HS Basketball: Sumner Hands Olympia first SPSL Regular Season Loss in Over 2 Years

1/11/2025

(Sumner, WA)

The Sumner Spartans put their foot on the pedal from the start, and hung on to defeat the previously SPSL-undefeated Olympia Bears 61-53. The win sends Sumner to 2nd in SPSL North Play at 7-3, while Olympia falls to 8-1 in the SPSL South.

Olympia came into the game with a record of (11-2), with their lone losses against teams from out of state. Sumner had a successful week with a trouncing win against crosstown rival Bonney Lake, and a gutsy win on the road against Spanaway Lake. Sumner and Olympia met twice last season. Both games were incredibly memorable. The first meeting saw a triple overtime winner won by Olympia 69-64, highlighted by 32 points from Olympia’s Matt Lindblom. The second meeting occurred in the SPSL Semifinals, a game where Sumner’s Jalen Hyppa scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to send the Spartans to the SPSL Title Game with a 54-50 win.

It was important if Sumner was to pull off the upset to get hot early. Their one-two scoring combination of Colton Kelley and Jalen Hyppa did exactly that. Kelley (8) and Hyppa (5) accounted for all but three of Sumner’s 16 first quarter points to give the home team a 16-8 lead in the opening quarter. Julian Zapata and Matt Lindblom sent Olympia on a 5-0 run to close out the quarter. Sumner led 16-13 after one.

The 2nd quarter saw Olympia pull in front late in the half thanks to their aggressive in your face brand of basketball. Oly lead 25-24 at halftime.

The second half saw a near sequel of how the first half began. Sumner taking an early lead from the outset. Sumner used a pair of threes from Hyppa and Kelley to stretch the Spartan advantage. Jalen Hyppa was a big reason for that. The Sumner guard was able to put up 14 second half points to put Sumner on the brink of handing Olympia, their first regular season league loss in over two years. Sumner led Olympia 45-35 at the end of the third.

In the final frame, free throws and defense were key in how this game was won and lost. Goose Frederick scored six of his eight points in the final quarter. Frederick was pivotal in Sumner securing the win, thanks to his defensive play.

The 61-53 win by Sumner hands the Olympia Bears their first loss in SPSL play since December of 2022.

Here are the scorers for the game:

Olympia: Matt Lindlom 17; Julian Zapata 14; Blake Peterson 6; Keegan Bell 5; Brody Cronk 3; Kinston Stanciu 3; Elijah Buol 2; Brian Stevenson 2.

Sumner: Jalen Hyppa 25; Colton Kelley 11; Goose Frederick 8; Carson Schmidt 5; Gavin Lee 4; Austin Collins 3; Owen Liedtke 1.

Our Elisportsnetwork.com MVP was Goose Frederick with 8 points and timely defense to secure the Sumner win.

Olympia hosts Puyallup Tuesday night at 7pm in a battle for supremacy in the SPSL. Sumner travels to Yelm on Tuesday night.

Here is our ESN Postgame Show with our interviews with Sumner Head Coach Bill Liley and our Elisportsnetwork.com MVP Goose Frederick with highlights from the game to follow.

Game MVP Goose Frederick Speaks with ESN