SPSL North: Kentridge's defense keys tough victory

MAPLE VALLEY — Excuse the Kentridge High School boys basketball team if it forgot about everything other than defense.

The Chargers' focus was obvious. Stop Tahoma's leading scorer, Zac Chase.

Trey Turner spearheaded the defensive effort on Chase as cold-shooting Kentridge escaped with a 42-41 victory over host Tahoma on Friday in a key early-season South Puget Sound League North Division game.

The Chargers (2-0 overall, 2-0 SPSL North) did it with a gimmick defense designed to neutralize Chase, who came in averaging 17.7 points. Kentridge shot poorly from the floor and, especially from the foul line, with 8-of-24 accuracy, but managed to win the close game.

"My assignment was to stop Zac Chase," said Turner, a 5-foot-11 junior guard, who limited Chase to a scoreless first half and four points overall. "My job was to get a hand in his face and just don't let him shoot. Make him drive, but just no easy buckets.

"I knew my teammates would be there to help. It was pretty tiring."

Kelly Robinson scored 11 points to lead the Kentridge offense.

Tahoma (2-2, 2-1) had a chance to tie the score with 5.1 seconds remaining, but senior forward Karl Rainer missed a free throw and made the second after a shooting foul. Kentridge inbounded the ball, called timeout with 3.8 seconds to go and Garrett Patterson was fouled with 3.3 seconds left.

Patterson, a junior reserve guard, missed both of his free throws, but grabbed the second miss after it bounced around and held the ball for more than second as time ran out.

Renado Parker, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward who led the Chargers at 15.4 points per game as a freshman, gave Kentridge the lead for good at 41-40 on a tip-in of a Patterson transition miss with 2:08 to play.

Chase, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, scored 16.2 points per game last season and scored 33 points in a win at Kentridge a year ago.

Chase didn't connect for his first points until dropping in a pull-up jumper with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

The Bears' top scorer finished 2 of 6 from the floor as the Chargers' denying defense kept the balls out of his hands most of the night.

"We just knew we had to stop Zac Chase," Kentridge coach Dave Jamison said after successfully employing a "1-3 chaser" defense. "I think we did a good job on defense. With the fouls and losing Jerry [Parker], we guys out there with not many reps.

"I feel pretty lucky. Usually, 42 points doesn't win in our league."

The two teams, along with Kentwood, have designs on winning the SPSL North and would be considered the top three contenders to do so.

Kentridge played most of the game without senior post player Jerry Parker, who left the game in the first quarter with a deep cut over his right eye. He left the gym with 6:16 left in the second quarter. Randy Byrd, a senior guard, came off the bench to lead Tahoma with eight points.

Tahoma looked like a state-caliber team early in 2004-05 before fading to 13-8 with four consecutive losses to end the season.