Kentwood’s dominance continues in win over Mountlake Terrace

Ever since the two point loss to Auburn back on Dec. 5 for their second game of the season, Kentwood has gone on to win six games in a row, their most recent against Mountlake Terrace on Dec. 20, a game they won 67-44 on a neutral court at Tahoma High School.

“For us to be sitting her, first day of break at 7-1 and we are one shot away from being 8-0 against the No. 1 team in the state, I think we found how good we can be. I think it happened a lot quicker than a lot of people expected,” head coach Blake Solomon said.

It was a four quarter, defensively dominant performance, with the offense supporting the defense along the way. This is what Solomon expect his side to play like, and for over two weeks, they have.

”We were hoping we would be able to bring our own energy and we did for the most part. I thought we played pretty well,” Solomon said.

The development of Caleb Ross has come to the forefront on the defensive end. He had three blocks and a handful of deflections across the game. His biggest focus was staying on the floor for the whole game.

“Last year he was in foul trouble a lot because he was late with a lot of stuff and not ready pre-catch. He’s doing a much better job, doing his work early,” Solomon said. “When he is on the floor, we are a much better basketball team.”

Ross finished with 11 points and, most importantly, stayed on the floor the whole game.

In terms of on court performances, it’s hard to watch a Kentwood basketball game and not be impressed with the play of senior Brandon Tagle. No moment is too big, no shot is out of reach, and everything is cool, calm and collected. He finished with 16 points and sat the majority of the second half when it was clear Kentwood was in control.

Tagle had 10 first quarter points and helped Kentwood take a 24-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Darian Williams had four early points, but the first half was all Tagle and AJ Gabriel. Gabriel had eight points while Tagle had 12 in the first half for Kentwood.

“AJ has been growing all year and it’s showing right now. He’s making all these defensive stops and had a great game last game and today,” Ross said.

Gabriel was getting limited minutes a season ago, but this year is taking over really as the number two guard on offense behind Tagle.

“He’s been playing really well. He had 20 points on Thursday at Mount Rainier. He was a catalyst defensively for us,” Solomon said. “He’s always been a really good player. He just was stuck behind some players that were really good. He stayed true and put in the work and ever since the year started, he’s been locked in.”

In the second half, specifically in the third quarter, it wasn’t flashy from Kentwood with just Tagle, Jacob Bail and Williams recording points. But defensively the Hawks were kept at bay, scoring just 11 points after the halftime break.

“The past couple of years we have been so lethal offensively that we could win so many games 79-65. This year we are built different. We have to be able to defend and our scores have reflected that,” Solomon said.

The scoring habits returned in the fourth quarter as six different players recorded a made basket and the Conks even reached a lead of 20 points over Mountlake Terrace.

Defensively, Kentwood has given up 60 points just once time all season and the 44 scored by Mountlake Terrace are the second fewest points allowed by Kentwood all season. The key? Their bond.

“I feel like we all have a great bond. From last year to this year, we have known each other for a bunch of years,” Ross said.

Kentwood now heads to winter break with a 7-1 record and heads up to North Creek on Dec. 30 to take on the Jaguars.