Photo by Andy Buhler
Curtis Winter Classic: Jonas La Tour, Carson Talbert shine as Washington high schools clash (highlights, recaps)
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. — The Curtis Winter Classic kicked off on Thursday with a strong field of 10 Washington high school boys basketball teams from as far as east as Spokane and as far north as Everett.
Play continues at Curtis High School with the semifinals on Friday and the championships Saturday evening. Here are recaps, game highlights and box scores from the first round of play.
View the full tournament bracket here.
Here's what happened in the first round:
NORTH KITSAP 72, TIMBERLINE 57
Once North Kitsap gets rolling, watch out.
Jonas La Tour scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter to help North Kitsap (7-0) pull away from Timberline (2-2) to remain undefeated to start the season.
The Vikings got contributions from sophomore Harry Davies (14 points) and Johny Olmsted (13) and withstood a 23-point night from shifty guard Brooklyn Hicks, who holds offers from Oregon State, Washington and Portland, among others.
North Kitsap continues to look the part of the early season 2A favorites. The Vikings won the 2A state championship in 2020, the last time a state tournament was held.
NK plays Mt. Spokane in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday. Timberline faces Tahoma at 4 p.m.
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MT. SPOKANE 74, TAHOMA 68
Sophomore guard Ryan Lafferty scored 17 points and four players finished in double-figures as Mt. Spokane staved off a Carson Talbert-led Tahoma.
Talbert, a 6-foot-7 forward, poured on a game-high 30 points and helped cut a 15-point lead to five in the final minutes.
The Wildcats move to 5-0 and play North Kitsap Friday at 7 p.m.; Tahoma (2-2) plays Timberline at 4 p.m.
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CURTIS 78, KENTRIDGE 55
Zoom Diallo scored 24 points and Tyce Paulsen added 20 as Curtis rode its blue chip backcourt to a comfortable win over Kentridge.
The Chargers (4-2) had three players in double figures — Jamari Harris (14 points), Dominic Randhawa (11) and Jalon Blackwell (10).
Curtis faces Jackson Friday at 5:30 p.m.
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JACKSON65, PORT ANGELES 61
Sylas Williams hit a go-ahead fourth quarter 3 and two key free throws in the final minute to help Jackson hold off strong 2A opponent Port Angeles in a game that featured six fourth quarter lead changes.
Williams, a 6-foot-6 junior, finished with a game-high 24 points. Henry Armstrong and Bradley Tharp pitched in 13 apiece for the Timberwolves (5-0), who advance to play Curtis in the semifinals Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Port Angeles (2-0) was paced by senior forward Wyatt Dunning's 16 points and 16 more from 6-foot-9 center John Vaara. The Roughriders play Kentwood on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
