By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, the Garfield Bulldogs took on the Lincoln Abes in a 3A boys’ regional game to determine who would secure a spot in the boys’ 3A state quarterfinals on March 6 at the Tacoma Dome.
Garfield won the tip-off, and D-Jack Jackson quickly scored to give the Bulldogs an early lead. Lincoln’s Trey Collier and Davion Shareef-Dulaney both followed with jump shots to give the Abes a 4-2 lead.
The energy was high as both teams started off strong and kept the score close for a majority of the opening quarter. Garfield’s JuJu Ervin scored eight first-quarter points, including a dunk that ignited the Bulldog bench. For Lincoln, it was a true team effort, with all players on the court scoring points for the Abes. At the end of the first quarter, Garfield led 16-12.
Garfield started off the second quarter strong with a three-point shot and a dunk by Tripp Haywood, as the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to take a 24-12 lead. Lincoln’s Kasey Williams stopped the bleeding when he scored with 3:36 left in the half to bring the score to 24-14 in favor of Garfield. The Bulldogs would go on to outscore Lincoln 21-9 during the quarter, behind the timely three-point shots of BJ Roy Jr. and Isaiah Davis. The Abes were displaying aggression and creating tension on the court, which hindered their ability to focus on the game, which was to score. Meanwhile, Garfield stayed alert and focused throughout the game and led 37-21 at the end of the first half.
Garfield started the second half with the ball, and Ervin began to take over the game, as he scored a layup, recorded two blocked shots, and converted two free throws all within the first two minutes of the quarter. The third quarter dragged out tremendously due to fouls and skirmishes on the court between players. Haywood was called for a technical foul, sending Lincoln’s Jaiden Williams to the line, where he missed both free throw attempts. Trailing 41-23, Lincoln began to pick up the pace and went on an 8-0 run led by Kasey Williams, Shareef-Dulaney, and Collier to make the score 42-31.
However, with three minutes left in the third quarter, Garfield flipped the script and went on a 5-0 run, increasing their lead to 46-31. Lincoln fought back as O’Shea Lamar scored four points, and Williams got a steal and a layup as the Abes attempted to narrow the gap. Lincoln went into the fourth quarter trailing 52-39.
In the final quarter, the Abes began to fight back at the right time, as they started the quarter with a three-point shot from Collier, making the score 52-42. Ervin was called for a technical foul during the fourth quarter, sending Lamar to the line, where he converted both shots. Lamar followed with a three-point shot that lit a fire in the Abes. With 4:43 remaining in the game, Lincoln, trailing 58-49, called a timeout. Following the timeout, Shareef-Dulaney managed to get an and-1 and successfully made the extra point, narrowing the gap to 58-52.
Lincoln was starting to cut down Garfield’s lead with a burst of energy that had been missing for the majority of the second half. Roy was then carried off the court after suffering an ankle injury, resulting in Garfield calling a timeout to strategize how to move forward without him. Following Roy’s departure, Davis immediately hit a three-point shot, making the score 61-52. In the final minute of the game, Ervin added his second dunk of the night, and KJ Hightower, Doni Burkett, and Ohmono Bomet all chipped in points to push the Bulldogs to a 70-57 victory over the Abes.
Ervin finished the night with 16 points, while Haywood finished with 14 points to lead the Bulldogs. Lamar finished the night with 17 points, while Jaiden Williams chipped in 13 points to lead the Abes.
With the win, Garfield advances to the quarterfinals and will play at 7:15 p.m. on March 6 at the Tacoma Dome. Lincoln will take on Federal Way in a loser-out game on March 5 at 3:45 p.m.
