BOYS BASKETBALL: Wilson, KW eliminate KL from postseason contention

With an ear-to-ear grin, Kentwood’s Alec Wilson happily gave out his autograph to a youngster Friday night at Kentlake High.

This was a first for Kentwood High’s Wilson, a 6-foot junior guard. Generally, the honor of signing autographs has gone to teammate Joshua Smith.

Friday night, however, belonged to Wilson.

Kentwood’s sharp-shooting guard torched Kentlake for a season-and-career-high 36 points, leading the Conquerors to a blowout 88-54 victory over the Falcons in a South Puget Sound League North Division game.

Wilson’s 36 points came in style, too. He connected on 8 of 14 from 3-point land, which tied a school record for 3-pointers in a game established by Jeff McBroom (1993 vs. Federal Way) and Steve Meyer (1994 vs. Auburn).

Wilson wasn’t far off the league mark as well. Auburn Riverside’s Brandon Smith (2003) and Enumclaw’s Tanner Saylor (2006) hold the SPSL mark with nine.

The Kentwood junior had a pretty good idea early on that this was going to be his night.

“In warmups, I was feeling really good,” Wilson said. “The basket was just huge for me. We got in a good rhythm early, they got me the ball and I was able to knock some down. From there, it was just lights out.”

Lights out, indeed.

Wilson converted on 4 of 4 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, including two straight in a 20-second span, that helped Kentwood (11-5 in league, 11-9 overall) take a 27-17 lead. Wilson, whose previous season high for points in a game was 17 a week earlier against Auburn, poured in 16 in the first eight minutes against the Falcons.

“Alec is a really great shooter who got in a really great rhythm,” said Kentwood coach Michael Angelidis. “When he gets in a great rhythm, he can be deadly.”

Wilson was certainly in a rhythm Friday night.

He didn’t let up in the second quarter, either, serving up two more 3-pointers and finishing the half with 26 points. Wilson’s hot hand helped Kentwood go into the break with a 54-28 lead.

Wilson’s hot hand, however, came at the expense of a Kentlake team that came into the night with an outside chance of making the SPSL playoffs. Kentlake (7-9, 8-12) needed to beat the Conquerors and have Auburn knock off Auburn Riverside to advance to the postseason. Instead, Auburn Riverside held on to beat Auburn, 67-65, thus sealing the fourth-and-fifth playoff seeds. Advancing to the SPSL playoffs will be Federal Way, Kentwood, Kentridge, Auburn and Auburn Riverside.

Being so close to a playoff berth and failing to put up much of a challenge against Kentwood was a tough way to end the season, Kentlake coach Ron Charrier lamented.

“The guys just didn’t come to compete. We had a really bad practice (Thursday) and it just carried over to today,” the coach said. “It’s very frustrating. I don’t understand not competing when you’ve got something like this on the line.”

Kentlake junior Daniel Landram, however, showed some urgency throughout, scoring a team-high 20 points. Landram ended the season having scored 20 or more points in four of his final six games.

Landram, however, couldn’t match Wilson.

Wilson was held scoreless in the third quarter. With the game essentially over entering the final eight minutes, the only thing that remained undecided was whether Wilson could tie or even break the school record for 3-point buckets in a single game.

Wilson hit his seventh 3-pointer moments into the fourth quarter, but was pulled by Angelidis with five minutes remaining. As the final minutes ticked down and several players on the KW bench urging for Wilson’s return to the court, Angelidis pulled the trigger.

Wilson returned to the game with just two minutes remaining.

“I knew the kid was close to something. He played well,” Charrier said. “He shot the lights out.”

With 6.9 seconds remaining, Wilson finished the night the same way he began it – with a 3-pointer. A 3-pointer that helped him tie the school mark.

“I thought it was a little left, but luckily it rolled in,” Wilson said as he signed that first autograph.