BOYS BASKETBALL: Beamer bounced in OT by Central Valley, TJ loses to Curtis at Regionals | Slideshow

There will be no Tacoma Dome next weekend for the Todd Beamer Titans or Thomas Jefferson Raiders. The two boys basketball teams lost Saturday at the 16-team Regional Tournament.

By Casey Olson • February 24, 2013 1:24 am
Thomas Jefferson senior guard Daryon James averaged 18.8 points a game and led the Raiders into the final 16 in the state.
Thomas Jefferson senior guard Daryon James averaged 18.8 points a game and led the Raiders into the final 16 in the state.

There will be no Tacoma Dome next weekend for the Todd Beamer Titans or Thomas Jefferson Raiders. The two boys basketball teams lost Saturday at the 16-team Regional Tournament.

The Titans lost a heart-breaker to Spokane’s Central Valley in overtime at Rogers High School, 61-55. The Raiders, who were making the program’s first appearance in the final 16 since 1974, were beaten up by the Curtis Vikings, 61-48, across town at Puyallup High.

Fourth-ranked Central Valley (22-2) needed overtime to overcome a pesky effort from Beamer. The Titans (18-8) even had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. But a 3-point attempt from center Bogdon Bliznyuk’s rimmed off at the buzzer with the game tied at 53-53.

Beamer tallied the first bucket during the four-minute OT session, but it was followed by a 7-0 run by the Bears to finalize the score. Trey Burch-Manning paced Beamer with 19 points, while Juwan Flowers added 14.

Central Valley looked like they were going to run away and hide early on. The Bears led 25-10 with 4:25 left in the first half before the Titans cut the lead to seven, 30-23, at the half. Central Valley held on to the seven-point edge after three, 45-38.

The fourth quarter was all Beamer. The Titans’ pressure defense led to numerous turnovers and a 3-pointer by Flowers with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter gave Beamer its first lead of the game, 53-51. Adam Chamberlian, who scored 13 points for the Bears, tied it at 53 with a pair of free throws with just over a minute remaining.

Both teams missed attempts during the last minute of regulation, leading to the four-minute OT session. Austin Rehkow scored 19 points and hauled down 13 rebounds and Beau Byus added 16 points to lead Central Valley, last year’s 4A state runner-up.

Jefferson also attempted to make a comeback Saturday, but Curtis was just too good. The South Puget Sound League and West Central District champions bolted out to a 26-5 lead before the Raiders closed the half on a 12-3 run to tighten the score to 28-17.

Jefferson (14-12) got within eight points on four occasions in the second half, but the Vikings were always able to answer. It will be fifth time Curtis has played at the Tacoma Dome in the last eight seasons.

Senior Daryon James, a first-team All-SPSL North selection, led all scorers with 22 points. Deonte Anderson was the only other TJ player in double digits with 10 points.

Andre Lewis scored 18 points for the sixth-ranked Vikings (24-2).