Boys basketball wrap: Beamer moves into second place in SPSL South
Published 11:24 am Monday, February 1, 2010
The Todd Beamer Titans seem to be playing their best basketball of the season at the right time.
The Titans (13-5 overall, 11-3 in the SPSL South) have won four games in a row and seven of their last eight to take over second place in the South Puget Sound League South Division. Beamer got a season-high 31 points from junior guard Napa Mefi and a triple-double from Kevin Davis with a 75-62 win over Puyallup (13-5, 10-4) Saturday night.
The win over the Vikings came just two days after beating Rogers, 71-55, Thursday and avenges an earlier loss to Puyallup. The Vikings blew out Beamer, 81-61, on Jan. 5.
Davis finished with 21 points, 11 blocks and 10 rebounds playing in front of University of Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar Saturday. The 6-foot-8 forward was 9 for 11 from the field and tallied 17 of his points in the first half.
But it was Mefi that was the story Saturday night. The junior hit 5 of 6 from behind the 3-point line and loosened up the Puyallup defense, something that has been missing from the Titans’ attack most of the season.
Beamer can secure second place in the South with wins in their first two regular season games. The Titans play Decatur (11-4) Tuesday (Feb. 2) and host Graham-Kapowsin Friday. Curtis has already claimed the division championship.
Against Rogers, the Titans got 16 points each from Davis and Mefi and 15 from senior guard Terrelle Loggins. Beamer led 15-4 after the first quarter.
In other boys basketball action:
• Federal Way — The No. 1 and defending state-champion Eagles picked up a pair of ho-hum, 27-point wins over Jefferson and Kentlake last weekend. Federal Way beat the Raiders Thursday, 72-45, and downed Kentlake Saturday, 70-43.
Against TJ, the Eagles got 29 points from Cole Dickerson and 11 from Jerry Duckworth. Federal Way led only 30-25 at halftime before outscoring TJ 42-20 in the second half.
Dickerson also led the Eagles Saturday against Kentlake. The 6-foot-6 senior led four Eagles in double figures with 24 points. Duckworth finished with 14 and seniors Isiah Umipig and George Williams both chipped in 11.
• Decatur — The Gators moved to 11-4 in the SPSL South with wins over Bethel and Graham-Kapowsin. Decatur played their final regular season game last night against Beamer (after press time). The Gators could have tied for the South Division’s second seed with a win or would be the fourth seed into the SPSL Tournament with a loss.
The Gators handled Bethel Thursday night, 71-53, thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Decatur got 18 points each from Jerron Smith and Jordan McCloud and a career-high 14 points from Dominique Hunter.
The Gators dominated the first three quarters on their home court. Decatur led 33-19 at halftime and 56-33 after the third quarter.
Smith carried the Gators to a 62-44 win over Graham-Kapowsin Saturday night. The 6-foot-3 wing finished with 28 points to lead Decatur. McCloud added 14 and Anthony Williams finished with 11.
Graham-Kapowsin led 15-6 after the first quarter before the Gators outscored the Eagles 27-6 in the second quarter.
• Jefferson — The Raiders’ playoff hopes suffered a huge blow Saturday night with a 69-60 loss to Auburn Riverside at TJ. The loss dropped Jefferson to 6-8 in the SPSL North and two wins back of the fifth and final playoff berth from the North with two games to play. The Raiders will have to sweep Kentridge and Federal Way and hope for an Auburn loss in their final game of the season against Auburn Riverside Friday.
Saturday’s game was marred by numerous technical fouls against the Raiders and was called by referees with 40 seconds remaining after a fan rushed the court to confront a ref. In total, TJ was called for nine technical fouls.
Despite the fiasco, TJ still had a shot at walking away with the victory. The Raiders led 50-49 entering the fourth quarter before things got chippy.
The Raiders were led by 18 points from Jeff Brigham and 14 from Justin Lanier.
