By the time Cameron Tyson had polished off his fourth-quarter performance, the score book had literally run out of room to add points.
Tyson scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth period on Thursday night, leading the Bothell High boys basketball team to a win over Skyline, 54-42, in the Class 4A KingCo tournament title game at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.
Cam time? Tyson time? Something like that.
“In the second half, they took [the low post] away a little bit and we had to adjust, but Cam came through in that fourth quarter, and [Josh Kollman] hit a big shot,” Bothell coach Ron Bollinger said. “Cam, in that fourth quarter, he just took the team on his shoulders.”
Bothell (17-5) pushed a narrow lead to 23-17 at the halftime break, leaning on senior post Jake Medjo’s 14-first-half points. Medjo was aggressive, especially in the first quarter as Bothell looked to put Skyline post Matthew Cindric in foul trouble.
The Cougars also limited the free space allowed to Skyline senior Kellan Przybylski, who hit a school-record nine 3-pointers and finished with a school-record 39-points against Bothell on Jan. 25. Bothell’s Tyler Dean chased Przybylski for much of the night.
“We wanted to wear his backside out, and we did,” Bollinger said. “At halftime when we were walking back (to the locker room), he was right behind me. Somebody was breathing really hard like they couldn’t catch their breath. I looked back and saw it was him, and was like, ‘Yes, it’s working.’”
But in the early moments of the fourth quarter, Bothell appeared to lose its nerve. Skyline scored the first five of the period to take a 32-30 lead — it’s first lead of the game — with 90 seconds gone in the quarter.
Bollinger called time out and rallied his players mentally, but didn’t point fingers.
Typically a player of few words, Tyson didn’t need the direction.
“I just knew going into the fourth that I was going to do whatever I had to do to get my team to win,” he said.
“When they hit the 3 to tie it up, it was like, ‘Yep, let’s go.’”
Tyson hit a tricky layup, then a 3-pointer from in front of the Bothell students. Half a one-and-one at the free throw line capped a 9-0 run, and Tyson wasn’t finished. Przybylski hit a 3-pointer to pull Skyline within four at the midway point of the period, but Tyson answered with one of his own to reestablish control.
Tyson also hit six of eight free-throws in the quarter.
Medjo, who finished with 21 points and played a big role on the boards throughout the game, didn’t mind playing second-fiddle on offense down the stretch.
“We just want to win, and I’m willing to do anything to get my teammates a W,” he said. “If it was me getting the ball early in the game, I’m willing to do that for my teammates. Late in the game, it was Cam coming up big.”
Despite the defensive pressure, Przybylski still hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead Skyline. The Spartans (13-7) drop to face Inglemoor at 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 18 at Lake Washington High School for the final KingCo berth in the regional round.
Bothell moves on to play either Feb. 24 or 25 in a regional game.
Bothell poses with the tournament championship trophy after beating Skylien on Thursday at Lake Washington High School. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Bothell-Kenmore Reporter
