It's Olympia-Curtis, Round 3! Both 4A SPSL schools notch bi-district semifinal victories

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. - Every answer fell for the fourth-ranked Olympia boys Thursday night.

Top-ranked Federal Way made the pushes you’d expect from one of the Class 4A favorites. The Eagles closed the gaps after the Bears tried to get away.

And each time, the guys in dark blue jabbed back in Olympia’s 77-68 West Central/Southwest bi-district semifinal victory at Curtis High School.

"We counter-punched pretty well tonight," Bears coach John Kiley said.

Olympia extended to a seven-point advantage with 1:16 remaining in the first half as Andreas Engholm snatched an offensive rebound and put the ball back in at the rim.

But Federal Way, sparked by Vaughn Weems, roared back to get within two, 40-38, with 6:10 to go in the third quarter.

And Parker Gerrits had the answer. The senior guard steadied the effort by burying a 3-pointer, one of three long-range shots he made Thursday, with 5:54 remaining in the quarter.

Gerrits would finish up with a game-high 31 points, one of three Bears in double figures.

"We caught fire," Gerrits said. "It’s a lot easier when the ball goes in."

The ball went in for virtually every Bears player that lofted an effort from behind the arc.

Olympia made nine 3-pointers in the game that pushed the Bears into the bi-district title contest Saturday at 5 p.m. when they will have a third season meeting with Curtis, which defeated Camas, 79-46, in the other bi-district semifinal.

The schools have split the first two games - with Olympia winning on the Vikings' home floor in early January. Curtis returned the favor in the 4A SPSL tile game nearly two weeks ago at Tacoma Community College.

The teams conceivably could meet again at the Tacoma Dome during the state tournament (March 1-4.)

"Curtis is a great team," Kiley said. "They beat us for the league title. We wanted that one. We want this one. It means a lot to these guys. To play Curtis on their home floor. Another championship team."

The other guy that made three of those long-distance shots for Olympia, Mason Juergens, had his moment to answer late in the third quarter.

Olympia had extended to a 47-38 advantage with 5:05 to go in the quarter. Again, Weems and Dace Pleasant brought the Eagles (21-2) back. Weems started a 7-0 spurt while Pleasant made the second of two free throws with 3:08 left in the third to get Federal Way back within two again, 47-45.

But the Eagles turned the ball over on two of their next three possessions. Meanwhile, Juergens came down and nailed 3-pointers on consecutive chances before Cameron Downing also made one to give Olympia its largest lead of the game at 56-45.

"You watch him in football the last two years - 85 catches, 1,300 yards, 20 touchdowns," Kiley said of Juergens. "He’s a dawg. He just competes at whatever he does."

So does Pleasant, who scored nine of his 18 points for Federal Way in the fourth quarter. Pleasant’s three-point play with 4:10 to go made it a one-point game, 63-62.

But again, Juergens and Gerrits stopped the bleeding. Juergens scored on a putback basket with 3:01 remaining, capping his 15-point effort. Then Gerrits converted consecutive three-point play opportunities to propel the Bears into the title game.

"We knew it would be a game of runs," Kiley said. "That’s how they play. Maybe that’s how we play, too. One of the last things we put on the board today was ‘Poise.’ We knew they were going to come after us and they had some big runs."

Curtis 79, Camas 46: Zoom Diallo and Tyce Paulsen owned the third quarter and the reigning Class 4A champions earned their spot in the bi-district title game.

The final score reflected a middle two quarters dominated by Curtis, which led just 13-8 after the first eight minutes.

But the third-ranked Vikings put up 20 points in the second quarter to forge a 33-22 lead at the half. Then Paulson and Diallo combined for 14 of 24 points Curtis scored In the third quarter as the lead grew to 20 on a Diallo dunk, 57-37, with 24 seconds left in the quarter.

The fourth quarter turned into showtime for the Vikings as Cinque Maxwell scored eight of his 20 points, Paulson added the last two of his 17 and Diallo got to sit and watch with his 14 points. Josh Dabasinskas made seven layups and led the Papermakers with 16 points..