Beamer basketball run comes to an end, thanks to Redmond

By Casey Olson • March 5, 2009 5:29 pm
Beamer sophomore Napa Mefi drives to the basket during Wednesday's opener-round loss to Walla Walla at the Class 4A Boys Basketball Tournament inside the Tacoma Dome. The Titans dropped both of their games in their first appearance at the state tournament
Beamer sophomore Napa Mefi drives to the basket during Wednesday's opener-round loss to Walla Walla at the Class 4A Boys Basketball Tournament inside the Tacoma Dome. The Titans dropped both of their games in their first appearance at the state tournament

The Todd Beamer Titans’ first state tournament was a short-lived one.

The Redmond Mustangs (17-10) ended the Titans’ season Thursday morning inside the Tacoma Dome, 63-46. The loss to Redmond came a day after the Walla Walla Blue Devils knocked Beamer into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination Class 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament.

Beamer (14-12) just couldn’t put the ball in the basket during their two-day run at the Tacoma Dome. The Titans had scored 64 or more points in eight of their last nine games entering the state tournament, but just couldn’t find their shooting touch against Walla Walla and Redmond.

Beamer finished just 2-of-16 from 3-point range Wednesday and made only 15 field goals during the loss to Redmond.

The Titans qualified for state by winning three-straight loser-out games at the West Central Tournament after finishing in fifth place in the nine-team South Puget Sound League South Division.

Against Redmond, Beamer was hurt by the first-half foul trouble senior Kevin Davis. The 6-foot-8 Davis, who opened a lot of eyes in the postseason, picked up his second foul with close to six minutes left in the second quarter, forcing him to the bench. It was during this time that the Mustangs went on an 11-1 run to take a 27-22 halftime lead. Beamer missed all six of its field-goal attempts during the Redmond spurt.

The second half was more of the same, in terms of shooting trouble by the Titans. Redmond used a 13-0 run during a two-minute span in the third quarter to grab a 42-30 lead with 4:12 left in the period.

Beamer fought back to within seven, 47-40, on a jumper by Napa Mefi with 6:07 remaining in the game, but the Mustangs answered with back-to-back buckets to push the lead back to 11.

Davis finished with 16 points on 4-of-12 shooting, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. Mefi added 12.

The future looks bright for the Titans. First-year coach Brent Brilhante will bring back the starting backcourt of Mefi (15.2 points a game) and junior Vlad Aficiuc (11.6). Davis has already stated that he will be applying for a fifth year of eligibility after missing the entire 2007-08 season because of the birth of his 1-year-old daughter, Kaylanie.

“Kevin is why the rule was written,” Brilhante said. “But we’ll see what happens.”

Walla Walla 54, Beamer 49 (Wednesday)

The Titans’ first trip to the Class 4A state tournament didn’t go as planned Wednesday afternoon. The Blue Devils (20-7) and senior guard Gary Winston knocked Beamer into the consolation bracket.

Winston finished with 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Winston also made 10 of 13 free throws.

Beamer hung with the Blue Devils for most of the game. After trailing 27-21 at halftime, the Titans started the third quarter on an 11-4 run and took a 32-31 lead midway through the period on a driving layup by senior Chase Hildebrandt.

But Walla Walla and Winston made enough free throws down the stretch and the Titans missed several easy shots in the fourth quarter.

Davis finished with 16 ponits and 13 rebounds and Hildebrandt and Aficiuc chipped in 10 points each.

The usually solid long-range shooting of the Titans was not there Wednesday. Beamer finished just 2-for-16 from behind the 3-point arc.