By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Rainier Beach Vikings captured the 3A boys’ state basketball championship in dominant fashion, defeating the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors 68-48 at the Tacoma Dome. The Vikings, who had been on a mission all season, put together a strong performance to claim their first state title since 2019.
Edmonds-Woodway won the tipoff, and after a few back-and-forth possessions, Grant Williams opened the scoring for the Warriors with a layup. Rainier Beach responded a few minutes later with a three-point shot from Dre Morris, quickly followed by another from Kaden Powers, giving the Vikings a 6-2 lead.
However, on the next play, Powers sent Edmonds’ William Alseth to the line, where he made 1 out of 2 free-throw attempts, making the score 6-3 in favor of the Beach Boyz. Rainier Beach’s Jaylen Petty then scored a basket on back-to-back possessions for the Vikings, making the score 10-3. In the final minute of the opening quarter, Petty drained a three-point shot, Rainier Beach’s Marques Ili-Meneese followed with a shot under the rim, and Alseth hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 17-11 in favor of Rainier Beach at the end of the first quarter.
Edmonds-Woodway came out strong to start the second quarter, with Cameron Hiatt scoring a quick basket and Williams knocking down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 17-16. However, Rainier Beach responded immediately as Nyale Robinson drilled a three-pointer, and Micah Ili-Meneese converted an and-one opportunity to push the Vikings’ lead to 23-20. The Warriors continued to fight, with Alseth and Dre Simonsen adding key buckets, but a late three-pointer and a putback by Marques Ili-Meneese sent the Vikings into halftime with a 32-25 lead, as Petty had poured in 11 first-half points.
The Vikings turned up the intensity to start the second half, with Micah Ili-Meneese stealing the ball and feeding Petty for a fast-break layup. Moments later, Petty drained another three-pointer, and Rainier Beach extended its lead to 39-27 before calling a timeout. Edmonds-Woodway answered with Williams and Hiatt converting four free throws, bringing the score to 39-31. After the quick 4-point conversion at the line for Edmonds, Petty was sent to the line on an and-one, making the extra point and extending Rainier Beach’s lead to 42-31 with half of the third quarter remaining.
With the Vikings leading 44-33, Powers picked up his fourth foul, sending Alseth to the line, where he made both free throws. Robinson, who had subbed in for Powers, immediately made an impact by scoring at the top of the key to push the lead back to 46-35. Hiatt converted another free throw, but Marques Ili-Meneese came up with a huge steal and dunk, igniting the Rainier Beach crowd. In the final minute, Petty knocked down one last three-pointer for the quarter, and Edmonds’ Julian Gray added a putback basket, bringing the score to 51-38 heading into the final period.
In the final quarter, Edmonds started with possession; however, Robinson quickly stole the ball and darted down for a layup, bringing the score to 53-38. Petty then got the rebound off of the Warriors’ next missed shot, bolted down the court with no defenders around him, and slammed down a dunk, furthering Beach’s lead to 55-38. With a little under five minutes remaining, Gray hit a three-pointer, making the score 56-43, and Petty followed on the next possession with two, bringing the Vikings’ lead to 58-43. Alseth scored a basket on the next play, and then Powers went on a 4-0 run, making the score 62-45. Alseth then answered again with a three-pointer, making the score 62-48.
The fourth quarter belonged to Rainier Beach, as Robinson quickly stole the ball and sprinted down the court for a layup to push the lead to 53-38. On the next possession, Petty grabbed a rebound, bolted down the court, and slammed down a dunk to further extend the lead. The Vikings’ suffocating defense continued to give Edmonds-Woodway problems, limiting them to contested shots. Gray knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 56-43, but Petty responded immediately with another two points for the Vikings. After another basket from Alseth, Powers went on a personal 4-0 run to make the score 62-45. Alseth hit one final three-pointer for the Warriors, but it was too late. With just over a minute left, Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea subbed in his reserves, and Knowledge Wright capped off the victory with a final basket to bring the final score to 68-48, securing the Rainier Beach Vikings’ boys’ state 3A championship title.
Petty led all scorers with 26 points, three rebounds, and two assists for the Vikings, while Hiatt finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Warriors.
After the game, Bethea reflected on the long journey to this championship and how much it meant for Rainier Beach to return to the top.
“Oh my gosh. You know, this journey started three years ago when I was in the hospital with COVID, and we knew I had a three to four-year window with this group. And, you know, we said that we got all the pieces together that we needed to win the championship, and that’s it. You know, God had our back,” Bethea said. “These guys all started together as freshmen, and we knew that if we could get the team back together again, that was going to be the thing to push us over the top and win it. And when Jaylen said, ‘Hey, Coach, we’re moving back into the area,’ we knew that was the missing link. And man, like, right now, I don’t even have words.”
Petty, a University of New Mexico commit who transferred back to Rainier Beach for his senior year, soaked in the moment as he celebrated with his teammates.
“Man, I am just so grateful for this experience. I’m grateful for God, my teammates, and my coaches. They really prepared us for this moment, and I am happy as ever,” Petty said. “I plan to keep this running, and I can’t wait to get to college and be coached by Coach Pitino.”
