TACOMA - Inside domination opened up outside firepower in a Bellarmine Prep 66-50 boys basketball win against Mount Rainier in a quarterfinal match up of the 2012 state Hardwood Classic on Thursday, March 1, at the Tacoma Dome.
"Basically, we lost it on the boards," said Ram head coach Brian Johnson.
Statistics amply supported this statement.
For the first half, Bellarmine Prep out rebounded No. 9 Mount Rainier 20-10 and for the game the Lions ripped the Rams 39-19 with Sefo Liufau corralling more caroms in the first half (12) and for the game (22) than the entire MR team.
Bellarmine's 6-foor-4 junior center Liufau also finished with 20 points as part of a Lion 40-point powering in the paint.
"We definitely pounded it inside, so they would come and collapse inside and leave our shooters open," said Liufau. "We knew we had the size. We had to muscle our way through."
After the teams dueled to a 13-13 draw after one quarter, the Lions grabbed a 15-13 margin to open the second quarter and gradually increased the differential to own a 34-26 margin before two Caden Rowland free throws took the teams to halftime with the Rams trailing 34-28.
The Rams trimmed their deficit and came within two points a trio of times in the third quarter but were unable to climb closer or take the lead.
Malik Rodgers nailed an outside shot to draw Mount Rainier close at 38-36 with 5:48 in the period before Adrian Davis stole the ball only to have MR commit a foul and turn the ball over to the Lions.
Thirty eight seconds later, a Davis foul line jumper had the Rams close, again at 40-38. Davis flipped home a running basket to get Mount Rainier within 42-40 with 4:09 left.
Many Lion points were registered on easy, close-in baskets as evidenced by 20-of-49 shooting from the field (59.2 per cent). This overcame 19 turnovers with great offensive efficiency and accuracy led by Isaiah Flynn's 18-point second half.
This was apparent during the third quarter stretch after the Rams missed another short range shot after the 42-40 score.
As Mount Rainier continued to miss shots, Bellarmine Prep utilized lay ins or short range jump shots to storm away to a double-digit 50-40 lead at the end of the quarter.
"We were right there," said Johnson. "We'd miss breakaways and we just had a poor shooting night."
The Lions increased their lead to 52-40 when the fourth quarter opened, but Adrian Davis and Malik Rodgers combined for four points to get Mount Rainier into an eight point deficit at 52-44 with 6:21 remaining in the quarter. Bellarmine Prep floundered on offense for nearly two minutes, but Mount Rainier stayed in an offensive slump during the same time period. Isaiah Flynn drove home a lay in for the Lions to touch off an offensive spree that continually grew the lead until the final buzzer.
Flynn was a constant deliverer of bad news to the Rams with mid range jumpers from the perimeter and on inside drives.
With Mount Rainier focusing its attention on the strong inside game of Liufau and Lucas Meikle (17 points, nine rebounds), Flynn was cleared to work his way for 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
Rodgers had 15 points for the Rams with Davis adding 13 points and Caden Rowland notching 10 points.
Mount Rainier closed with 36.5 per cent field goal shooting.
Mt. Rainier 83, Bothell 74
The Rams rebounded to outscore the Cougars, 83-74, in their second game Friday -- clinching a trip to Saturday's trophy round to play Garfield for fourth and sixth place.
After going 2-for-13 from three point range in its opener against Bellarmine, Mount Rainier shot 6-for-17 from long range against Bothell.
"We got used to it and started knocking them down today," said coach Johnson after the Bothell win. "It's a great accomplishment in our first year at state in 4A. We're excited to play tomorrow. These are mostly young kids, too."
Rowland swished in 26 points to lead the Rams past the Cougars, including 6 of 12 shooting from three-point range. Dwane Clay hit 21 to go with 12 rebounds and Rodgers scored 12 to go with 11 rebounds and a team high nine assists. Davis scored 14 points, Bobby Lenaburg and Jake Morine four each and Demetrious Parks two.
Kellen Webster led Bothell with 28 points. Zach LaVine scored 17 and Perrion Callandret 11.
After LaVine gave Bothell a 2-0 lead, the Rams nailed nine points in a row for a 9-2 lead by 3:39 to go in the first quarter.
But the Cougars were anything but done, taking a 15-13 lead with 25 seconds left in the period. Clay hit a free throw with 14.6 seconds left to cut it to 15-14.
The two teams remained close throughout the second quarter and were tied at 35-35 at halftime.
Clay scored on his own putback to put his team up, 37-35, to open the third quarter.
Webster tied it up again at 37-37, but Rowland buried a three-pointer for a 40-37 Rams lead they never relinquished.
A 9 of 12 streak for Mount Rainier led to a 59-48 lead going into the fourth quarter and the Rams were on their way from there.
Mt. Rainier 66, Garfield 63
Mount Rainier found itself pitted against perennial power Garfield in the fourth place game Saturday morning and enjoyed the thrill of beating the Bulldogs of Seattle.
"Garfield has some good players, and young kids, too," pointed out coach Johnson. "We wanted to finish strong this year. It was a big game to win. In 2008 we were fourth in 3A and now we're fourth in 4A, and we almost finished out of the playoffs. At one point we had a five-game losing streak."
"Hats off to Bryan. Those kids played hard," said Bulldogs head coach Ed Haskins. "It (sixth) was a good finish for us. We're a young team that needs to mature. We need to play a full game. Thirty two minutes is thirty two minutes is thirty two minutes."
Expectations are always high at Garfield.
"The beast at Garfield is they always expect a championship," said Haskins. "There are a lot of banners at Garfield."
The game was back-and-fourth between the Rams and Bulldogs, with Mount Rainier leading by a 22-15 score at the end of the first quarter, Garfield by a 32-31 score at halftime and Garfield by a 53-48 score at the end of three quarters.
The Bulldogs were still up, 61-58, with 2:20 to go, before Davis hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 61-60 with 2:15 left.
Jamil Wilson-Jones then came through with a steal and layup to suddenly put the Rams up, 62-61, at the 2:02 mark. Rodgers then went up and in for a score to make it 64-61 at 1:29.
Daniel Greer of Garfield and Davis then traded two free throws each to make it 66-63 with 12.4 seconds remaining.
Demario Hill of the Bulldogs went to the line with 3.6 and missed both tries and the Rams held on to win.
Rowland scored 17 points, Rodgers 14, Davis 13 and Clay 10 for Mount Rainier. Jake Morine and Wilson-Jones swished in six each. Rodgers led with six rebounds and Davis and Rowland each hauled down five.
Rodgers was happy to make the crucial final two free throws.
"When I was a sophomore with a bunch of seniors, I thought I let them down," he said. "It was a nightmare. This time nothing was going to stop me. I just wanted to go out there and celebrate with my friends."
Players for the Rams this year included Bobby Lenaburg, Henry Lopez, Malik Rodgers, Demetrious Parks, Jake Morine, Daniel Amare, Adrian Davis, Andrew Lenaburg, Jamil Wilson-Jones, Devin Clore, Dwane Clay and Caden Rowland. Johnson was assisted by Dick Fain, John Bush and Isan Goldwire.
