By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Eastside Catholic Crusaders took on the Mt. Spokane Wildcats in a quarterfinal matchup to decide who would survive to see another day in the 3A boys state championship tournament.
Right off the bat, the pace of the game was extremely fast, as the two teams alternated scores during the entire opening quarter. Mt. Spokane’s Rock Franklin scored the first points of the night, and Eastside Catholic’s Anthony Williams followed with two points of his own, making the score 2-2 within the first two possessions. From there on out, the lead switched back and forth. Eastside Catholic’s Yabi Aklog and Williams both chipped in 4 points, and Mt. Spokane’s Cade Strocsher added 3 points for the Wildcats in the first quarter. With a little under a minute on the clock, Crusader Trey Garrett finished with a basket, and the Wildcats’ Jaceten Reijonen finished the quarter with a layup to tie the game at 10.
The Wildcats started the second quarter with a quick 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead after a three-point shot from Jaden Ghoreishi. Williams responded with a three-point shot of his own, narrowing the gap to 14-13 with 5:30 left on the clock. After the Wildcats’ Tysen Lewis converted one basket at the free-throw line, the Crusaders, led by Williams, went on another 6-0 run, as they built a 19-15 lead. As the second quarter quickly passed by, the Crusaders, who had multiple runs in the first half, embarked on another 7-0 run, gaining a 26-17 advantage. To close out the quarter, Eastside Catholic scored right at the buzzer, as they entered halftime leading 28-18.
Williams finished the first half with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
The two teams went scoreless to start the second half until Aklog powered to the rim for a basket at the 5:30 mark, making the score 30-18. After a one-point conversion at the line from Reijonen, the Crusaders went on a 9-0 run, including a dunk by McNeal and 4 points from Steven Sun, as the Crusaders built a 20-point lead, 39-19. The Wildcats picked up a little momentum with a dunk and one free throw from Lewis, but that didn’t stop the Crusaders as both London Walsh and Sun drained three-pointers to end the quarter, as the Crusaders held a comfortable 45-24 lead.
The final quarter started with Aklog at the line, making one of two free throws. The Wildcats then had a burst of energy, as they went on a 7-0 run of their own to cut the Crusaders’ lead to 46-31. With 4:46 remaining in the final quarter, Eastside Catholic head coach Brent Merritt called a timeout to stop the Wildcats’ run from continuing. Coming out of the timeout, the Crusaders’ Micah Rouson hit a jump shot to push Eastside Catholic’s lead to 48-31, and Franklin responded with one of his own. For the final two minutes of the game, Lewis and Franklin chipped in 4 points for Mt. Spokane, while Aklog slammed down a putback dunk for the Crusaders. London Walsh converted the final two points of the game at the free-throw line, securing a 53-37 victory for Eastside Catholic as they advanced to the semifinals tomorrow.
Walsh led the Crusaders with 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, while Ghoreishi and Schuerman each scored 10 points to lead the Wildcats.
After the game, Merritt said he is extremely proud of how his team is executing and coming together at the right time.
“We did a good job defensively and paid attention to detail. Probably one of the best jobs we did on our scouting report. My coaching staff did a hell of a job on the scouting report with this group. We played really hard, one game at a time. And I am just proud of my group for paying attention to detail.”
“Continuing through the tournament, all I want to see is victories. We have to execute a little bit better. We got a little loose execution-wise with some silly fouls and a couple turnovers that we can’t turn over; we just have to take
care of the ball better. But I am proud of my group, I think they are doing an amazing job and coming together at the right time,” added Merritt.
