Curtis coach Tim Kelly has seen it all before. Big regular season games, district games, and state games – he’s been there and done that. And as it turned out, Feb. 18 at the ShoWare Center in Kent was no different as Kelly’s Vikings rolled to a third consecutive 4A West Central District title with a convincing 53-29 win over an outmanned Bellarmine squad.

The Lions had no answer to anything the Vikings threw at them, especially point guard Dom Robinson – who led all scorers with 19 points on the night.

“This most definitely was one of our best games of the year,” Kelly said. “And with the quality of a good Bellarmine squad that just beat both Federal Way and Todd Beamer, it makes the win even more special.”

The Lions would get off to a 6-2 lead in the game with consecutive three-pointers by Jacob Salazar and Carson Hollyoak, but Curtis responded quickly by going on a 17-0 run to quickly put this game nearly out of reach for Bellarmine.

“This was definitely our best defensive effort of the year,” Kelly added. “Dom (Robinson) was absolutely fantastic at both ends. He completely controlled the tempo of the game and kept Bellarmine off balance at the same time.”

Even more effective than the job that Robinson did was the defense performed on Bellarmine star forward Lucas Meikle, who was held to just eight points.

“We wanted to limit the touches by both (guard Isaiah) Flynn and Meikle, and our defenders were great in that respect,” Kelly said.

Meikle, who was recently named by the statewide coaches association as its player of the year, could find absolutely no room at all after getting touches on the ball. As the game entered the fourth quarter, the Lions’ legs became heavier, resulting in very few looks as the Curtis defenders gave no indication of letting up their intensity. The Lions would finish with six points and no field goals in the final period.

With the win, the Vikings will face Thomas Jefferson on Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. at Puyallup High School with a trip to the Tacoma Dome and the 4A state tournament on the line.

“It would be hard for my coaching staff and myself to ask for a better defensive performance against a very good opponent, but we’ll have to put this game to bed and think about Jefferson on Saturday,” Kelly said.

The Lions will have to regroup quickly as they will prepare to face the Arlington Eagles in the state regionals on Saturday at Puyallup at 4 p.m.

By Steve Mullen