The Todd Beamer boys and girls basketball teams are both headed to the Class 4A Regional Basketball Tournament.
The eighth-ranked boys beat district rival Federal Way Saturday in a West Central/Southwest District quarterfinal, 64-59, and the third-ranked girls beat up Kentridge, 55-42, also on Saturday.
On the boys’ side, the Eagles cost Beamer a perfect 16-0 regular season in the South Puget Sound League South Division. But the Titans weren’t going to let Federal Way cost them a berth into Regionals, which will include the top-16 teams in the state.
Beamer (18-4) got 32 points from senior Bogdon Bliznyuk and the SPSL South Most Valuable Player brought the Titans back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit Saturday at Auburn High School.
The win over Federal Way sends the Titans into the district semifinals to face Stadium at 6 p.m. at Auburn High School on Thursday.
Midway through the third quarter, the Eagles held a 44-32 lead. But, from that point on, Beamer outscored Federal Way, 31-15. Up next for the Eagles will be a loser-out contest at 7:45 p.m. at Auburn High School tonight (Feb. 18). Federal Way will have to win three district games in a row to qualify for the 16-team Regional Tournament.
After Beamer took a 58-56 lead, Federal Way junior Malik Montoya connected on a pair of free throws with a little over two minutes left to tie the game. Montoya, a first-team, All-SPSL South selection, finished with a team-high 24 points for the Eagles.
But the Titans ended the game with a 6-1 run to finalize the score. Bliznyuk was the only Beamer player in double figures during the contest. Charles Frazier had eight and Ferron Flavors finished with seven points. Federal Way got 17 points from Adrian Davis and 10 from Christian Jones, to go along with Montoya.
Beamer split its two 4A South Puget Sound League games with the Eagles, with Federal Way winning 67-64 on Feb. 9 at Beamer in the final game of the regular season. Beamer came into the game 15-0 in the SPSL South.
Girls basketball
The third-ranked Todd Beamer girls are headed to the Regional Tournament for the second time in the program’s history. The Titans secured the bid with a 55-42 win over Kentridge Saturday in the quarterfinals of the West Central/Southwest District Tournament.
Beamer (22-1) jumped all over Kentridge, the third-place team from the SPSL North, in the first quarter. The Titans took a 13-7 lead after the first quarter and extended the lead to 31-18 at halftime. Beamer cruised in the second half.
The SPSL South champions got 21 points from sophomore Nia Alexander. But it was a career-high 17 points from Giavanni Flowers that proved to be the difference. Flowers finished with five 3-pointers during the game. She had only scored in double figures in three games this season for the Titans.
Up next for Beamer is semifinal appearance against the Bellarmine Prep Lions at 6 p.m. at Puyallup High School Thursday. Bellarmine won the Narrows League championship and beat Kentwood in the quarterfinals Saturday, 49-45.
Skyview will take on Mount Rainier, who handed the Titans’ their lone defeat of the season in the SPSL Championship game, in the other semifinal Thursday. The district championship game will be at noon at Pacific Lutheran University Saturday.
Beamer lost to Arlington in the Regional round last season, 50-42, with a state berth on the line. The Titans have never played a game at the Class 4A State Tournament.
