The center of the South Puget Sound League South Division basketball universe is Todd Beamer High School.
The basketball programs at Beamer combined to go 31-1 in SPSL South play this season and both will have the opportunity to hang championship banners inside the school’s gymnasium. It’s the second-straight SPSL South title for the girls and first for the Beamer boys.
The Beamer girls officially ended the regular season unbeaten for the first time in school history with an unbeaten record. The Titans blew away the Federal Way Eagles Thursday, 80-23, in their South Puget Sound League South Division finale.
The third-ranked Titans (20-0 overall, 16-0 SPSL South) had 13 different players score at least two points against Federal Way and were led by 17 from Quinessa Caylao-do. Bria Rice was the only other player to score in double figures with 13.
The Titans jumped out to a 19-4 lead after the first quarter, led 42-12 at halftime and 63-16 after the third quarter. Federal Way (9-11 overall, 7-9 SPSL South) was led by eight points from Kayla Smith.
Next up for Beamer is the SPSL Championship game. The Titans will have a rematch with the Mount Rainier Rams (16-0 SPSL North) for the league championship at 8 p.m. inside the Kent ShoWare Center Tuesday night. Beamer downed the Rams earlier this season in a non-league contest, 64-59. Mount Rainier beat the Titans three times during the 2012-13 season, including in the SPSL and West Central District title games.
Beamer also beat second-place Puyallup Tuesday night, 48-33, in, what was easily, Beamer’s toughest of the season in SPSL South play. The Vikings (13-3 SPSL South) trailed the Titans by only six points at halftime, 18-12. But Beamer pulled away in the second half, led by Caylao-do, who finished with 18 points. Fellow sophomore, Nia Alexander, was the only other Titan in double figures with 10 points.
On the boys’ side, the Federal Way Eagles handed Beamer its first defeat of the SPSL South season Thursday night in both teams’ regular-season finale, 64-61. No other details were reported.
Despite the loss, the Titans (17-3 overall, 15-1 SPSL South) won the division championship and will take on unbeaten Kentridge in the SPSL Championship at 6:30 p.m. at the ShoWare Center on Tuesday for the league’s No. 1 seed to the West Central District Tournament.
Federal Way (17-3, 13-3 SPSL South) ended up third in the SPSL South behind Beamer and Curtis. The Eagles will play Tahoma, the third-place team from the North Division, Tuesday at a time and place yet to be determined. The winner will be the SPSL’s fifth seed and the loser will be the sixth.
The Titans flew past Puyallup Tuesday night on the road, 79-64, to move to 15-0 in league play. Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk led the way for Beamer, like he’s been doing all season long. The 6-foot-6 wing finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He hit five 3-pointers and was 5 for 6 from the free-throw line. On the season, Bliznyuk is averaging 19.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.
Beamer jumped out to a 17-12 lead after the first quarter, but the pesky Vikings fought back to take the lead in the game at halftime, 31-28. But the Titans pulled away in the second half, outscoring Puyallup, 51-33, during the third and fourth quarters.
Charles Frazier also had an impressive game for Beamer. Frazier finished with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Point guard Quadir Williams distributed the ball beautifully Tuesday night, racking up 15 assists and turning the ball over just twice. Williams also had seven rebounds and three points.
Jefferson — The Raiders ended their season with a 69-61 loss to Tahoma Thursday night. The Bears outscored Jefferson 23-10 in the first quarter and were led by 36 points by Coleman Wooten.
Jefferson (7-13 overall, 6-10 SPSL North) was led by 13 points from senior Pededy Ren and 10 from sophomore Alex Sommerfield.
The loss came after the Raiders beat Kentlake Tuesday, 58-49. Against Kentlake, the Raiders jumped all over the Falcons early, outscoring them 20-9 during the first quarter. Jefferson was led by 13 points from Xavier Scott, 12 from Darius Anderson and 11 from Sommerfield.
Decatur — The Gators (6-14 overall, 4-6 SPSL 3A) were beaten up by the Auburn Mountainview Lions Thursday night, 60-36. The loss ended Decatur’s SPSL 3A regular season. There’s still a chance that the Gators could make the postseason, depending the outcome of a game Friday between Lakes (4-5 SPSL 3A) and Bonney Lake (0-10). A Lakes win would eliminate Decatur.
Against Auburn Mountainview, the Gatos were led by 12 points from Malik Wade.
The Gators split a pair of SPSL 3A games earlier in the week, downing Bonney Lake Jan. 31, 45-40, and losing to Enumclaw Tuesday, 65-42.
Against Bonney Lake, Polofino Jatta led the way with 13 points and the Decatur defense held the Panthers to just 20 points during the first three quarters.
Deonte Smith scored nine points during the loss to Enumclaw Tuesday.
