd found his range from 3 point land and carried the Vikings 4th quarter hitting 4 of his 6 3’s to finish with a game high 20 on the night. Puyallup and Rogers each with 15 in the 4th quarter ended with the Vikings up, The Final Score 68-57. Puyallup maintains their hold on 2 place in the SPSL South at 5-1 over 4-2 Emerald Ridge. Next up for Puyallup, Saturday night basketball at home vs Spanaway Lake with both teams coming off wins over the Rams.

The Final Score
Puyallup 68, Rogers-Puyallup 57.

Top Performers:
Puyallup
Tony Gutierrez- 20 points
Rogers-Puyallup
Daniel O’Brien- 17