Defensive effort sends Skyview boys to state berth

As the old adage goes, defense wins championships.

Well, defense didn’t win the Skyview boys basketball team a championship on Wednesday, but it certainly put the Storm in a position to contend for one.

Skyview shut out Olympia in the second quarter en route to a 57-27 rout in a consolation game at the 4A bi-district tournament in Tacoma.

The win clinches a berth for the Storm (22-3) to the regional round of the state playoffs, and with their solid No. 2 ranking, they are basically assured a trip to the Tacoma Dome.

“Our guys were just really locked in,” Skyview coach Matt Gruhler said. “After the disappointment of losing our first-round game by not playing very well in the fourth quarter, they really didn’t want that to keep us from getting to state. So they came out with great energy and defensively, we were just a menace.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter that left Skyview trailing 11-10, the game completely changed in the second quarter when the Storm outscored the Bears 15-0 to take a 25-11 halftime.

“Jacoby Thompson came off the bench and hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter to get us going,” Gruhler said. “He’s a senior who has been in the program for four years, so it’s nice for him to have his moment. From there, the defense just took it to a different level.”

It didn’t get any better for the Bears in the second half.

Skyview has 27 deflections of passes or dribbles in the game.

Skyview got the win with a balanced scoring attack led by Jovon Sewell’s 15 points. Samaad Hector had 11 and Alex Schumacher and Cole Grossman had seven each. Hector also added 12 rebounds.

The Storm will face Kentwood or Bellarmine Prep on Friday for fifth-place in the bi-district.

“We’ve been road warriors, but this makes it all worth it,” Gruhler said. “I told the guys they were troopers. Having to win three in a row while traveling two hours to get to the game each time, not every team could handle that. But they were locked in and took care of everything they needed to.”

SKYVIEW 57, OLYMPIA 27

OLYMPIA — Gahm 0, Poppe 0, Effland 0, Barner 1, Young 7, Sawyer 6, Wood 2, Swanson 0, Lindsay 4, Grant 2. Totals 11 (3) 2-3 27.

SKYVIEW — Alex Schumacher 7, Cole Grossman 7, Jovon Sewell 15, Samaad Hector 11, Jacoby Thompson 6, Sean Boss 1, Squeeky Johnson 0, Lowell Dunmire 6, Chris Webster 0, KB Fesehazion 0, Kyle Gruhler 2, Jace Chatman 2. Totals 23 (3) 8-14 57.

Olympia 11 0 9 7–27

Skyview 10 15 15 17–57