SPSL NORTH BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW CAPSULES

Feature on Mount Rainier standout sophomore Adrian Davis – click here

CRYSTAL BALL
1. Mount Rainier (10-10)
2. Kentwood (17-10)
3. Kent-Meridian (12-12)
4. Tahoma (5-15)
5. Kentridge (21-10)
6. Kentlake (10-13)
7. Jefferson (6-14)
8. Auburn Riverside (8-12)
9. Auburn (21-7)
*2010-11 records

STARTING FIVE
G Adrian Davis 6-2 Soph. Mount Rainier
Took the league by storm as a freshman, averaging 19 points per game

F Jaron Heck 6-3 Sr. Kentlake
First-team all-league pick averaged 17.7 points per game

F Martel Taylor-Barone 6-4 Jr. Kent-Meridian
One of a few great athletes on a team hungry for the postseason

F Taylor Jones 6-6 Sr. Kentwood
Conquerors big man can play inside and outside

G Jawan Stepney 6-1 Soph. Kentridge
Wasn’t afraid to take big shots at big moments as a freshman

FASTBREAK
In its second season in the SPSL North, Mount Rainier could win the league title. Guard Adrian Davis is electrifying and has a talented supporting cast in point guard Malik Rogers, forward Caden Rowland (14 ppg) and Dawane Clay, who can clean up the boards. Read more »

Home state play-in games in early November are starting to become the norm around Peninsula High School.

The seventh-ranked Seahawks assured themselves of another one – their third in the past four seasons – after routing Decatur, 48-3, at Roy Anderson Field in Purdy.

It appears after Peninsula finishes up the regular season next week at Enumclaw, a likely playoff game against Mount Si, the KingCo 3A’s third seed, will happen in the 10th week.

“That is huge for us,” Peninsula coach Ross Filkins said “We love playing at Roy Anderson Field. It will be big for our seniors to play there one more time. We were locked on that tonight.”
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Curtis ended the regular season with a 70-24 win over playoff-bound Beamer on Thursday night. By scoring 70 points, the Vikings tied the SPSL’s record for points scored in a season with 416. Auburn set the original mark last year.

Some other postseason-related loose ends were tied up on Thursday, too:

Kentridge and Auburn Riverside both lost, which means Kentridge will play at the winner of tonight’s Gig Harbor-Bellarmine Prep contest and Auburn Riverside will take on Graham-Kapowsin at Art Crate Field in a pig-tail game on Tuesday. Read more »

Because it’s never too early to look forward to basketball season, I’ve rounded up a few tournament schedules. There are some very intriguing matchups and I’ve picked my favorites.

Boys – Squalicum vs. Vashon
Here’s a matchup of the defending state champions in 2A and 1A. Some people say the Storm are the best team in the state, regardless of classification. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but the Bellingham school is in my top five. Vashon is led by California-bound center Jon Gage.

Boys – Jackson vs. Beamer
Timberwolves guard Brett Kingma, who’s wanted by Washington and Gonzaga, takes on the Titans and forward Kevin Davis, who averaged 16.3 points, 15.3 rebounds and 4.1 blocked shots per game last season.

Boys – Rainier Beach vs. Decatur
What’s not to like here? These two programs have been at the top of their classification in recent years and both return some talented players.

Boys – Federal Way vs. Jefferson (Ore.)
Washington’s 4A champion meets Oregon’s 5A champion in the King Holiday Hoopfest. Wonder what outfit Jerome Collins will breakout for this much-anticipated game?

Boys – Kentridge vs. Kentwood
OK, so we see these teams play every season. Twice. But you’ve got to believe that Gary Bell and the Chargers will want to take down Joshua Smith and the Conquerors at the ShoWare Center.

Girls – Auburn Riverside vs. Kennedy Catholic
Can the Ravens stay competitive with a third coach in three seasons? Defending 3A state champion Kennedy Catholic is just the team to put them to the test.

Click below for the full listings.

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