2A Tournament: Bremerton vs Renton Preview

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">8 Renton vs 1 Bremerton @ University of Puget Sound, Saturday 8:00 PM <a href="https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/wiaa-wa/gambfc5b7a955">NFHS Link</a></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The number one seed Bremerton Knights will meet the 8-seed Renton RedHawks at the University of Puget Sound Saturday night. This won't be your typical 1 vs 8 matchup though. Both teams have high-level prospects and have been battle-tested against some of the state's top teams. Let's take a closer look at what makes this opening round matchup so intriguing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bremerton has had two games against 4A/3A state qualifiers this year (Eastside Catholic, Glacier Peak), and although they lost both games, they did so without their top player, [player_tooltip player_id='2375385' first='Jalen' last='Davis'], for all but the first quarter of the Eastside Catholic game. But Bremerton has plenty of experience against top teams, whether it's past year's non-league scheduling or during summer league events, and has proven to be one of the top teams in the state regardless of classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the other hand, Renton had the third-highest opponent win percentage (.6553) in the entire state. They were one of just seven teams to have an opponent win percentage above .600; Bellevue (.6615), Lake Washington (.6568), Issaquah (.6333), Mount Si (.6186), King's (.6148), Brewster (.6009). So even though they finished the regular season 14-11, 10 of those games were against 4A and 3A state-qualifying teams, including top-8 seeds Rainier Beach (1), Mount Si (1), Lake Washington (3), Prairie (3), and Bellevue (8). They went 0-10 in those games, losing by an average of 10.2 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bremerton is one of the most complete teams as far as defense, transition efficiency, and half-court execution. A lot of that stems from All-State guard [player_tooltip player_id='2375385' first='Jalen' last='Davis'], but Renton been a defense that makes teams grind for buckets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2392951' first='Sudan' last='Luok'] and <strong>Nate Omar</strong> will most likely take turns chasing Davis around. Meanwhile, guards <strong>Jayden Holifield</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='3165135' first='Adan' last='Abdi'], [player_tooltip player_id='2140829' first='Juice' last='White-Kelley'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2205047' first='Isaac' last='Elegan'] will have a big job to do in taking the battle to Bremerton's guards. [player_tooltip player_id='2625567' first='Aaron' last='Matthews'], [player_tooltip player_id='2625759' first='Enoch' last='Taylor'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2835707' first='Jr' last='Davis-McWhorter'] are three solid guards who can score and create off the bounce, and junior <strong>Dillon McKay</strong> is a shooter to watch on the perimeter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That Bremerton trio of Matthews, Taylor, and Davis-McWhorter was huge for the Knights while [player_tooltip player_id='2375385' first='Jalen' last='Davis'] was out in January. They led Bremerton to a 6-0 record in league contests during that stretch, and came close to taking down 4A Glacier Peak, losing 48-42. Don't underestimate the supporting cast for the defending champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Renton has some offensive weapons too, and has had different guys step up throughout the year. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2205047' first='Isaac' last='Elegan'] recently had 46 points against Lindbergh just over two weeks ago. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2140829' first='Juice' last='White-Kelley'] has been a huge perimeter threat with his outside shooting and slashing, and [player_tooltip player_id='2392951' first='Sudan' last='Luok'] is a super athletic wing who can turn defense into offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the under-the-radar battles in this game could come inside. [player_tooltip player_id='2548252' first='Jalen' last='Taylor'] and <strong>Suhail Abdulmumin</strong> will have to contend with Bremerton's size advantage in the paint with [player_tooltip player_id='2544176' first='Jay' last='Beahan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2431581' first='Mark' last='Lomuda']. Renton has been a solid offensive rebounding team, and they know how to be physical against bigger posts. But you can't teach size, and when Beahan is productive in the middle, it gives the Knights yet another dynamic advantage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Any way you shake it, this will be a great game to help kick off the 2A state tournament. Let us know if you think Renton can pull off the upset, or if Bremerton keeps on rolling toward defending its title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://poll.fm/16687255","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"crowdsignal","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/16687255 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->