The Kentwood High boys basketball team is hitting its stride.
As much was evident late Thursday night in a Class 4A state quarterfinal game at the Tacoma Dome against Eastlake. Joshua Smith led a balanced Kentwood attack with 23 points as the Conquerors dispatched the Wolves with ease, 78-57.
Every Conqueror on the roster scored at least once in the runaway victory that helped Kentwood (18-10) advance to Friday night’s semifinal round. The Conquerors will play Wilson at 8:30 p.m. Friday night for a berth in the championship game, which is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday. Wilson knocked off Walla Walla 52-44 to advance to the semifinals. Top-ranked Federal Way will play Jackson in the tournament’s other semifinal game.
“We’re coming together. If there’s ever a time to do come together, I am glad we’re coming together now,” said Kentwood’s Tre Tyler, who scored 13 points and dished out five assists. “We want to win a championship and we will settle for nothing less.”
The Conquerors were in championship form Thursday night. Eastlake took an early 4-3 lead before Kentwood went on a 13-6 run to take a 16-10 run with two minutes left. It was a lead the Conquerors would not relinquish the rest of the night.
Eastlake (18-8) simply didn’t have an answer in the paint for Smith, who grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Kentwood outrebounded the Wolves 38-23 for the game.
“We knew we had to come out with energy and that’s exactly what we did,” Tyler said.
Kentwood broke open a close game in the second quarter, going on a 15-3 run to take a 33-19 lead with 3:36 remaining in the half. Eastlake would cut the deficit to 40-33 early in the third quarter, but didn’t get any closer the rest of the night.
The Conquerors received a season-high 21 points off its bench. In addition to Smith’s 23 points and Tyler’s 13, Jason Boyce added 11.
After two days games, Kentwood’s Smith ranks second in the tournament in scoring with a 25.5 points-per-game average. Smith leads the tournament in rebounding, averaging 16.5 per game. Tyler is currently the tournament’s assist leader at 5.5 per game.
