After suffering a broken arm that sidelined him for most of his sophomore basketball season, Brett Kingma vowed to never again take time on the court for granted.
Kingma definitely made the most of his chance in a highly anticipated game on Dec. 8. The junior guard was nearly unstoppable, scoring 32 points (including eight 3-pointers) in the Jackson High School boys basketball team’s fast-paced 87-77 win over the Glacier Peak Grizzlies.
Jackson was behind by a point after the third quarter but outscored Glacier Peak 27-16 in the fourth and prevailed in the teams’ Western Conference South Division opener.
One of four Jackson players who scored at least 10 points, Kingma made eight of nine 3-point shots, was 12-for-16 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
“I got really ticked off last year when I broke my arm,” said Kingma. “I just said, ‘I’ve got to play my all every game because you never know when something like that (might) happen.’ Something like that could end my career, so why not go out every game like it’s my last.”
In a matchup that featured two squads expected to contend for the South title, Jackson played better perimeter defense in the second half and roared back from a deficit that reached eight points late in the first half.
“I thought we showed some poise. We were down and struggling and behind most of the game and certainly didn’t panic,” Jackson coach Steve Johnson said.
Jackson’s other leaders were senior guard Ryan Todd (22 points, four assists), who made nine of 11 free throws during the final two quarters, and newcomer Marshall Massengale, a senior guard who transferred from O’Dea. Massengale scored nine of his 14 points in the second half, making crucial plays down the stretch.
“He’s a good addition to their team,” said Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter, whose team dropped to 1-1 overall. “He’s another ballhandler, which frees up the other guys.”
“It’s hard (defending Jackson),” Hunter added. “You can’t focus on any one of them because they’re all capable of hurting you at any time.”
With their schools separated by just a few miles, Jackson and Glacier Peak have a budding rivalry even though this is just Glacier Peak’s second season. The teams came into the game ranked among the state’s top 10: Jackson is No. 7 in 4A, Glacier Peak No. 7 in 3A, according to the Tacoma News Tribune preseason rankings.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for them,” Kingma said, “and I’m pretty sure they have some respect for us. It’s just sweet to be able to have a rivalry just right down the road that you know is going to be competitive every year and in your league.”
Glacier Peak, which split 1-1 against Jackson in division games last season, started well Tuesday. The Grizzlies led 44-40 by the half, fueled by guards Brandon Hill (12 points), Nick Persha (11 points) and bruiser Jack Bonner (10 points). Point guard Drew Cummins helped steer Glacier Peak’s up-tempo offense.
But in the second half Jackson played tighter defense on Hill and Persha, which helped the Timberwolves rally. Hill and Persha combined to score 23 points in the first half but had a total of seven points after the break.
“Potentially, we got fatigued a little bit and maybe went away from what we were doing (earlier),” coach Hunter said. “We stopped pushing quite as much as we wanted to.”
Bonner, an active 6-foot-3 forward, had a big game for Glacier Peak, scoring a team-high 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Cummins (17 points, nine boards, nine assists) had a strong all-around effort.
In its first season with seniors, Glacier Peak was missing two of its standout forwards. Senior Devon Kiser (6-6) and junior Payton Pervier (6-11) were both out with injuries but will return later this season, Hunter said.
Mike Cane writes for The Herald.
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