Renton boys basketball loses to No. 1 Bremerton
Published 3:42 pm Monday, March 2, 2026
Before the brackets were even revealed, Renton High School head coach Rashaad Powell wanted No. 1 seeded Bremerton.
The Knights have been one of the best teams in the state all season, led by the best basketball player from Washington in Jalen Davis.
No. 8 Renton fell to the Knights, 75-57, on Feb. 28 at University of Puget Sound. But the Redhawks’ season is not over as because they were a top eight seed, they will play in the round of 12 inside the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Powell had high praise for Bremerton’s Davis after the game.
“You’re not going to stop him. There is no game plan purpose of stopping him of any kind. It was more-so trying to limit the other guys, that is what hurt us. Jalen is a really good player and a pro one day. He is wise and mature basketball-wise beyond his years,” Powell said. “He’s the best player we have played against.”
Renton had the toughest schedule in all of 2A this season, but against Davis and Bremerton, the Knights went blow for blow with Renton in the first quarter.
The Redhawks were up early with play from Sudan Luok and Isaac Elegan stretching the Bremerton defense thin. The Knights run a 1-3-1 zone defense and Renton attacked that defense full speed early in the first. But after Bremerton recorded a couple of steals and disrupted the Renton offense, the Redhawks became stagnant.
“Early on we made plays and being aggressive. Then we had a lapse for a little bit,” Powell said.
Bremerton led 21-17 and that was as close as the game would be for the rest of the three quarters. Jalen Davis scored 22 points in the second quarter, and ended with 34 points. It’s pretty much impossible to stop Davis, but minimizing the impact of his teammates is how Bremerton can be beaten. Renton just didn’t do enough to slow down the Knights’ supporting cast.
Renton went to the locker rooms trailing 48-37. Juice White-Kelley was sidelined, which forced Elegan and Luok to carry the burden on offense. Elegan had a team high 12 points heading to the locker rooms while Luok had 11. Nate Omar also chipped in with eight points as he has become one of Powell’s more reliable players in the lineup.
In the second half, it is safe to say Renton disappeared: “We stopped being aggressive and attacking and that changed the dynamic of the game,” Powell said.
The Redhawks didn’t make a three, and made just six shots from the floor, and were outmatched for the 16 minutes out of halftime. The only player to really bring any sort of energy was Jaylen Taylor. The Renton junior scored nine points in the second half, while all other Renton players combined for eight points.
“He needed to do that more. That was the game plan, to attack through him,” Powell said. “It’s a learning point, but he did good and a great job. We look forward to him building on that.”
Taylor in the game against Bremerton was routinely tasked with guarding 6-foot-10 Jay Beahan and 6-foot-8 Mark Lomuda.
Renton entered the fourth quarter trailing 63-49 and the defensive onslaught continued. Taylor scored the first of the only field goals for the Redhawks, which came at the 2:36 mark.
The Redhawks will now turn their sights to No. 9 seeded Lynden for their first SunDome opponent. The Redhawks met Lynden in the regional round back in 2023, in which the Lions won by a score of 70-52.
Renton plays Lynden on March 4 with tip-off at 9 p.m.
