The Curtis Vikings got the best of the Beamer Titans on Thursday night in a battle between two of the preseason favorites in the South Puget Sound League South Division boys basketball race.
In the first of two regular-season matchups between the two schools, Curtis dominated the sixth-ranked Titans, 80-60, in University Place. The game against the Vikings was the first of three games in three days for Beamer. The Titans beat Spanaway Lake, 91-40, Friday night before losing to the Bellevue Wolverines Saturday at the Les Schwab Challenge at Bellevue College, 66-51.
The 1-2 weekend dropped Beamer to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the SPSL South. Curtis (3-0) and Decatur (5-0) are the only two unbeaten teams in the division.
Beamer was never really in the game Thursday against the Vikings. Curtis jumped out to a 19-13 lead after the first quarter and led 38-28 at halftime. The Vikings extended the lead to as much as 26 points during the second half thanks to the play of Dominique Williams.
The 5-foot-8 senior guard led all scorers with 30 points. Devonte Lacy added 20 points and seven rebounds for Curtis. Beamer was led by a big game from senior Kevin Davis. The 6-foot-8 forward finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
The Titans also got 15 points from senior guard Vlad Aficiuc, but played a large portion of the game with junior guard Napa Mefi.
The 6-footer was in foul trouble all game and finished with six points. Terelle Loggins added nine points for the Titans.
Davis had a monster game during Friday’s win over Spanaway Lake. The senior finished with 33 points and Mefi added 18 points. Beamer led 31-7 after the first quarter and 55-17 at halftime.
The Titans seemed a little tired Saturday against Bellevue at the Les Schwab Challenge.
The fifth-ranked Wolverines opened the first quarter on a 12-2 run an led 19-9 after the first eight minutes. The Wolverines extended the lead to 36-20 at halftime. Davis finished with just two points during the first half.
But the Titans fought back in the third quarter when Davis scored 11 of his team-high 17 points to cut the lead to nine late in the quarter. But Beamer couldn’t get any closer.
In other boys basketball action:
• The fifth-ranked Decatur Gators beat up Emerald Ridge Thursday, 63-42, and Puyallup Saturday, 75-54, to improve to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the South.
The Gators got a combined 47 points from Jordan McCloud and Jerron Smith during the win over Emerald Ridge. McCloud, a 6-foot-5 senior finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Smith, a 6-3 junior, had 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. The pair were the only Gators in double figures.
Decatur dominated the first half and took a 26-13 lead into the locker room, but Emerald Ridge fought back in the third quarter to cut the Gator lead to 37-30 entering the final eight minutes.
Against Puyallup, McCloud finished with 20 points and Smith finished with 18 to lead the Gators to a 21-point win over Puyallup. Decatur outscored the Vikings 44-20 in the first and third quarters. Terrance Peters chipped in 13 points for the Gators.
• The top-ranked Federal Way Eagles had a fairly tough time with the Kentridge Chargers Saturday night, but prevailed 58-52. The Eagles (4-0, 3-0) got 17 points from senior guard Isiah Umipig and 15 from senior Cole Dickerson. The win over Kentridge leaves the Eagles as the lone unbeaten team in the SPSL North Division.
• The Raiders (3-3, 1-3) lost their second and third games in a row to Kentlake and Tahoma last weekend.
Jefferson lost to Kentlake Thursday, 82-70, and lost to Tahoma Saturday, 63-46.
The third quarter proved to be the difference against Kentlake. Jefferson held a 40-39 lead at halftime, but the Falcons (1-3, 1-2) outscored the Raiders 21-7 during the third quarter to take control of the game.
Jefferson was led by the 23 points from Jeff Brigham. Justin Lanier and Danny Shin both chipped in 12 points and Eric Radford finished with 10.
Against Tahoma, the Raiders were outscored 25-5 during the first quarter and never recovered. Brigham led TJ with 12 points and Radford finished with 11.
