Bellevue throws down on Mount Si, regains KingCo title

By Joel Willits • February 23, 2009 7:04 pm
Colton Christian slams home a dunk over top of Mount Si's Tanner Riley during Bellevue's KingCo 3A championship game win.
Colton Christian slams home a dunk over top of Mount Si's Tanner Riley during Bellevue's KingCo 3A championship game win.

Bellevue came into the KingCo Championship game as Goliath, sporting an undefeated record against in-state opponents and an eye on the KingCo Tournament title.

David didn’t stand a chance.

Any thoughts Mount Si may have had for an upset were erased by rim-rattling second half dunks thrown down by Alex Schrempf and Colton Christian that put a tidy exclamation point on a dominating 67-39 Wolverines win at Bellevue Community College.

The league title, Bellevue’s second in three years, came largely thanks to a 17-4 run early in the game that featured three consecutive points by Christian, who at one point scored 10-straight points for the Wolverines.

“It’s been a focal point for us to start fast,” said Bellevue coach Chris O’Connor. “Now that the playoffs are here, they’re starting to take it to another level.”

Perhaps the biggest performance of the night came not from Christian, who led Bellevue (21-1) with 20 points, but from Alex Locke and Hardy Mowe, guards who spearheaded the Bellevue defense that clamped down on Mount Si’s Tanner Riley. The junior guard came into the game as one of the area’s leading scorers at more than 25 points per game, but was held to a season-low eight points by a smothering Bellevue defense.

“We said going into the game that we needed to stop him,” Christian said. “If we stopped him, we could focus on our offense.”

Schrempf scored 16 points in the win and junior point guard Aaron Bright, who was named league MVP after the game, chipped in 10 points for the Wolverines.

“I can’t think of a more balanced high school basketball team that I’ve seen,” said Mount Si coach Jeff D’Ambrosio. When asked to pinpoint where Bellevue offers mismatches, D’Ambrosio simply replied “everywhere.”

Zander Nelson led Mount Si (13-7) with 15 points in the loss.

Both teams qualify for the Sea-King District tournament that takes place this week. Five state berths are at stake in the tournament.

Christian said despite taking the league tournament, Bellevue isn’t going to get content like last season, where the Wolverines, who looked to be a state caliber team, were bounced in the district tournament after a surprising opening-round loss to West Seattle and an elimination game defeat at the hands of Seattle Prep.

“We want to get through districts before we start thinking about accomplishments,” Christian said. “We are hungrier this year.”