Todd Beamer High School senior Bogdan Bliznyuk proved again that he is one of the state’s best basketball players.
The 6-foot-5 guard led the Washington team in scoring at the prestigious Northwest Shootout Saturday at Liberty High School in Hillboro, Ore. Bliznyuk finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds during 127-114 loss to Oregon. It was the second-straight win for Oregon at the Northwest Shootout.
In the frantic up-and-down contest, Oregon guard and Gonzaga signee Silas Melson, who won two Oregon state titles at Jefferson High School in Portland, led all scorers with 40 points and was named the game’s MVP.
Bliznyuk, who hasn’t committed to a college yet, was named the South Puget Sound League South Division Player of the Year and was also The News Tribune’s All-Area most valuable player after averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals a game.
He was named to the 2014 Associated Press Class 4A All-State Basketball Team along with Garfield’s Tramaine Isabell, Jackson’s Jason Todd, Richland’s Nathan Streufert and Bothell’s Josh Martin.
Bliznyuk had a career-best 32 points during a win over Federal Way at the West Central/Southwest District Tournament and led Beamer to the Class 4A State Basketball Tournament for the second time in the school’s history.
At the Northwest Shootout, Bliznyuk finished 11 for 23 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. Washington took an early 17-12 lead and led 56-50 late in the second quarter. But Oregon finished the half on an 8-0 run to take a 58-56 halftime lead.
Oregon dominated the second half, building a 17-point lead. Bliznyuk’s Washington team turned the ball over 21 times during the game.
Kentridge’s Juwan Stepney and Isabell both added 21 points each for Washington.
Softball
Jefferson — The Raiders (7-5 overall, 6-4 SPSL North) dominated Kentlake Monday, 13-3, in six innings. Rocky Hale allowed just five hits and two earned runs to get the win on the mound.
Offensively, Annalise Campbell finished 2 for 3 with five RBIs and two doubles to lead Jefferson. Kyleigh Carbon was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a double and Megan Dougherty finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a double. The Raiders finished with 15 hits.
Beamer — The Titans (9-4 overall, 8-2 SPSL South) needed extra innings to beat the Curtis Vikings, 9-7, Monday. Beamer scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break the 7-7 tie.
Maddy Rogers allowed only two hits, but four Beamer errors led to five unearned runs. Rogers struck out 11, but also walked 10 Curtis hitters. Rogers also finished 2 for 4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs at the plate. Megan Jewett-Chan was 3 for 5 with a double and triple and Analee Scott was 3 for 4 with two runs.
Girls Tennis
Jefferson 4, Auburn Riverside 1 (Monday)
Singles: Cindy Park-TJ d Savana Brown 6-0, 6-0; Estella Kim-TJ d Jamilia Lopez 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles: Carson Heilborn/Sydnie LaValley-AR d Gloria Oh/Coco Hernandez-Tagoe 7-5, 6-4; Rileigh Qualls/Makaylie Moore-TJ d Kaitlyn Clugston/Jessica Fullford 6-3, 6-1; Crystal Lee/Alicia Gim-TJ d Morgyn Fawcett/Diana Yakimchuk 6-3, 6-1.
