Curlew Back To Winning Form Groth, Olsen Lead Energized Cougars Past No. 1 Pateros

Anyone who wondered what happened to the “real” Curlew in the last two weeks can stop wondering.

Vitalized by sophomore Jeremy Groth’s 3-pointers and senior Gunner Olsen’s defense inside, the Cougars charged past top-ranked Pateros 79-64 Wednesday night at the Arena.

The opening-round matchup at the 56th boys State B basketball tournament had the electricity of a semifinal or final.

And why not? Pateros (23-2) had been ranked No. 1 much of the season, with its lone previous loss to 1A Liberty Bell of Twisp. Second-ranked Curlew (22-6) was ranked No. 1 when it forfeited three Panorama League blowouts for using an ineligible player off the junior varsity.

But Curlew had fallen on hard times during the postseason, losing three of its previous five games and advancing out of the District 7-B tournament as a No. 4 seed.

The Cougars’ fortunes changed with a slight adjust ment in practice and a gutsy effort by an aching Olsen.

Curlew coach Steve Brown, speculating that Pateros would pressure Groth near the top of the circle, had his talented point guard move back 3 feet while shooting 3-pointers in practice. The strategy allowed Groth to attempt 13 against the Billygoats, and he hit six on his way to 28 points.

“I think it pumped up the crowd and pumped us up more than we already were,” Groth said of back-to-back 3-pointers he hit during a 21-6 run in the third quarter. Olsen, who may have cracked a rib during the district tourney, put the hurt on Pateros. He held 6-foot-5 Jason Crawley (20.1 points per game) to 13 and just 10 shots from the floor. Crawley went scoreless for the entire third quarter, Curlew’s 28-point quarter, and nearly 14 minutes overall.

“When we start playing good defense, the offense comes to us,” Olsen said.

Although rebounds were even at 37, Curlew had a 13-8 edge on the offensive end.

The wild first half included six ties and seven lead changes. Pateros’ Clint Hull, another smooth sophomore guard, kept slipping off screens to burn defender Groth for 18 of the 30 he would score.

“He had an awesome game,” Groth said. “There wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Curlew took its first lead, 24-22, after Erich Prazak’s back-to-back hoops with 3 minutes left in the half. Hull kept seizing back the lead with baskets and free throws, but Groth’s first 3-pointer, with 33 seconds left, marked the final time Pateros would lead.

An Olsen jam with 2:18 left in the third quarter, followed by Groth 3-pointers 38 seconds apart, boosted Curlew to a 59-43 lead.

“We stole the ball a couple of times, and then Gunner’s dunk can be the kind of thing to get you going,” Brown said.

The final Pateros flurry, a 5-0 run early in fourth quarter, went for naught. Groth hit his sixth 3-pointer and the school that won the 1972 state championship had its first win at the tourney in 26 years.

Pateros, the ‘96 state champ, must battle back in the losers’ bracket, starting at noon today against Pe Ell (18-7).

Curlew meets La Conner (22-3) at 8 tonight in a quarterfinal.

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