There has been a lot of talk about Jackson High School’s star boys basketball player Brett Kingma. The senior, who has signed with the University of Oregon to play college basketball next season, showed why last Saturday, December 18, as he came up big in the clutch to help his Timberwolves from Mill Creek hand Mount Si’s boys basketball team a heartbreaking loss.

“I just told the guys that was a really, really hard loss because I think we deserved to win,” said a disappointed Mount Si coach Steve Helm. “We came in with a great game plan. I think we played our game plan for four quarters and the kids just played their hearts out.”

Kingma scored 28 points, including the game-winning three with 52 seconds left in regulation, as Jackson, from Mill Creek, rallied for a 65-62 decision over the Wildcats, who were led by 23 points from Trent Riley, who dominated things in the first half as Mount Si built up a nice lead which they maintained until Kingma came up big when it counted late in the game.

It was a seesaw start to the contest, as Jackson opened with an early 6-2 lead only to see Mount Si go on a 10-0 run largely behind Riley. That spurt propelled the Wildcats in front, a lead which they held comfortably going into halftime. The Wildcats were up 38-25 and their sophomore sharpshooter had scored 21 already. “I just came out (and) took my first couple shots; they dropped, (so I) started getting hot and my teammates were making good passes. They were looking for me and my shot was just falling, so I just kept shooting,” Riley said.

Mount Si continued to hold the lead going to the final quarter, and that’s when Kingma struck. With the Wildcats up 58-50 and about 4:30 left in regulation, the Timberwolves’ go-to guy hit a huge three to start the Jackson rally. He then hit another tough three just seconds later, and the Wesco 4A team was back in it.

After Anthony McLaughlin hit a basket for Mount Si, Kingma came back and scored a bucket of his own to keep the pressure on, then after another pair of baskets was exchanged, the score was 62-58 Wildcats with a minute left. That’s when Kingma fired his dagger, from well outside the three-point line and off-balance, to put his team in front for the first time since early in the ballgame. Mount Si attempted to mount one last rally, but a Dallas Smith three-point attempt to tie at the buzzer fell short.

The Wildcats have now lost three straight and next plays in their holiday tournament in Boston December 27-30. Junior post Anthony McLaughlin is looking forward to it. “It’s going to be a fun trip. It’s going to be a good learning experience. We’re all going to bond as a team,” he said.