By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, the Rainier Beach Vikings (8-0) defeated the Bishop Blanchet Bears (1-6), 92-48, in front of a sold-out crowd at Blanchet High School.
The Beach Boys set the tone early, winning the opening tip and jumping out to a quick lead behind aggressive defense and a scoring surge that stunned the Bears. Rainier Beach’s Tyran Stokes scored the first two points of the night, followed by a basket from Blanchet’s Cade McClenahan, but Rainier Beach quickly responded with a flurry of shots made by Stokes and Marques Ili-Menesse, including steals, blocks and contested shots at the rim. The other Ili-Menesse brother, Micah, made his presence felt with multiple tip-ins and finishes, while freshman star JJ Crawford controlled the offensive flow with assists to Stokes and Kellon Hightower, to go along with eight first-quarter points of his own.
Rainier Beach went on a 12-0 run midway through the quarter, which was highlighted by a steal and dunk from Stokes. The Bears appeared flustered and gassed on the court as they were unable to keep up with the unyielding pace set by the Vikings.
Despite a few late baskets, including a final jump shot from Conor Sheridan, the Bears faced a 22-point deficit, 32-10, entering the second quarter.
Rainier Beach maintained its dominance throughout the second quarter, as it continued to light up the scoreboard.
A quick assist from Rainier Beach’s Louis Harris to Achillies Reyna for two points, and a powerful dunk from Stokes to start the quarter brought Blanchet’s student section to its feet. Blanchet’s Oliver Wade managed to steal the ball from Stokes but wasn’t able to convert on his shot attempt. On the next play, Blanchet was able to get another steal, which ended up back in the hands of Wade, who was able to convert this time as the Bears cut the Rainier Beach lead to 36-14.
Even though Blanchet started to show some fight, Rainier Beach continued to dominate control of the game, moving the ball around the court well and scoring contested shots in the paint. Meanwhile, Stokes continued to respond to taunting from the Blanchet student section with steals, dunks and knocking down shots.
Beach’s defense remained strong, as it frequently sent multiple defenders at the ball and forced rushed shots. Blanchet’s Brendan Nelson managed to steal the ball from Micah Ili-Menesse, but Hightower was able to cover his teammate’s miscue by swatting away Nelson’s shot attempt.
Late in the quarter, Hightower and Stokes connected for another dunk, and Crawford capped the half with a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to give Rainier Beach a comfortable 55–24 lead at the half.
Blanchet started the third quarter with a 3-point shot from Lucas Marx, but Stokes quickly responded with an and-one, where he converted the extra point to extend the Rainier Beach lead to 58-28. On the next possession, Marques Ili-Menesse stripped the ball away from Blanchet’s John Easley, but in a strong defensive effort, Easley stole the ball back and found McClenahan for a 3-point shot, making the score 58-30 in favor of Rainier Beach.
After the burst of energy from the Bears, Crawford took over as he found Micah Ili-Menesse for a quick two points before he took a steal coast to coast for a layup. The Bears then stumbled on their next possession, and the ball ended up in the hands of Stokes, who missed on a dunk attempt. However, Crawford was able to swoop in for a putback, making the score 62-30.
As a way to redeem himself, Crawford assisted Stokes for a huge dunk that once again had the Blanchet student section talking. Later in the third quarter, McClenahan stepped in front of a pass from Stokes to Crawford and drained a 3-point shot.
The two teams began to trade quick baskets. Marx connected on another shot, Stokes scored again, and Crawford ended the back-and-forth scoring with a dunk, forcing the Bears to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Reyna blocked a shot attempt by Wade as Rainier Beach continued its relentless defensive pressure. In the final moments of the third quarter, Stokes stole the ball from Wade, Wade stole it right back and darted down the court but missed his layup attempt at the buzzer, as the Vikings ended the quarter with an 80-36 lead.
The final quarter opened with Reyna at the line, where he made one basket to push the Vikings’ lead to 81-36. At this point in the game, Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea had subbed in his reserve players, and they did not disappoint, as Wesley Armstrong slammed down a dunk that brought the Rainier Beach bench to its feet.
Despite the deficit, the Bears continued to show their competitive spirit. Hudson Ludwick came up big defensively, blocking a shot under the rim, and Marx knocked down a three as they narrowed the gap to 85-44.
On the other hand, Rainier Beach continued to dominate the play on the court. Reyna blocked two shots, one called for goaltending, and Armstrong rounded out the scoring for Rainier Beach as he stole the ball and drove to the hoop for an and-one, making the score 92-46.
With six seconds left on the clock, Ludwick was sent to the free-throw line, where he converted two points to make the final score 92-48 in favor of Rainier Beach.
