Boys Basketball: Warriors Capture SPSL 2A Title With Win Over Sumner

If this game were a movie, it would have been called “How the Warriors Got Their Groove Back.”

The 3-pointers, the dunks, the defense – and the points – all but gone in Clover Park’s loss to Fife earlier this week returned in full force as the Warriors claimed the South Puget Sound League 2A title with a 72-54 win against Sumner on Thursday night in Lakewood.

The victory was especially meaningful, because it was senior night as the players were honored prior to the game.

“It was a good way to end the last season of my life here at Clover Park,” said senior forward Tana Pritchard, who finished with a game-high 21 points. “I wanted to go out with a little bit of a bang. I’m not feeling too hot, but I still played my hardest.”

The effort was also appreciated by head coach Mel Ninnis, who noted Pritchard had no dunks in the 47-46 loss to Fife.  Against Sumner, he tallied three – as well as seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

“When you’ve got a temperature, your internal heat is going up a little bit, and I’ve seen people my whole life play better,” he said. “He’s a tough guy – when he’s not feeling well, I can tape an aspirin to his head and he’ll come out and perform for us.”

Ninnis had also complained about the lack of jumpers in the loss to the Trojans – two total – but that was allayed early in the contest when freshman guard David Crisp nailed a pair of consecutive 3-pointers – and added a third late in the first quarter.

“I was hot the first half – I had a good shooting day and most of my points were off 3s,” Crisp said after the game, sporting a hand-lettered shirt announcing the Warriors’ status as league champions. “I was just trying to win league champ – I already made the shirt.”

Freshman guard Ahmaad Rorie also hit a 3-pointer in the opening period and finished with 14 points, three rebounds and an assist.

Sumner junior forward Aaron Clark scored six of his 10 points in the first quarter, which helped the Spartans (10-8 overall, 5-7 league) stay within three at the end of the period, when Clover Park (16-2, 11-1) led 20-17.

The second quarter started with another 3-pointer, this one from sophomore forward Isom Brown, but both teams struggled in scoring. Spartans junior center Zeb Glissmeyer scored three of his team’s seven points, and Clover Park scored 10 points to lead 30-24 at halftime.

About halfway through the third quarter, Pritchard went down hard while attempting a dunk, hitting his face on the way down. He didn’t get up immediately, which had the crowd on its feet – and his coach extremely worried.

“I was very emotional about that,” Ninnis said. “One head bang could put him out for years. It’s concerning when a kid is undercut like that.”

But Pritchard, who elected to stay in the game, said it looked worse than it was.

“It just took the wind out of me for a second,” he said. “And then I was fine.”

Fine enough to make another dunk on the Warriors’ next possession, followed immediately by a layup.

The Warriors showed similar intensity in the second half, with Crisp and Rorie each hitting a 3-pointer and Pritchard adding his third dunk of the night for a 53-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Sumner junior forwards Joey Kendall and Dan DeVries both sank 3-pointers in the period, and Glissmeyer scored four more points.

“We knew they were going to come out and play really, really aggressive,” said Sumner coach Brett McDaniel. “We tried to warn our boys about that … They got some easy ones, they got the momentum, they got the crowd behind them, and pretty soon I looked up and it was a 20-point game.

“That’s what happens when you play Clover Park.”

The fourth quarter was marred by Spartan errors, who turned the ball over 27 times, with Pritchard, Crisp and senior guard Angel Colon all forcing steals. Crisp and Rorie took the opportunity to each hit one more 3-pointer.

“I expect that from him every night,” Ninnis said of Crisp, who amassed 20 points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals. “He’s a very, very gifted player – both him and Ahmaad are.”

Still, Ninnis said, the freshman pair needs to work on their defense.

“They’ve got to be locked down defenders, having their opponents calling 911 because they’re locked down,” said Ninnis, who said the entire team’s defensive effort has been lackadaisical late in the season.

Fortunately for the Warriors, they will get that opportunity in the playoffs.

“From the beginning of the season, we came out with a goal to win league,” Pritchard said. “Now that we’ve done that, we’re just going to keep going to our next goal until someone tells us to stop.”

Sumner – 17 7 16 14 – 54
Clover Park – 20 10 23 19 – 72

Scoring summary:
Sumner – Aaron Clark 10, Tyler Salisbury 1, Jarron Petcovic 3, Dan DeVries 3, Dave DeVries 8, Nick Fullmer 5, Joey Kendall 11, Zeb Glissmeyer 13

Clover Park – David Crisp 20, Malcom Brown 2, Ahmaad Rorie 14, Tana Pritchard 21, Darryl Russell 1, Dwayne Crawford 2, Isom Brown 5, Angel Colon 2, Xavier Means 4, Marcus Sheppard 2