In the season opener in 1978, a young Ron Bollinger set the school and conference scoring record with 53 points against O’Dea.
But in the 38 years since, no player has ever broken the record — not Zach LaVine, not Josh Miller. And Bollinger, now the head coach of the program, is well aware of that fact.
Bollinger poked a bit of fun at current senior Cameron Tyson, who led Bothell to a 68-45 win over Juanita in the QFC Holiday Classic semifinals on Thursday at Bothell High School. Tyson finished with 28 points, including 23 in the first half, before sitting down midway through the third quarter.
“He’s shooting for my record, but you can’t break that record if you’re up by 30,” Bollinger said.
But for Tyson, the early scoring was as much a matter of necessity for Bothell (9-0) as an attempt at the school record. With an injury keeping post Jake Medjo on the sideline and a back injury slowing the return of senior wing Josh Kollman, it was up to Tyson to carry the load early on.
Tyson delivered, scoring the first 10 points of the game and finishing the first quarter with 13.
“I think the guys were relying on him,” Bollinger said. “You go from having three really good players down to one. The guys off the bench are looking around and moving the ball, and he was stepping up and taking the shots.”
Tyson’s barrage was too much for a short-handed Juanita team, which came in with only seven healthy players.
“We tried to make it more difficult on him, but that was after he got off to his hot start,” Juanita coach Sloan Strohl said. “That’s what we tried to do, but sometimes a kid sees the ball go in a couple of times — and he hit a couple tough shots on us — and sometimes two made baskets is two made baskets too late.”
The Rebels (4-5) were without juniors Jayson Schroeder, Zach Miller and Matthew McCool for the tournament opener on Dec. 28, during which senior Isaac Wunderlich pulled up with an injury.
Juanita worked to deny Tyson the ball in the second half, but by then other options began to open for Bothell. Senior Isaiah Clark scored 11 in the third quarter and finished with 13 points. Kollman, who came in off the bench and played limited minutes, hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
For Juanita, the pressure to produce fell to senior post Ravi Regan-Hughes, who scored 29 in the opening game on Dec. 28. Regan-Hughes struggled in the first half against Bothell, finishing with 17 points and only finding an offensive groove once the game was out of hand.
“We’re going to get him the ball and have him facilitate,” Strohl said. “He can dribble pretty well for a guy his size and he’s a pretty good passer. We have enough shooters that we were hoping to make them pay if they doubled him, but they were really good with who they doubled with.”
Ryan Trautmann had a big first half and finished with 13 points.
Bothell outscored Juanita 24-8 in the third quarter after leading 37-23 at halftime.
Next, Juanita is scheduled to play Mariner at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 30. Bothell will play Shorecrest, which beat O’Dea 74-67 in the other semifinal, at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 for the tournament championship.
QFC Holiday Classic, Bothell High School
Dec. 29
Kamiak 71, Kelowna 60
Snohomish 64, Mariner 51
SF: Bothell 68, Juanita 45
SF: Shorecrest 74, O’Dea 67
Dec. 30
Kelowna vs. Snohomish, 4 p.m.
Mariner vs. Juanita, 5:30 p.m.
Kamiak vs. O’Dea, 7 p.m.
CH: Shorecrest vs. Bothell, 8:30 p.m.
