HS Basketball: Timberline Comes From Behind To Defeat Mt. Tahoma

1/16/25

Timberline 13/14/18/26 – 71
Mt. Tahoma 9/27/14/13 – 63

(Tacoma, WA) The Timberline Blazers came into Wednesday’s contest with a one-game lead over three teams in the PSL-Nisqually, while the Mt. Tahoma Thunderbirds sit in fifth place in the PSL-Narrows. With only a few weeks of regular season play remaining, the two sides each were looking for a pivotal league win as the postseason is right down the road.

In the first quarter, the defenses were the main story. Open shots were hard to come by, and every point was earned. Amaar Coleman led the way for Mt. Tahoma with five first-quarter points. Timberline used balanced scoring from Trey Curtis, who had four points, and Damari Evans, DJ Falco, and Kenyon Simmons who each had three in the opening period. The Blazers led 13-9 after a defensive battle in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Mt. Tahoma erupted for 27 points, speeding up the pace of the game drastically. The T-Birds took the lead and eventually held a double-digit lead in the blink of an eye. Mikkah Cordero led the charge, with 10 points in the quarter, including knocking down a three. Peter Pilcher, who was held scoreless in the first quarter, got up to eight points in the second and was a force defensively, rejecting shots left and right in the post. Mt. Tahoma took a 36-27 lead at the halftime break.

The third quarter was a balanced effort by both sides, as the teams traded baskets all quarter. Josh Tichenor for Timberline was held scoreless in the first half, but had a great third quarter, getting eight points for the Blazers. Prince Set-Hatter had a good quarter for Mt. Tahoma, scoring all seven of his points in the game in the third. Mt. Tahoma led 50-45 after the third quarter as they set up for a good fourth quarter.

In the fourth, Timberline came out and took the lead back, with the help of their two senior leaders. Josh Tichenor and Kenyon Simmons, who both finished with 18 points, had a large role on both offense and defense in gaining the lead again. Simmons played in the post and had a battle all night against Peter Pilcher, while Tichenor ran the point and had a couple of steals in the second half as Timberline used some press to force a few turnovers on Mt. Tahoma. Timberline saved their best quarter for the last, as they scored 26 points and held Mt. Tahoma to just 13 as the Blazers took the lead and didn’t look back. Timberline would get the victory 71-63 in a hard-fought contest.

Timberline improves to 8-7 overall and 7-3 in the PSL-Nisqually. The Blazers still hold the top spot in the division and host Lincoln (Tacoma) on Friday in a battle of the top two teams in the PSL. Lincoln leads the PSL-Narrows and hasn’t dropped a PSL game all season.

Mt. Tahoma drops to 5-8 overall and 2-8 in the PSL-Narrows. Mt. Tahoma will go to Capital on Friday for another PSL game.

Our elisportsnetwork.com Game MVP went to Timberline’s Kenyon Simmons. The senior tied for a game-high with 18 points and was a force in the post on both the offensive and defensive sides. He’s one of the leaders on the team and showed it with his play on Wednesday.

Timberline’s Josh Tichenor also had a great night, scoring 18 points, all of which came in the second half. Leon Heilman had nine points, Isaiah Tillman had eight points, Damari Evans had six points, DJ Falco had five points, Trey Curtis had four points, and Carmelo Roper had three points.

Mt. Tahoma was led by Mikkah Cordero who had 18 points, 10 of them coming in the second quarter, Peter Pilcher who had 15 points, Amaar Coleman who fouled out with 10 points, Zane Cordero had eight points, Prince Set-Hatter had seven points and JaRay Jay had five points for the T-Birds.

Click here to watch the full game replay.

ESN Talks With Game MVP, Timberline’s Kenyon Simmons