Undefeated Richland Advances to 4A State Final

Undefeated Richland Advances to 4A State Final
By Colin Caruso

In the nightcap 4A boys game, the undefeated Richland Bombers faced off against the 22-4 Todd Beamer Titans. Outside of Nathan Streufert for the Bombers at 6’7”, Beamer had a complete size advantage in this matchup. This did not bother the Bombers, as they put together a nice 10-2 run in the first and took a 14-12 lead into the second.

Beamer struggled offensively throughout the second; their one on one mentality resulted in a lot of misses and no second chance opportunities. On the other side of the floor, Richland found no problems putting the ball through the hoop. Bomber Steven Beo had a great first half with 11 points, and Richland went into the locker room feeling good with a 13 point lead.

Beo took over to start the third quarter. He hit three straight three pointers for the Bombers, pushing their lead to 19. But Beamer would not let the game get out of hand. They continued to battle and clawed their way back to a ten point deficit on threes from Quadir Williams and Bogdon Bliznyuk. Fouls began to plague both teams late in the quarter, as Raybonne Freeman for the Titans and Nathan Streufert for the Bombers both gathered their fourth. Richland extended their lead to 14 going into the fourth.

The 14 point lead ballooned to as many as 20 for the Bombers, who were not bothered at all by the Beamer press. Beamer could not get back into this one; too many miscues on offense and phenomenal shooting from the Bombers. Richland took this one with ease, 75-61, and will face the Garfield Bulldogs for the 4A state final.

Top Performers:
Todd Beamer
Charles Frazier – 13 points, 8 rebounds

Richland
Steven Beo – 29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Jacob DeVries – 18 points, 8 rebounds
Nathan Streufert – 8 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists