Mount Si pummels Tahoma for regional win; secures first-round bye in Tacoma next week

LAKE WASHINGTON – It's hard to imagine a better way to start a game than by rattling off a 20-run.

That's just what Mount Si did Friday night against Tahoma in what would end up being an 80-45 victory for the Wildcats. 

By the time six minutes had run off the clock in the first quarter, the Wildcats were up 20-0, after a run highlighted by open baskets in transition and a dunk or two from senior forward Miles Heide.

"That's just a credit to our kids. They came out and executed on the defensive end," Mount Si coach Jason Griffith said. "We did a good job talking and switching the stuff we were supposed to switch. When you execute like that and defend, sometimes you get on those runs."

Tahoma's first points of the game didn't come until the 2:00 mark of the first quarter on a layup from junior Kevin Williams.

Unfortunately for the Bears, their first points of the game didn't spark any magical run as they trailed 26-4 heading into the second quarter.

"The game plan was to come out there and stop them on defense to get our offense up and down and running in transition," Heide said. "Once we got stops, we were able to get up early."

The second half didn't tell a much different story. Mount Si's lead grew to as many as 35 and the Wildcats emptied their bench with about three minutes left on the game.

Junior guard Trevor Hennig scored a game-high 25 for the Wildcats. Also scoring in double-figures were Heide with 19, junior guard Blake Forrest with 15 and senior forward Bennett Olujic who scored 13.

Jayden Stephens, Adam Davis and Logan McGough each scored seven to lead Tahoma.

The win propels Mount Si straight into the state quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.

Griffith said getting that first-round bye is huge.

"We love it when we get the first-round bye because we're not a super deep team." he said. "[Playing] three games in a row is going to be a lot on our guys. I think you saw some fatigue with our guys in the second quarter – they made some mental mistakes they don't usually make, but our goal is to go down and play our best basketball in Tacoma."

As far as the state tournament in the Tacoma Dome goes, the Wildcats are hoping to not only return to the state championship game, but get the win this time around after falling short to Curtis a season ago.

"We don't take it for granted. It's hard to get there. These guys are going to go down and give it their best shot," Griffith said.

Tahoma will play 10th-seeded Camas in a loser-out game Wednesday morning at the Tacoma Dome.