By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, the Rainier Beach Vikings, the #1 seed in the boys’ state 3A basketball tournament, took on the #8 seed Bellarmine Prep Lions in a 3A boys’ regional game to determine who would automatically advance to the state quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome on March 6.
The Vikings won the tip-off but quickly turned over the ball. However, Rainier Beach’s Marques Ili-Meneese stole the ball back and scored the first two points of the night. On the next possession, Bellarmine Prep’s Kade Price scored the first basket of the night for the Lions. The opening quarter was extremely fast-paced, with Bellarmine taking every shot they could and Beach dominating on the defensive side with two steals from Rainier Beach’s Nyale Robinson in the opening quarter. With four minutes left in the quarter, Bellarmine Prep held a 9-8 lead, but Rainier Beach’s Dre Morris scored two points to give the Vikings a 10-9 lead. The two teams exchanged baskets until Price hit a three-point shot to push the Lions’ lead to 14-12 as they went into the second quarter.
During the second quarter, the Vikings and the Lions continued to take turns scoring until Bellarmine Prep built a six-point, 20-14, lead behind the efforts of Birk Johnston and Ben Heisel. Bellarmine was very aggressive in the paint, making highly contested layups while surrounded by Rainier Beach defenders. On the other hand, Robinson was one of the most aggressive players on the court, stealing the ball and diving on the court in an effort to out-hustle the Lions. With 3:50 remaining, the Beach Boys began to cut into Bellarmine’s lead. Rainier Beach’s Kaden Powers hit a three-point shot to make the score 24-21. He then got an assist on a shot by Marques Ili-Meneese to narrow the gap to one point at 24-23. In the final minute of the first half, Bellarmine’s J.J. Bordeaux and Price both drained three-pointers, while Powers and Robinson both chipped in two points each, as the teams went into halftime with Bellarmine holding a 30-27 lead.
Bellarmine started the half with the ball, but a missed shot attempt led to Powers grabbing the rebound and driving the length of the court for a layup. Robinson followed with a three-point shot as Rainier Beach took the lead at 32-30. The next couple of possessions alternated back and forth quickly, with Ayden Veler and Heisel combining for six Bellarmine points, while Powers and Morris combined for five points for the Vikings. With Bellarmine leading 37-36, the Lions’ Ronnie Wiggins was sent to the line for two technical foul shots, where he converted both shots to make the score 38-37. After the technical foul, the Beach Boys went on a 6-0 run, led by Morris, Powers, and Micah Ili-Meneese, as they took a 43-38 lead. However, Rainier Beach started showing signs of exhaustion and was not moving as fluidly around the court as they were earlier in the game. Bellarmine, on the other hand, seemed to find their rhythm as they were connecting on shots and making great passes all over the court. Johnston hit a jump shot for the Lions, followed by a three-point shot by Wiggins, as Bellarmine tied the game at 43 heading into the final quarter.
Rainier Beach started the final quarter with the ball, but Wiggins quickly stole the ball. Then, Powers returned the favor, stealing the ball back and getting an assist to Micah Ili-Meneese for two points. Price then drained a three-point shot, and Powers returned the favor by scoring a three-point shot of his own on the Vikings’ next possession, bringing the score to 48-46 in favor of Beach. With five minutes left in the game, Rainier Beach began to pick up their intensity, but they were still making costly and avoidable mistakes that Bellarmine took advantage of. Rainier Beach’s Maceo Rivers sent Heisel to the line, where he converted two free throws, tying the game at 48. Johnston followed with a layup that gave Bellarmine a two-point, 50-48, lead. Powers was then sent to the line on an and-1 shot and successfully made the extra point as the Vikings regained the lead at 51-50.
With 3:18 left in the final quarter, Rainier Beach, trailing by one point, needed to switch things up if they wanted to win the game. Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea subbed in Jaylen Petty, the Vikings’ leading scorer coming into the tournament, who sat out the first three quarters due to an injury. Bellarmine noticed Rainier Beach’s key players entering the game and began to play more aggressively. Heisel managed to score an and-1, making the extra point, bringing the score to 53-51 right before Bellarmine called a timeout. After the timeout, Powers took a trip to the line and added one point. Price followed with a long-range three-point shot that made Bellarmine’s bench and fans stand up and scream. Following Price’s crucial basket, the Lions led 56-52 and called another timeout with 48 seconds left in the game.
After the timeout, Powers scored two points before Rainier Beach also called a timeout to strategize how they were going to stop Bellarmine. With 16 seconds remaining, Rainier Beach’s Knowledge Wright fouled Bordeaux, sending him to the line, where he converted one out of two free throw attempts. As time was narrowing down, Rainier Beach began to foul in an attempt to conserve time and hopefully close the deficit. Micah Ili-Meneese fouled Johnston, who converted both free throws, making the score 59-54 with just seconds left on the clock. In a final losing effort, Petty hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to make the score 59-57, as Rainier Beach suffered a heartbreaking loss to Bellarmine Prep in the state playoffs.
Price finished the night with 13 points, while Heisel and Wiggins both chipped in 12 points to lead the Lions. Powers finished the night with 19 points, while Robinson and Morris both chipped in 12 points to lead the Vikings. With the win, Bellarmine Prep advances to the quarterfinals of the 3A boys’ state tournament, where they will play on March 6 at 5:30 p.m. Rainier Beach will now take on Eastside Catholic on March 5 at 9:00 p.m. in a loser-out game.
