Bothell snags 4A KingCo title after hoops battle with Mount Si

By BY ANDY NYSTROM anystrom@soundpublishing.com • February 16, 2018 1:30 am

Battle-worn and victorious.

That’s how Bothell High’s 4A KingCo champion boys basketball squad stood on Thursday night. After the title game, some players were hobbling around the court and league most valuable player Cameron Tyson sported a bag of ice on his left ankle.

None of that mattered in the moment while the Cougars lifted the first-place trophy after notching a thrilling 49-43 victory over Mount Si at Lake Washington High. Next up for Bothell is the regional tournament.

It was an intense and adrenalized game, Bothell’s Jordan Potts noted.

Bothell (20-2 overall) trailed by six points, 39-33, after three quarters, but stormed back into the game as the minutes ticked by and took a 42-41 lead on a Tyson 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining. Tyson hit the mammoth shot while falling to the ground.

Mount Si (13-10 overall) surged back into the game and cut Bothell’s lead to 44-43 after a Jobe Mullins putback with 42 seconds left. However, it was Tyson again who tallied on a layin and subsequent foul shot to put his team up, 47-43, with 15 seconds left.

Bothell led 28-22 at halftime, but Mount Si fought back and took a 30-28 lead on a Mullins mini hook shot with 5:55 left in the third quarter.

Mullins led Mount Si with 15 points, followed by Tyler Patterson with nine points and Jonny Barrett with eight points.

It was a big night for Mullins and his teammates to face off with Bothell for the title.

“The environment was awesome, lots of fans, but we just beat ourselves. We didn’t score for awhile. We were just trying not to lose instead of keep increasing the lead and try to win,” he said.

Mullins said his team’s key to forging out to a lead was stopping Bothell’s offense and using its speed and athleticism to put its transition game into action.

Mount Si will play Skyline next in a winner-to-regionals, loser-out game at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Lake Washington High.

“We’re just gonna have to rebound, they’re really big, and then keep pushing in transition and hit our shots,” said Mullins, noting that his competitive squad will be ready for Skyline.