Curtis players celebrate after beating Olympia 49-43 to win the Class 4A state title for the second year in a row on Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash.
Pete Custer/The News Tribune
Curtis and Olympia, both from the 4A South Puget Sound League, know each other well.
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So when they faced off against each other in the Class 4A state championship game at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night — the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season — it wasn’t surprising that nothing came easy.
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The Vikings had to scratch and claw for every bucket, every defensive stop, every loose ball. Down the stretch, Curtis made more plays on the offensive end and on defense, took the Bears out of everything they wanted to do.
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It resulted in a 48-41 win in front of a packed Tacoma Dome crowd in a game that lived up to the billing in every way imaginable. For the second straight season, the Vikings are 4A state champions.
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Back to back — that has a nice ring to it.
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“Man, amazing,” said Curtis junior guard Zoom Diallo, the tournament MVP. “Amazing. Not a lot of people can do what we just did. It’s a blessing.”
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Diallo scored a game-high 21 points, making critical shots at key moments of the game. Cinque Maxwell added 10 points.
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“Olympia, it was our fourth time playing them,” Diallo said. “We knew it was gonna be a tough one. The game was going back and forth. What we tried to say in the beginning was we didn’t want them to give us the first punch.
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“They ended up giving us the first punch. We just ended up battling out. It’s a blessing that we just won that. Shoutout to Olympia, shoutout to the coaching staff, it was a great battle.”
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Offense was hard to come by for both teams. Curtis senior Tyce Paulsen poured his heart and soul into his defensive assignment against Olympia guard Parker Gerrits, the two-time 4A SPSL South MVP. Gerrits was held to seven points.
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“I know he can shoot it from anywhere,” Paulsen said. “I thought of it as, it’s my last high school game. I wanted this game more than anything. I needed that.”
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Kelly felt Paulsen’s defense was one of the major keys to the win.
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“He’s done a good job every time we’ve put him on him,” Kelly said. “I think his length kind of bothers Parker a little bit. Tyce has become somebody as a freshman, who’s come a tremendous way defensively.”
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Olympia post Andreas Engholm led the Bears with 11 points. Matt Lindblom and Drew Carlson added eight points apiece.
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With just over three minutes to go, it was a one-point game. Diallo made a highlight-reel, multiple-crossover play and got the rim, getting fouled and giving Curtis a three point lead. Then Josiah Johnson hit a shot from the elbow to give Curtis a five-point lead with just over two minutes to play. Olympia got it back within three but came up empty on its last offensive possession.
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It’s the fifth state title for Curtis coach Tim Kelly. He has won three titles at Curtis and two at Lincoln.
This story was originally published March 5, 2023 12:11 AM.
