Bothell High’s Cougars clawed back in the game, but then it got away from them.
After being down 15-0 more than halfway through the first quarter, the Bothell boys basketball squad chipped away and eventually took a 23-21 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
Curtis High stuck close and soon piled up another 15-point lead, 46-31, with five minutes left in the third quarter en route to a commanding 68-48 victory in the 4A regional playoffs on Saturday night at North Creek High. Bothell (20-3) is done for the season while Curtis (18-7) advances to the state tournament.
“I think the nerves got to us at the beginning of the game and (we) could never really recover. When we got that lead, we’re like, ‘OK, let’s go,’ and then they kind of responded, they played a great game,” said Bothell senior guard and league most valuable player Cameron Tyson.
Curtis shot 51 percent from field-goal range and notched nine 3-pointers while Bothell shot 38 percent from field-goal range.
Senior post Jake Medjo led Bothell — the 4A KingCo tournament champions — with 24 points and senior guard Da’Vicious Wilson followed with 11 points.
For Curtis, junior guard Zack Paulsen had 19 points and junior guard Jordan Parker tallied 15 points.
Medjo scored from in close to put Bothell’s first points on the scoreboard; junior wing Spencer Wright tied the game at 21-21 with a layin; Wilson’s jumper gave Bothell the lead; and Wright’s driving layin put the Cougars up 25-23 before Curtis tied it and took over.
Tyson drilled a trey near the end of the game for his final points as a Cougar.
He reflected on what he’ll remember most about this season.
“Mostly just the chemistry that everybody brought together,” Tyson said. “If you look at this group of guys, you wouldn’t have always seen us walking around school together, always laughing and joking before the season, but ever since the season started, that’s been the case. We eat with each other at lunch, we’re always with each other, always just having fun.”
Tyson said that winning the KingCo was title was huge and earning MVP was an honor.
“I’m just blessed that they did vote me KingCo MVP, because there’s a lot of good players in the league,” he said.
