Class 4A WIAA boys Hardwood Classic 2022: Quarterfinal roundup, highlights, photos, top performances, stats leaders
(Lead photo by Vince Miller)
TACOMA, Wash. — The Class 4A WIAA state quarterfinals took place at the Tacoma Dome, with eight teams playing all Thursday afternoon and evening.
The 3A games were in the morning, 4A in the afternoon on the boys court in the Tacoma Dome.
Here is a game-by-game tracking of the 3A bracket. This post will be updated throughout the day with results, stories, highlights, photos and more:
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Final: No. 2 Curtis 59, No. 8 Gonzaga Prep 47
Winner gets: No. 3 Union, Friday at 9 p.m. in the semifinals
Curtis likes to jump on teams early, and to Gonzaga Prep, the Vikings were a blur from the jump.
Standout sophomore Zoom Diallo had 24 points and five boards and backcourt mate Tyce Paulsen added 15 points as Curtis led the entire game, by as many as 17 points.
Gonzaga Prep Jayden Stevens' 26 points and eight boards, helping the Bullpups hang around in the fourth quarter.
Henry Sandberg's 3 with just over two minutes left cut the Curtis lead to seven, but Cinque Maxwell and Diallo each hit a pair of free throws to hang on.
Read the full game story here.
QUOTABLE
"It seemed like we were a step slow tonight, but I don't know if that was the case, I just think Curtis is that quick and it made us look slower than normal." —Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre
Final: No. 3 Union 57, No. 4 Kamiakin 41
Up next: No. 3 Union vs. No. 2 Curtis in the semifinals, 9 p.m. Friday
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
Facing a team as long and physical as Kamiakin daunted coach Blake Conley. Union's bruising 2-3 zone fared just fine.
The Titans shot 50 percent from the field to Kamiakin's 32 percent. Oregon State commit Tyler Bilodeau led his team in scoring, but had a hard time finding the same rhythm offensively as he did in the first round against Central Valley.
"I thought we got some really good shots in the middle of the key and we didn't finish them," Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely said. "Whenever you play against zone, you're going to have to have five guys connecting."
He's right. Kamiakin shot 33.3 percent from the field in the first half and a measly 32 percent in the second. The Titans shot 50 percent from the field.
HIGHLIGHTS
TOP PERFORMERS
Yanni Fassilis, Union
Went 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points and five boards.
Bryson Metz, Union
Netted 16 points, six boards, three assists and every coach's dream: zero turnovers.
"Bryson just controlled the game in every single aspect," Union coach Blake Conley said. "Man, he was so good."
Jacob Bilodeau, Kamiakin
Scored 10 points and shot 2 of 5 from behind the arc.
Tyler Bilodeau, Kamiakin
The Oregon State pledge finished with a team-high 15 points, 10 rebounds (game-high) and four assists.
QUOTABLE
"We played really well. We just battled, every possession. Even when we didn't do our rotations, the kids were just flying around. That team, they worried me because of their size and shooters. That's a really good team we just beat." —Union coach Blake Conley
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Final: No. 1 Mount Si 68, No. 15 Graham Kapowsin 44
Up next: Mount Si faces No. 11 Olympia, Friday at 7:15 p.m.
There are few teams that can lose its leading scorer for the. season in the heat of a potential state title run and appear to not skip a beat.
Then there's Mount Si, the top-ranked 4A team all season, which won convincingly to reach its third consecutive 4A state semifinal on Thursday.
The Wildcats have been missing sophomore guard Trevor Hennig, the team's leading scorer at 16.9 points per game, since before its regional round win over No. 8 Gonzaga Prep. Hennig suffered stress fractures in his back and will miss two to three months, head coach Jason Griffith confirmed after the game Thursday.
Hennig's emergence as a scoring threat has been a pivotal development in Mount Si's efforts to repeat as 4A state champions, and even attracted Division I interest.
But the Wildcats are deep — especially so. Hennig was one of four averaging double-figures scoring. Junior 6-9 big Miles Heide is at 15.4 points per game, UC San Diego signee Quin Patterson averages 14.4 and senior point guard Bennett O'Connor is at 11.4 points per game.
"Trevor's a huge part of our team," Patterson said. "We all know that, every kid on our team knows that. When he goes down, it sucks. We're doing this for him, but at the same time it's next guy up, and that's what we've been doing."
Senior Cam Holliway, a 6-foot-5 off-ball guard, has slid into the starting lineup in Hennig's absence.
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
The Wildcats jumped on the upset-happy 15-seeded Eagles from the jump and didn't look back, leading by as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter.
TOP PERFORMERS
Quin Patterson, Mount Si
Team-high 19 points on 6 of 15 shooting, along with seven boards.
Bennett O'Connor, Mount Si
Posted a game-high five assists in addition to his 13 points. The senior guard is one of, if not the state's best passer, averaging 7.3 assists per game.
Blake Forrest, Mount Si
Hit 4 of 7 3-point attempts on his way to 18 points.
Joshua Wood, Graham-Kapowsin
Scored 19 points on 8 of 19 shooting to lead his Eagles in scoring.
QUOTABLE
"This is the goal. We don't want to be anywhere else. We knew we'd be here, we'd have confidence in ourselves either way, we came prepared and we got in, got out with a win and that was great." —Mount Si senior Quin Patterson
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Final: No. 11 Olympia 60, No. 5 Tahoma 53
Up next: Olympia faces No. 1 Mount Si, Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Cliche as it may sound, it's hard to watch Olympia play and not notice a throughline: Bears players all seem to enjoy playing with one another.
That much was evident by the intensity the Bears brought to Tahoma Thursday afternoon. The key to the cohesion?
"All the off-court stuff," Bears forward Andreas Engholm said. "We go out to food after almost every practice, hang out together on the weekends. We're best friends, so p[laying together is playing with your friends."
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
Junior guard Mason Juergens had all eight of his points in the fourth quarter as Olympia outscored Tahoma 17-9 to hold Tahoma off. Juergens, also one of the state's top wide receivers, ripped a 3-pointer with 1:22 left and made 5 of 6 free throw attempts down the stretch.
TOP PERFORMERS
Parker Gerrits, Olympia
Game-high 22 points on 8 of 17 shooting, 4 of 4 at the free throw line.
Andreas Engholm, Olympia
Finished with 14 points on an efficient 5 of 8 shooting.
Carson Talbert, Tahoma
Scored 18 points on 9 of 15 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
Kody Kasper, Tahoma
Posted 13 points, hitting 5 of 6 attempts from inside the 3-point arc.
QUOTABLE
"Playing in the Tacoma Dome at state, winning a state championship is all I ever wanted. Having dreams of playing here with the Olympia guys - it's been amazing." —Olympia's Andreas Engholm.
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(All photos by Vince Miller)
