Don’t count out Kentwood in the race for the South Puget Sound League playoffs.
Kentwood, which entered the week tied for fifth place in the North, knocked off Kentridge Friday night at the ShoWare Center 74-56 in the headline matchup of the Les Schwab Kent Shootout.
It was Kentwood’s second win of the week with Auburn slated for Saturday. The top five teams from the North advance to the postseason.
More importantly for the Conquerors (8-5 in league, 8-8 overall) was the fact the UCLA-bound center Josh Smith, who missed nearly a month with a knee injury, appeared healthier than he has been all season. Smith led the Conquerors with 22 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
The Conquerors led from start to finish.
But it wasn’t all about Smith for Kentwood, which also received 14 points from point guard Tre Tyler and 12 points from Isaiah Malvar.
Kentwood pulled away with a 25-16 third-quarter run, when Tyler scored 11 of his 14 points, which included back-to-back 3-pointers to end the third.
Kentridge’s Gary Bell scored a game-high 25 points, but the Chargers (9-5, 12-6).
Kentlake 68, Kent-Meridian 61: Jaron Heck delivered big for the Falcons for the second straight game, scoring a game-high 19 points in a win over the Royals. Heck scored a season-high 20 points in Kentlake’s win over Tahoma Tuesday night.
With the win, the Falcons (6-7 in league, 8-8 overall) remained on the fringe of the playoff hunt. The top five teams from the SPSL North advance to the postseason.
Heck delivered a solid all around game, collecting six rebounds and dishing our four assists to go with the 19 points.
Kentlake clung to a 20-16 lead after the first quarter, but Kent-Meridian wouldn’t back down. The Falcons went into the halftime break with a 35-33 lead.
Sergio Arroyo led the Royals (1-12, 3-14) with 16 points. Barenton Ahmed and Greg Bailey added 12 points apiece for the Royals, who lost their eighth-straight game. Ahmed also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
GIRLS
Kentlake 53, Kent-Meridian 38: The Falcons, which have struggled mightily in the second half of the season, put away the Royals early en route to the South Puget Sound League North Division win.
Kentlake (8-5, 11-6) bolted out to a 14-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back against Kent-Meridian.
Kentlake’s Morganne Comstock led the Falcons with 17 points while Riley Butler chipped in nine. Comstock, who came into the night third in the league in scoring with a 16.9 points-per-game average, also pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out two assists. Kentlake’s Cody Sisco chipped in seven assists for the Falcons.
Kentlake held Kent-Meridian star Briana Shannon to 15 points on the night. Shannon entered the game second in the league in scoring with an 18.6 points-per-game average.
No other Kent-Meridian player reached double figures in scoring.
With the loss, K-M dropped to 1-12 in league and 1-16 overall.
Kentwood 76, Kentridge 35: Four different Conquerors reached double-figures in scoring as Kentwood (10-3, 13-4) rolled past Kentridge (0-14, 1-17).
Kentwood jumped out to a 25-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back in the win over the Chargers. Kentwood’s Sanda Milovic scored a season-high 22 points and added five rebounds and one assist in the win. Kentwood’s Kylie Huerta, who came into the night leading the league with a 19.8 points-per-game average, added 20 points for the Conquerors while Courtney Johnson and Liz Mills chipped in 10 apiece.
Allison Newcomb came off the bench for Kentwood to score seven points. Taylor Riley, who came into the night averaging 5.9 points per game, led the Chargers with 10 points. Megan Merrill added nine points for Kentridge.
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