Gonzaga Prep boys ‘run out of answers’ for Curtis sophomore Zoom Diallo, fall in 4A quarterfinal

Sometimes all it takes is one run to make the difference in a game. On Thursday, that came in the third quarter for Curtis. 

The Vikings used a 12-3 run to turn a nine-point lead at halftime into a 17-point lead at the end of three. The No. 2 seed then held off late charge to down eighth-seeded Gonzaga Prep 67-55 in a State 4A quarterfinal at Tacoma Dome.

“Not the way you want to go out,” Stevens said. The senior post, who’s headed to Oregon State next year, finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

“I just think we got a little bit caught up,” he added. I think we’re trying to do a little bit too much. And I think their defense kind of slowed us up a bit. And we didn’t get as much transition as we’d like so I think that was part of it.”

“I was really proud of the effort,” Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre said. “They hung in there, we were down big. I thought Jayden’s character was phenomenal, the way he battled in and out every possession. But we just didn’t quite have enough firepower tonight.”

Curtis led the Pups in points off turnovers (14-2) and second-chance points (16-10).

“(Curtis) is really, really athletic,” McIntyre said. “I thought we looked a step slow, but I’m not sure it was that, I just think they’re that quick and athletic. And they beat us up on the boards in the first half especially. We just got off to a slow start.”

Super-sophomore Zoom Diallo led Curtis (25-3) with 24 points and Tyce Paulsen added 15.

Despite the disappointment, Stevens had admiration for Diallo’s game.

“He’s gonna be good in the next two years here, so we’ll see where he goes.”

“He can score it on the perimeter,” McIntyre said of Diallo, who was 9 of 15 from the field. “He can drive it, he’s strong. He plays with a great pace. He’s a very talented guy, and we knew that coming in. But yeah, we kind of ran out of answers on him.”

Next up for G-Prep (15-9) is a rematch against Kamiakin at 2 p.m. in the fourth-place bracket. Stevens said motivation won’t be a question.

“I think after that we all want to win. So I think it’ll be okay.” 

“That’s what we talked about, and it’ll be a gut check,” McIntyre said. “So they’ve got to wake up tomorrow with a new mindset. It’s a new day. It’s a new opportunity to play basketball again, which we love. To have an experience with your teammates and your high school buddies and make some memories.”

Curtis opened up with an 8-0 run to start the game which Jackson Floyd ended with a 3-pointer. Stevens went to work in the paint with eight points in the frame and G-Prep trailed by four after one.

A scramble on the floor early in the second led to a wide open 3 for Diallo and Curtis went up by six. Another one 2 minutes later made it 31-20.

“We had a couple of defensive breakdowns,” McIntyre said. “And you can’t have those kind of mistakes against a team like that.”

Jamil Miller worked the glass for contested bucket, Stevens added a floater and Curtis led 37-28 at the half. The Vikings came out of the break with an 8-2 spurt to push the lead to 15 and McIntyre called time just 3 minutes in.

Stevens found Max Allen underneath to get it back to 10, but Diallo scored on consecutive possessions, Xavier Ahrens buried a 3 and the Vikings took a 17-point lead into the fourth.

Stevens scored the first two baskets of the fourth on isolation plays and the Pups whittled it down to 12. Henry Sandberg converted a midcourt steal, Stevens made 1 of 2 at the line and the deficit was nine with 3:25 to play.

Sandberg made a long 3 to make it eight with 2 minutes left, but the comeback ran out of time.