By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, the Garfield Bulldogs faced off the Bellevue Wolverines in a 3A boys state basketball quarterfinals game to determine who will advance to the semifinals round tomorrow and take on the winner of the Rainier Beach versus Seattle Prep game on March 7 at 9:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs opened the game with possession, but Bellevue’s defensive pressure was evident from the start, forcing a turnover before Garfield could advance the ball past half court. Despite the early setback, Garfield quickly bounced back and went on a 7-0 run, as BJ Roy Jr. drained a three-point shot, that the bulldogs followed with and and-1 by Tripp Haywood, who missed the extra-point attempt. But D-Jack Jackson grabbed the offensive rebound and finished with a putback all during the first minute of the game.
Bellevue responded with Tayten Jones drawing a foul on Roy and knocking down both free throws for the Wolverines’ first points of the night, to make the score 7-2. The remainder of the quarter saw both teams trading baskets, with Garfield maintaining a slight edge. Haywood drained a three-point shot, and Jackson slammed down a dunk to give the Bulldogs a 14-6 lead. Following the Garfield excitement, Garfield’s JuJu Ervin was called for a technical foul, sending Bellevue’s Max Harrity to the line, where he made the free throw to cut the lead to 14-7.
With 1:47 remaining in the first quarter, Bellevue’s Bryce Kageyama chipped in a basket, and Jones converted two free throws after drawing a foul on Garfield’s Isaiah Cunningham, as the Wolverine’s closed the gap to 20-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Bellevue opened the second quarter with possession but quickly turned the ball over. Roy capitalized on the mistake, sinking a deep three-pointer to push Garfield’s lead to 23-15. Bellevue’s Nicolas Norrah answered with a quick basket, but Roy struck again, drilling another long-range three-point shot to extend the lead to 26-17. With five minutes remaining in the half, Garfield held a 30-19 advantage. Despite the score, the Wolverines were keeping up with the much quicker Bulldogs but were just seemingly struggling to connect on shots.
The Bulldogs then went on a 4-0 run hear the end of the quarter, led by Jackson, to build their largest lead of the night at 34-19. Bellevue’s Brody Treves ended the run by draining a three-point shot, to cut the deficit to 34-22. In the final minute of the half, Haywood and Doni Burkett added four points for Garfield, while Norrah hit a jump shot for Bellevue, as the two teams went into halftime with Garfield leading 38-24.
The second half started with Bellevue in possession, but Ervin quickly stole the ball and set up Burkett, who was fouled and converted both free throws. Jones answered with a layup for the Wolverines, but Burkett responded immediately with a three-point shot to bring the score to 43-26. Moments later, Bellevue’s Bryce Smith picked up his third foul at the 6:12 mark, sending Jackson to the line, where he knocked down both free throws.
On the following Bulldog possession, Roy hit yet another three, extending Garfield’s lead to 48-26. The Wolverines began connecting on shots, as Norrah followed with a three-point shot as well.
Garfield continued to surge as Roy hit another three-point shote, extending the lead to 48-26. The Wolverines started to gain some rhythm as Norrah hit a three-point shot of his own.
With four minutes left in the third quarter, Bellevue began working more cohesively in an attempt to cut into the Bulldogs’ lead. A huge block by Kageyama against Jackson fired up the Bellevue bench, and Eduardo Molina capitalized on the momentum by scoring on a layup. Norrah continued to be a key offensive contributor for Bellevue, draining two three-pointers in the final two minutes of the quarter. Despite the Wolverines’ best efforts, Garfield maintained control, closing the quarter with free throws from Cunningham and Ohmono Bomet to take a 55-37 lead into the final period.
The fourth quarter started at a blistering pace, with both teams pushing to score early. Bellevue’s Smith quickly put up a basket, and both Matthew Reed and Kageyama took trips to the line but were unable to convert. With the score at 55-39 in favor of Garfield, both teams picked up their intensity, battling for every possession. The Bulldogs, however, were still one step ahead, scoring nine points to Bellevue’s four through the first four minutes of the quarter.
With 4 minutes remaining in the final quarter, Bellevue added some last-minute shots to try and cut down the lead, but it just wasn’t enough. To finish out the quarter Bellevue’s Max Harrity drained a three-point shot, and the on the next possession, Hightower respectfully held and dribbled the ball in place for 17 seconds, running the clock down to 0, securing the 70-54 victory over Bellevue.
Despite the uphill battle, Bellevue continued to fight, adding some last-minute baskets to try to narrow the margin. Max Harrity connected on a three-point shot, but with the game out of reach. Hightower dribbled out the final 17 seconds, allowing the clock to expire and securing Garfield’s 70-54 victory over Bellevue.
Roy led the Bulldogs with 18 points, seven rebounds, and one assist, while Jackson contributed 14 points and six rebounds. For Bellevue, Norrah finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and one assist, while Smith added eight points, six rebounds, and four assists.
After the game, Garfield Head Coach Brandon Roy was happy with the win, but admitted his team has some things to work on.
“We got a little sloppy in the second half—I thought we were fouling too much,” Roy said. “But at this point in the season, the goal is just to advance.”
“We just want to advance and improve from game to game. Tripp played well—Bellevue is his former team, so we wanted to have his back, and the guys did a good job of that and making shots. He’s a good player. Anytime you play your old team, they try to send a message, but he did a good job handling it,” added Roy. “He was a little banged up coming into this game, so we tried to limit his minutes, but at the same time, we have to win these games.”
With the win, Garfield advances to the semifinals, where they will take on the winner of the Rainier Beach vs. Seattle Prep matchup tonight at 9:00 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome. Meanwhile, Bellevue moves to the consolation bracket and will face the loser of that game at 2:00 p.m.
