By The Seattle Medium
For the first time in three years, the Washington state 3A boys basketball championship game will not feature an all-Metro League matchup. The four remaining Metro League teams—Rainier Beach (#1 seed), Garfield (#3 seed), Seattle Prep (#7 seed), and Eastside Catholic (#9 seed)—are all positioned on the same side of the bracket in next week’s state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
Rainier Beach, the top-seeded team entering the tournament, will face Eastside Catholic in a loser-out game on Wednesday, March 5, at 9:00 p.m. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will play Seattle Prep. Eastside Catholic secured its spot in the Round of 12 with a 52-50 victory over Prairie, while Seattle Prep moved directly into the quarterfinals with a 61-47 win over Mt. Spokane.
Garfield also earned a quarterfinal spot, defeating Lincoln (Tacoma) 70-57. The Bulldogs will face the winner of the Round of 12 loser-out game between Bellevue and Liberty, both from the KingCo Conference. Bellevue and Liberty will play on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:15 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome, with the winner advancing to face Garfield in the quarterfinal round.
Because all four remaining Metro League teams are on the same side of the championship bracket, the winners of the two quarterfinal matchups—Garfield vs. Bellevue/Liberty and Seattle Prep vs. Rainier Beach/Eastside Catholic—will face each other in the tournament semifinal game.
The most surprising team playing in a loser-out game is Rainier Beach, which entered the tournament as the #1 seed but suffered a 59-52 loss to #8 seed Bellarmine Prep in Round 2 of the state tournament on Saturday night.
The last time the state 3A boys basketball championship did not feature two Metro League teams was in 2022, when Auburn defeated Rainier Beach 58-48.
Recent all-Metro League state 3A championship games include:
- 2012 – Rainier Beach vs. Seattle Prep
- 2013 – Rainier Beach vs. Lakeside
- 2014 – Rainier Beach vs. Eastside Catholic
- 2015 – Garfield vs. Rainier Beach
- 2016 – Rainier Beach vs. O’Dea
- 2017 – Nathan Hale vs. Garfield
- 2018 – Garfield vs. Rainier Beach
- 2020 – Garfield vs. O’Dea
- 2021 – No tournament due to COVID
- 2023 – Garfield vs. O’Dea
- 2024 – Rainier Beach vs. Eastside Catholic
