Road to state tourney begins tonight

All the accomplishments and disappointments the South Kitsap High School boys have experienced this year can be thrown out the window.

It’s a clean slate for 16 teams in the West Central District 4A tournament, and only seven will have the opportunity to clinch a state berth.

SK hopes to be one of those fortunate teams, and return for a school-record fourth-straight appearance at state.

The road to the Tacoma Dome begins tonight when the Wolves host Rogers — the South Puget Sound League No. 5 seed — tonight at 7:30 p.m.

SK (15-7) earned the No. 3 seed by dismantling a quick Bellarmine Lions team 79-68 Saturday at Bremerton High School.

Jake Beitinger scored a career-high 32 points and junior guard Derrick Webb had his best outing of the year with a near triple-double (18 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists).

Jamil Moore added 12 points, including three 3-pointers.

It was a successful inside-outside offensive game that SK coach John Callaghan and his players know is key for the team to succeed.

Webb said the constant double-teams on posts Beitinger and Adam Bennett leave the guards wide open in the perimeter.

“Everybody is going to be posting on Jake and Adam,” Webb said. “That kind of puts stuff on our backs as guards to produce.”

The win over Bellarmine also provided an emotional lift to a Wolves’ team that entered the game on a two-game losing skid.

Beitinger said he is very familiar with how momentum plays a role come tournament time.

Last year an overconfident SK team hosted Kent-Meridian, a No. 7 seed, and lost. That loss forced SK to win three loser-out games in a row to get to state.

The Wolves will not take Rogers (15-6) lightly, Callaghan said. The first item of business will be an attempt to slow down all-conference guard Chase Van Cleave.

“We start out at home, which is nice, but no team is going to be easy for us,” Callaghan said. “Rogers is very talented. They have a great guard in Van Cleave. Our guys are going to have to step up and get after it.”

Van Cleave is coming off a 30-point performance in a double-overtime win against Kent-Meridian.

SK will also need to find a way to stop Kris Gallagher, who added 19 points in the win.

Callaghan said he hopes to keep Rogers off balance with a variety of defensive schemes.

“We lilke to find something that works and stick with it,” Callaghan said. “But we like to mix it up so the offense doesn’t always know what to run right away.”

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