In the tough South Puget Sound League North division, anyone can beat anyone in boys basketball, and last week was a prime example.
Kent-Meridian continued the trend on Tuesday when it avenged an early season loss to Mount Rainier with a 75-73 win over the division leaders.
The Royals, led by Mike Banks with 21 points, took sole possession of first place in the SPSL North with the victory over the Rams.
A trio of K-M players — Gary Bailey, Abu Kamara and Martel Taylor-Barone — offered the kind of offensive balance the team needed as they each chipped in a dozen points.
Kentridge set the stage on Jan. 6 and did what Kentwood nearly pulled off a few days earlier: an upset of highly-touted Mount Rainier, winning 80-72, thanks to Jawan Stepney’s game-high of 26 points.
The Chargers sophomores led the way against the Rams, with Danny Torlai adding 19 to Stepney’s output, along with junior John Okot-Okidi chipping in 17 points.
It was a back and forth first half between Kentridge and Mount Rainier. The Rams took a one point lead into halftime and the Chargers kept it close through the third quarter.
Then Kentridge broke out in the final period, outscoring Mount Rainier 27-19.
That win opened the door for Kent-Meridian to challenge for the division as it stood at 6-2 in league play, the same mark Mount Rainier was at following the loss to Kentridge, but the Royals lost early in the season to the Rams.
Kent-Meridian won the rematch Tuesday to move into sole possession of first place with a 7-2 record. Mount Rainier is 6-3.
Meanwhile, Kentwood very nearly pulled off an upset of highly-touted Mount Rainier on Jan. 4, but squandered at 12 point third-quarter lead, as the Rams beat the Conks 64-62 at Kentwood.
With four minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter, the Conks had the double digit lead thanks to a Taylor Jones layin but the Rams chipped away at the lead the rest of the period.
In the fourth quarter, Kentwood went cold, going nearly four minutes between buckets while Mount Rainier went on a 10-3 run.
Jeremy Smith drained a three pointer with 6.7 seconds left to cut the Mount Rainier lead to one point, 62-61, but Kentwood just couldn’t get the game tied up or take back the lead.
Jones and Austin Benson were the leading scorers for the Conks with 18 points each.
Adrian Davis led the Rams with 20.
Kent-Meridian’s win over Mount Rainier is all the sweeter after a surprise loss to Tahoma, the Royals only game last week.
Tahoma had a 10 point lead at halftime and hung onto the victory despite being outscored by K-M in the second half.
Coleman Wooten had 16 points for the Bears while De’Shon Williams added 11.
Abu Kamara led the Royals with 15 while Mike Banks chipped in 13.
Kentwood bounced back in a match up against Tahoma on Jan. 6. What started out as a close game in the first half with the Conquerors taking a one point lead into the locker room turned into a blowout in the second half as the Bears were held to single digit scoring in each of the final two quarters.
Benson tallied 19 points while Jones added 12, but, five other Kentwood players contributed four or five points apiece to create a balanced offensive effort.
Dominic Smith and Coleman Wooten led Tahoma with 9 points each.
Finally, Kentlake put together a pair of key victories last week against league rivals Kentridge and Thomas Jefferson.
Kentlake found a way to win after being down early at home to Kentridge, putting together a strong second half for the 64-59 victory.
At the end of the first quarter, the Falcons were down 22-11 to the Chargers, as they struggled to get points in the paint.
At the 5:23 mark in the second quarter, Kentridge was up 29-13 thanks to a Roddy Hanson three ball, to which Kentlake responded with a 12-3 run to cut the lead to six at the half, 32-26.
Conner Crooks started the run with a pair of made free throws, followed by a Carson Stowell jumper who put in a three pointer less than a minute later, with Austin Pernell scoring the final four points for the Falcons when he made a pair of free throws with 1:12 on the clock followed by a drive to the bucket in transition with less than a minute left.
Kentlake outscored Kentridge the rest of way, 18-11 in the third quarter and 20-16 in the final period, with Ayanle Jama leading the Falcons with 19 points while Stepney tallied 19 to lead the Chargers.
On Jan. 6 Kentlake pulled off a narrow victory over Jefferson on the road winning 74-72.
The Falcons had a five point lead after the first quarter, but, the Raiders outscored them in the second and third quarters.
Kentlake managed to overcome a double digit deficit in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Heck led the Falcons in scoring with 25 while Dedrian Miller tallied 17, Jama had 14 and Pernell added 13.
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