By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Coming off a 61-59 win over Ingraham, the Franklin High School Boys Basketball team had their sights set on stringing together back-to-back wins as they went on the road to face a Lakeside team who needed a win to be .500.
The Quakers, led by junior guard Amari Harris, were looking to win their seventh win of the year and finish their regular season off strong. Harris (6’2”, 184) — who can score from anywhere on the floor, rebounds amongst taller opponents, blocks shots, gets in the passing lanes for steals and puts his teammates in position to score – posted 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals to help Franklin secure their senior night victory over Ingraham.
The Lions, who came into the game with back-to-back wins, defeated non-conference opponent Overlake by nine points, and followed up with a 26-point win against Cleveland, looked to complete a season series sweep of the Quakers.
Earlier in the season, the two teams met on Franklin’s home floor, where Lakeside escapee with a 52-50 victory. Both teams’ seasons have ultimately been defined by close wins and losses and considering their matchup on December 13 was determined by two points, it left the suspense of what this final meeting would consist of between them.
In the first quarter both teams combined for a total of 13 points. Christian Moore, Manav Bhatia, and Teddy Tokheim set the tone for Lakeside scoring their first nine points helping them take a 9-4 lead going into the second quarter.
Holding a slim lead heading into the second quarter, the Lions seized momentum of the game and began separating themselves from Franklin offensively and defensively.
Defensively, the Lions were able to hinder Franklin’s offense by forcing turnovers and holding them to one shot per possession, and limited the Quakers’ second-chance opportunities. Offensively, Lakeside couldn’t be stopped as Bhatia and Matthew Zhou combined for 15 of the Lions’ 19 second quarter points, as they increased their lead to 28-14 heading into halftime.
Although they faced a large deficit, Harris stated, “our mindset from the half coming into the second half was that the score is 0-0. Forget everything that happened in the first half and play with a clear mind although the referees were making tough calls and we were down a lot, we still had to be patient and smart in our play.”
Down by 14 points heading into the third quarter, Franklin needed to respond quickly if they wanted to put themselves in a position to come back and win on the road, but their opponent had other plans in mind. Lakeside’s defense followed suit from what they did in the first two quarters — forcing turnovers, rebounding the ball, and limiting any second-chance points by Franklin — as they held the Quakers to just 24 second half points.
Offensively, Lakeside turned up the pace, scoring 44 second half points. The Lions’ Marcus Butler opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, while Daniel Simmons scored 11 second half points, including 3 three-point shots to help Lakeside open up a big lead. Bhatia would lead the team in scoring, as he finished with 17 points.
Owning the momentum of the game with their play on both ends of the floor, Lakeside was able to complete a season series sweep over Franklin, winning 61-38 which now gives them record of 8-8 and extends their streak to three games.
Franklin’s 38 points were a season-low. The Quakers will look to regroup with road games against Chief Sealth, Ballard, and Cleveland in their final three regular games of the season.
“The way we bounce back from the loss is through practice,” said Franklin’s Harris after the game. “First we have to win at practice before we play our next game, we have to bring energy into practice to lead us into the next game against Chief Sealth.”
“The journey still has a long way to go and it is going to be hard, but we have to keep faith and positivity,” he added.
Pictorial Highlights of Franklin Boys vs. Lakeside
Staff Photos/Aaron Allen
