Skyview earns sixth place in 4A, matches best finish in program history

TACOMA — When the Skyview Storm entered the Tacoma Dome for the Hardwood Classic this week for the first time since the 2019-20 season, by no means were they satisfied simply by reaching a destination teams dream of. 

Four days and four games later, the Storm’s sixth place trophy after Saturday’s 69-47 loss to Kentwood in the fourth-place game matches the 2018 for the program’s best state finish. 

An 11-seed, the Storm were Class 4A’s lone double-digit seed to not only reach the quarterfinals, but also earn a state trophy. 

No players on Skyview’s roster had experienced the Hardwood Classic prior to this week, and this year’s seniors — Perdue, Demaree Collins and Jaxson Filler — end their high school careers with a sixth-place finish. 

“It’s bittersweet,” said Gavin Perdue, one of the team’s three seniors. “We wanted the best, but we’re happy with this. We put a lot of work into this. It’s a great group of guys and we’ll always be brothers after this. I’m really proud of everyone. It was a long season, and we fought through a lot of stuff to make it here.”

Some of that stuff included a number of high-stake games as of late, such as winning four loser-out playoff games and a winner-to-state game over its league-rival Camas. The growth in just the past few weeks was evident, sophomore Malakai Weimer said. 

“We’ve seen a lot of growth,” he said. “A lot of perseverance, a lot of integrity and being strong and finishing and never giving up. Giving it our all every possession, every play and always going toward that goal.”

The goal was a memorable four days in Tacoma. First came Wednesday’s Round-of-12 win over Federal Way to the quarterfinals. After falling to Davis of Yakima, the Storm rebounded in overtime to top Tahoma to guarantee themselves a state trophy for the first time in six seasons. 

Saturday against Kentwood, the Conquerors separated themselves with a hot-shooting third quarter. After leading 26-19 at halftime, it began the quarter on a quick 9-0 scoring run, then extended the lead to 20 at 47-27. Kentwood shot 9 of 15 in the third quarter, including 60 percent from 3-point range. Mason St. Louis led all scorers with 22 points for Kentwood. 

Ryan Hanson, a day after hitting the game-winning shot in overtime in Skyview’s consolation win over Tahoma, scored 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Collins finished with 12 points after being held scoreless on 0 of 4 shooting in the first half.

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KENTWOOD 69, SKYVIEW 47

SKYVIEW — Landon Webb 4, Gavin Packer 2, Gavin Perdue 9, Malakai Weimer 0, Demaree Collins 12, Kohen Mahler 0, Spencer Hascall 3, Ryan Hanson 13, Jordan Howard 0, David Schmitt 0, Jaxson Filler 4. Totals 17 (9) 4-7 49.

KENTWOOD — Aaron Ton 0, Corey Tita 11, Brandon Tagle 15, Blake Stempniak 6, Zachary Hernandez 0, Mason St. Louis 22, Champ Huerta 0, Caleb Ross 2, Yusof Edey 4, Brent Simmons 9, Tyler Maurer 0. Totals 22 (13) 12-13 69

Sky 9 10 10 18 – 47

Kent 8 18 24 9 – 69