Tahoma wins first district title, securing 4A District 3/4 crown, 2 takeaways

Bears forward Dalton Brown led all scorers with 29 points in Tahoma's 74-56 win over Kentwood.

TACOMA — For the first time in program history, Tahoma got to cut down the net following a district championship game, besting 4A NPSL rival Kentwood, 74-56, for the Class 4A District 3/4 title Saturday evening at Tacoma Community College.

“It means a lot,” Bears senior forward Dalton Brown said. “We’re all happy to be here, and there’s more to come.”

Tahoma traded the lead with Kentwood throughout the first quarter, but ended it on a 7-0 run, and led the rest of the way.

The Bears took a 10-point lead into halftime, and it reached as high as 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Brown scored a game-high 20 points, while Jayden Stephens added 19 and Adam Davis had 10 for a Bears offense that scored early and often.

“I think our size helped a lot, and moving the ball a lot,” Brown said.

Brandon Tagle led Kentwood with 18 points, while Mason St. Louis had 17 and Corey Tita had 11.

Both Tahoma (19-5) and Kentwood (19-6) advance to next week’s state regionals.

Here are two takeaways from the game:

Photo by Vince Miller

TAHOMA’S FIRST TITLE

The Bears have reached a district title game before — they played two-time defending 4A state champion Curtis in the 4A District 3/4 final just two years ago — but never in their history have they won a district crown.

That changed Saturday night.

“League title and now this — we’re pleased,” Tahoma coach Rick Tripp said. “We were disappointed when we lost to Camas last year. And obviously a senior-laden group, wanted to come back and prove to themselves and others that we could do it.”

Tahoma, also this year’s 4A NPSL champion, is now on a six-game winning streak entering the regional round, and looking to return to the Tacoma Dome for a third consecutive season.

The Bears placed sixth in 2022 — in their first state tournament appearance since 1997 — and advanced to the first round last winter.

Photo by Vince Miller

ALL-4A NPSL CHAMPIONSHIP

This was the first time since 2018 the 4A District 3/4 championship game has featured two 4A NPSL programs.

Enumclaw bested Federal Way for the district title that year, but every season since has featured at least one 4A SPSL or 4A GSHL team in the final.

And until Saturday, Federal Way’s 2019 team was the most recent 4A NPSL team to win a district championship.

4A GSHL member Union won in 2020, and 4A SPSL program Curtis won each of the past two.

This season, though, the 4A NPSL sent three teams to the semifinals, and two to the title game.

The Bears secured a 67-66 buzzer-beating win over league rival Federal Way in the semifinals, while Kentwood topped Olympia in overtime to enter Saturday’s contest on a seven-game winning streak.

“The top three teams in our league are really tough,” Tripp said.

All three 4A NPSL programs have qualified for the state regionals, and ended the weekend in the top 10 in the WIAA's RPI rankings. Tahoma is currently No. 4, Federal Way No. 5 and Kentwood No. 9.

State brackets will be seeded by committee and announced Sunday by WIAA.