Jackson's run hits a roadblock

TACOMA — That magic ride the Jackson Timberwolves were taking through the Class 4A state tournament? Well, let's just say it came into Saturday night's championship game running a little low on fuel.

Then it ran into a rather large obstacle.

Jackson's run through the state tournament featured clutch shots, down-to-the-wire wins, and a stunning upset over the defending state champs.

What the Timberwolves didn't have, what they needed for a storybook ending to this wild week in Tacoma, was one more inspired effort and an answer for Kentwood's Josh Smith.

Running on fumes after three dramatic wins and unable to contain the Conquerors' UCLA-bound behemoth, Jackson fell to Kentwood 67-58 at the Tacoma Dome Saturday night.

“We had to double Smith and count on some guys who maybe aren't as likely to score to not score, and they made shots, they made three-pointers,” said Jackson coach Steve Johnson. “We had to give them open three-pointers. What else are you going to do? We gave them some open three-pointers, they made too many of them, and we didn't shoot as well. I thought we ran out of gas a little bit ... We lost the lead in the first half and never could get it back.”

It wasn't that the Timberwolves came out flat one night after upsetting top-ranked Federal Way — they scored the game's first two baskets and led 14-12 after one quarter — it was just that they simply couldn't keep up with Kentwood for the next three quarters.

“It was pretty tiring tonight,” said Jackson junior guard Brett Kingma. “We all played our hearts out, but we just kind of came up short.”

And yeah, that Smith fellow is pretty good too.

Smith, the nation's No. 1 center in some recruiting rankings, finished with game-highs of 22 points, 16 rebounds and five assists.

“He's unlike anything we've ever faced,” said 6-foot-4 forward Mike Wishko, one of the many unfortunate souls who had to try to stop the 6-9 Smith. “You can't practice against that, you can't prepare for anything like that. It really doesn't feel like a human.”

But as good as Smith, the tournament MVP, was, it was his supporting cast that helped Kentwood take control of the game. Down two to start the second quarter, the Conquerors quickly took the lead on an Alec Wilson 3-pointer. After a Smith put back, Wilson and Skyler Genger drained 3s, and before Jackson could recover, Kentwood had scored on nine straight possessions to open the quarter and held a 10-point lead.

“They hit some shots, and we maybe took some quick ones, and had a few critical turnovers,” said Johnson. “That put them at that eight-to-10 point lead and it kind of stayed that way the rest of the game.”

Jackson never recovered from Kentwood's second-quarter scoring burst, though Kingma did hit a 3 to make it a seven-point game with 2:36 left in the game. He missed on Jackson's next possession, however, and Kentwood hit enough free throws down the stretch to maintain a comfortable margin.

Kingma finished with a team-high 16 points, but struggled to get going until the second half. For the game he made six of 17 shots, and was one for eight in the first half, making only a layup on the game's first possession.

Despite 13 points from Mike Wishko and 12 from Marshall Massengale, Kentwood's plan of putting the game in the hands of Jackson's supporting cast paid off.

“We felt that if we slowed him down enough, that we'd be fine,” said Kentwood guard Mikell Everette, one of several players to take a turn at guarding Kingma. “That if we forced everyone else to make plays and slowed him down, we'd win the game. And that's what happened.”

But despite a tough state championship game, Kingma, the runner-up to Smith in the MVP balloting, was able to see the bigger picture after meeting with his coaches and teammates in the locker room.

“It took me a while to get going, but I don't have any regrets,” he said. “I left it all on the floor.

“We've got nothing to hang our heads about. Second place, nobody expected us to get here. We just ran into a team that was hot, and obviously a big time player ... We're disappointed now, but we'll look back and see it was a pretty cool accomplishment.”

Jackson, which finishes the season 23-5, not only had the best basketball season in school history, but it also became the first boys team from Snohomish county since 1977 to make the state championship game at the 3A or 4A level.

“I can't say anything negative about these guys,” Johnson said. “They played so hard, they battled so hard. What can I say? If someone had told me a few weeks ago that we'd be in the state championship ... I'm just really proud of them.”

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.