By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
In a one versus two matchup, the Garfield Bulldogs (10-0) and the O’Dea Fighting Irish (9-2) faced off for the first time this season. The Bulldogs, the top-ranked 3A team in the state, looked to reign supreme and remain undefeated against a Fighting Irish team that was coming off an impressive performance at a California Christmas tournament, where they went 3-1.
O’Dea’s Mason Williams and Miles Clark would lead the charge on Garfield’s home floor from the opening tip-off which enticed their fans and team. Williams opened the game with a layup to get O’Dea rolling, while Clark went on a personal 9-0 run making layups, knocking down a three-point and a midrange shot which resulted in an 11-2 start for the Fighting Irish, forcing Garfield to call a timeout.
The Bulldogs’ Jaylin Stewart would calm the storm with a three-pointer following the timeout, but foul trouble would haunt him throughout the first half as he racked up two personal fouls in the first quarter.
With Stewart in foul trouble, the Fighting Irish would capitalize on Garfield’s turnovers to extend their lead to 19-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Finding themselves down to begin the second quarter, Bulldog seniors Yemoni Howell and Darius Harvey provided a spark off the bench. Harvey and Howell combined for 17 points as the Bulldogs rallied to cut the lead to single digits. O’Dea’s Noel Davis hit a buzzer-beating three-point shot to give the Fighting Irish a 33-28 lead going into halftime.
Stewart, who saw limited playing time in the first half with three fouls, started the second half for the Bulldogs and not only got his team fired up but the fans as well. The UConn commit scored seven quick points, which included a two-hand dunk, that not only forced an O’Dea timeout to stop a 14-4 run by the Bulldogs but gave Garfield their biggest lead of the game at 42-37.
The Fighting Irish didn’t panic, following the timeout Miles Goodman’s putback dunk would begin a back-and-forth scoring barrage by both teams. The quarter would end just like the second quarters with O’Dea’s Davis scoring at the buzzer, as the Fighting Irish took at 51-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
Garfield’s turnovers and O’Dea’s missed free throws kept the game close throughout the second half, but the tale of the fourth quarter would come down to execution and making free throws during clutch time. The Fighting Irish’s Williams would help dictate the pace as he found wide open teammates around the rim for layups, forced turnovers, and came up with a chase-down block.
Clicking on both offense and defense, O’Dea found themselves leading 64-60 with 1:08 remaining in regulation. But Garfield would rally behind Stewart, who made four free throws with under 30 seconds, and after back-to-back defensive team stops the Bulldogs tied that game at 64.
Williams would get the ball past halfcourt with 15 seconds and let the clock dwindle down before making his move to the basket and missed a shot with five seconds left. Stewart, who was bobbling the rebound at the time, was fouled by Mason, sending Stewart to the free-throw line with one-second remaining and the game still tied at 64. Stewart would make the first free throw and missed the second on purpose as Garfield secured their 11th straight win with a 65-64 victory over O’Dea.
After the game, Stewart credited the play of his teammates for keeping Garfield in the game and fighting until the very end.
“Being a captain of the team, I know I have a very special team behind me,” said Stewart. “It’s not all about me, so just cheering them on is easy.”
Garfield Head Basketball Coach Brandon Roy says the come-from-behind win is indicative of the depth and talent that he has on the squad.
“We got depth,” says Roy. “One thing about our team is Jaylin is our best player, he’s our star, but we do have good guys around him. So, I just remind them that with Stewart on the court or off we’re still a heck of a team, we just need guys to step up and fill that void.”
With the win, the Bulldogs remain undefeated and improved their record to 11-0. They’ll face West Seattle Tuesday night. O’Dea, now 9-3, will have an opportunity to bounce back when they face Rainier Beach at home next Tuesday.
