SNOHOMISH — Led by guard Dan Kingma, on his way to a game-high 27 points, the Jackson boys basketball team broke out to an early lead and kept padding its margin the rest of the way for a 63-43 victory over Arlington on Friday night in the Class 4A District 1 championship game at Glacier Peak High School.
It was Jackson’s fourth consecutive district title, “and I’m pretty proud of that,” said Timberwolves coach Steve Johnson as the team celebrated around him on the gymnasium floor. “I think you’d really be hard pressed to find anyone (in the state) that’s done that.”
Though a district championship “is not our ultimate goal,” he added, “we’re obviously very proud of it. I give a lot of credit to the kids who’ve worked so hard and have taken this program to the place that it is.”
Arlington, which brought a 20-2 record into the game, figured to give Jackson a good battle on a neutral court, but the 22-1 Timberwolves simply had too much firepower this night. The lead was seven points after one quarter and 14 points after two, and after an even third quarter Jackson broke it open in the fourth.
“I thought we played really good defensively,” Johnson said. “We were shooting the ball pretty well early, but I thought for the most part the most consistent thing that got it done for us tonight was that we played really good defense.
“(The Eagles) run a good offense and we wanted to take them out of a lot of what they wanted to do,” he said. “I thought our defensive intensity … was pretty consistent.”
Kingma, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, handled the ball often in the Jackson offense and was able to score from everywhere on the court, including the 3-point line where he made two shots.
“He was shooting the ball really well,” Johnson said. “He came in hot from the get-go and was able to put up numbers in a hurry. It makes us pretty hard to guard when you’ve got him outside and you’ve got our other people inside.”
Guard Jason Todd added 15 points for Jackson. Arlington was led by post Noah Jones with 18 points and guard Bradey Brummel with 11.
With the victory, Jackson advances to a state regional playoff game against the No. 4 team from District 3/4, which includes the South Puget Sound, Narrows and St. Helen’s leagues.
“We’re going to play a good team in a loser-out game,” Johnson said. “I think our team is pretty hungry, pretty focused … and we’d certainly love to get back to Tacoma and give ourselves a chance (at a state championship).”
The Eagles also advance to the regional playoff and will face the No. 2 team from District 3/4. Those pairings, along with the game locations, days and times, will be announced later in the weekend.
At Glacier Peak H.S.
Arlington1081411—43
Jackson17151417—63
Arlington—Kaleb Bryson 6, Donavan Sellgren 8, Gavin Smoke 0, Nathan Aune 0, Noah Jones 18, Bradey Brummel 11, Nate Lewis 0. Jackson—Nick Hovorka 0, Dan Kingma 27, Jason Todd 15, Brian Zehr 2, Marcus Blake 6, Holden Roberts 2, Connor Willgress 8, Dylan Mitchell 0, Sam Saufferer 3, Riley Waite 0, Isaiah Patrick 0, Frank Rossi 0. 3-point goals—Bradey Brummel 1, Dan Kingma 2, Jason Todd 1, Marcus Blake 2, Connor Willgress 1, Sam Saufferer 1. Records—Arlington is 20-3. Jackson is 22-1.
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