1/30/16
Bellarmine Prep 66, Olympia 58
(Olympia, WA) A huge crowd showed up at Olympia’s Chick Rockey Gymnasium to witness the battle for 1st place in the Narrows League 4A boys league. On the line for the Lions clinching at least a tie for the Championship but more importantly wrapping up the #1 seed into the District Tournament. For the Bears a win would pull them into a tie for 1st and keep their hopes for the #1 seed alive for the District Tourney.
As the game began it was clear there were 2 distinct offensive philosophies at work. For the visiting Lions they would focus on 2 players to supply the bulk of the points while the Bears would spread it around with 8 different players scoring and 3 in double figures.
In the 1st half the two teams would never be separated by more than 5 points and by the break it remained tight with the Lions holding a 34-31 lead. Malachi Flynn would lead Prep with 14 while Joey Bodoia knocked down a dozen. The Bears had 8 scorers already in the books in the 1st half with Eddie Beusch, Hunter Sipe and Liam Murphy all scoring 5.
As the 3rd quarter began the Bears offense would be cold while Flynn and Bodoia continued to light up the scoreboard. The Lions would pull away to a 52-41 lead at the end of the quarter. During this run Christian Moore for Prep picked off some big rebounds and defensive stops feeding the offensive machine of Flynn and Bodoia.
In the 4th quarter Olympia would make it interesting led by Brett Thompson who would finish with 10 points but was a rebounding demon along with Hunter Sipe who ended up leading Olympia with 12 points. The Bears would pull as close as 5 points but every time Oly would make a run Flynn or Bodoia would strike back and shut down the run. One of the most disheartening for the Bears was a 3-point shot by Flynn who was then fouled and he would complete the 4-point play and return to a 10-point lead with less than 4 minutes to play.
The Bears would again come back and pull within 5 late in the game when they would foul Bodoia and send him to the line with a 1-1. This would set up our ProActive Physical Therapy Play of the Game as he missed the 2nd shot but Moore would get the rebound pass it back to Bodoia and he would lay it in giving Prep an 8 point lead clinching the win.
With the win the Lions clinch a tie for the Narrows League Championship with only the Bears still alive to tie them but if that were to happen Prep still gets the #1 seed into the District tournament by virtue of their season sweep over the Bears. The Lions are now 10-0 in league and 15-3 overall. The Bears drop to 8-2 and 15-3 for the season. Olympia now has to try and hold on to 2nd place and the #2 seed with just a 1-game lead over Timberline. The Blazers are at the Bears next week in both team’s season finale.
Our Tommy Lowe of the Greene Realty Group Players of the Game were Malachi Flynn for the Lions and Brett Thompson for Olympia.
Scoring:
Bellarmine Prep: Flynn 31, Bodoia 21, Moore 10, Wojtanowicz 2, Lewis 2
Olympia: Sipe 12, Murphy 10, Thompson 10, Woodward 9, Hernandez 6, Beusch 5, Kiley 4, Miller 2
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