Curtis advances to state championship game with 83-71 win

Curtis head coach Tim Kelly shook his head, lamenting the number of jump-shots his team had taken during the fourth quarter of its semifinal match-up against Davis.

The high number of outside shots that had Kelly bothered? That would be two.

Darius Johnson-Wilson scored 20 points and Curtis used a dominating inside game to advance to the 4A state championship game with a 83-71 victory over Davis in the Hardwood Classic on Friday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome.

The Vikings made no secret of their game plan from the start againsty Davis. Curtis pounded the ball inside on virtually every possession, relying on a steady stream of lay-ups, short jumpers and free throws to take control. Curtis took 25 fewer shots than Davis, but made the same amount of field goals in addition to going 29 of 36 from the line.

"Pound it in, pound it in, pound it in," Kelly said of his teams offensive plan. "There was no reason to go away from that."

Despite the Vikings high shooting percentage (60 percent from the floor), Davis was within four points early in the fourth quarter. But Curtis iced the game at the line, hitting 17 of 18 free throws in the final quarter.

"We knocked down free throws," Kelly said. "We had the ball in the right hands of our right shooters and they knocked them down.

Davis led by one at halftime after frustrating Curtis with its defense in the first two quarters. The Pirates consistently collapsed their zone defense into the lane, forcing the Vikings to try to score against double-and-triple teams. James Cooks kept Curtis close during a lopsided second quarter, hitting five of six shots for 11 points. Cooks finished with 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting.

"We were dissapointed with the second quarter and how it went," Kelly said. "Part of the focus today was to win four quarters. [After we lost that] then it was, 'let's come out and win the third quarter and the fourth quarter.'" 

Curtis did just that to start the second half. The Vikings picked up the defensive pressure to start the third quarter and began to find their rhythm on offense. The Vikings started the second half on an 8-0 run, highlighted by four forced turnovers and four made shots from six feet or closer. Curtis opened up an eight-point lead late in the third quarter and Davis never got closer than four points the rest of the way. Johnson-Wilson scored eight points in the fourth quarter to lead Curtis, which also got 11 second-half points from WSU-bound Davonte Lacy. Lacy finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

The win was the 13th straight for Curtis, which has not lost since January 21. For Kelly, it's a return to the state championship game, nine years after he won his last title with Lincoln. While the teams may be different, he said his message to his players was the same.

"We're 32 minutes away from being the best team in state," Kelly said. "No one can ever take that away from you."