By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
In their fifth matchup of the season, the O’Dea Fighting Irish and the Rainier Beach Vikings faced off with a trip to the Class 3A boys state semifinals on the line. After trailing at halftime, Rainier Beach rallied in the second half, outscoring O’Dea 55–31 to advance and face Bellarmine Prep.
For one of the biggest rivalry games in Seattle this season, the intensity was high inside the Tacoma Dome from the opening tip as both teams battled for bragging rights and a chance to keep their championship hopes alive.
O’Dea wasted little time setting the tone. Just 20 seconds into the game, Rainier Beach’s Tyran Stokes picked up his first foul of the morning. After forcing a Rainier Beach turnover, O’Dea’s Peyton Brooks scored the first two points of the night, giving the Fighting Irish an early spark.
O’Dea continued to pressure Rainier Beach defensively, as the Vikings struggled to find a rhythm early, committing multiple turnovers and rushed possessions that ended up out of bounds. After Micah Ili-Meneese put Rainier Beach on the board with a free throw, O’Dea quickly responded with a 6–0 run highlighted by three-pointers from Brian Webster and Brooks, pushing their lead to 8–1.
Stokes answered by attacking the basket, driving through defenders for a bucket off the glass to slow O’Dea’s momentum. But the Fighting Irish continued to build their lead. Bowman and Webster added points during the next stretch, forcing Rainier Beach to call a timeout with 4:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
After the timeout, Webster converted two free throws to extend O’Dea’s lead to 16–5.
Trailing by double digits, the Vikings responded with a surge of their own. JJ Crawford and Stokes sparked a 6–0 run for Rainier Beach, highlighted by Stokes converting two free throws to cut the deficit to 16–11.
O’Dea answered before the momentum could fully swing. Webster and Bowman combined for four points to stretch the lead back to 20–11. In the final minute of the quarter, both teams struggled to create clean offensive possessions until Kam Babbs capped the period with a three-pointer.
O’Dea led 20–14 heading into the second quarter.
Giulio Banchero opened the second quarter with defensive intensity, forcing Stokes into a turnover and igniting the Fighting Irish bench.
Rainier Beach quickly took advantage of a mistake on the other end. After O’Dea’s Levi Orbino turned the ball over, Babbs and Ili-Meneese combined for a quick 4–0 run that cut the deficit to 20–18.
The Fighting Irish responded with one of their strongest stretches of the half. Zi Leonard and Orbino knocked down back-to-back three-pointers as O’Dea went on a 6–0 run to extend the lead to 26–18, forcing another Rainier Beach timeout with 5:29 remaining in the second quarter.
After the break, Ili-Meneese traded baskets with Bowman and Orbino as the teams settled into a back-and-forth rhythm. O’Dea maintained control and led 30–21 midway through the quarter.
With 3:33 remaining before halftime, O’Dea head coach Jason Kerr called a timeout to regroup.
The stoppage sparked a response from Rainier Beach.
Babbs and Ili-Meneese led a 7–0 Vikings run coming out of the timeout, including a dunk from Babbs that cut the deficit to 30–28 and energized the Rainier Beach bench.
The final minute of the half showcased the firepower of both teams. Rainier Beach’s KJ Hightower entered for Stokes and immediately converted two shots at the free throw line, while Elijah Armstrong added a basket for the Vikings.
O’Dea answered with timely offense. Brooks drained another three-point shot, and Orbino found Bowman for a wide-open dunk, as the Fighting Irish took a 37–30 lead into halftime.
Brooks opened the second half by picking up where he left off, draining another three-point shot to push the score to 40–32.
Stokes had a chance to respond at the free-throw line but missed both attempts as the O’Dea student section roared from behind the basket. However, Rainier Beach quickly regrouped, as Babbs knocked down a three-point shot on the next possession, and Crawford followed with a dunk to trim the deficit to 40–37.
From there, the Vikings continued to build momentum. Crawford added another dunk off an assist from Stokes, and moments later Crawford got another dunk to give Rainier Beach its first lead of the game at 44–42.
Kerr called a timeout with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Out of the timeout, Brooks briefly halted the momentum with a solo 3–0 run to put O’Dea back in front, 45–44.
But the Vikings answered with their most dominant stretch of the game. Rainier Beach erupted for a 10–0 run fueled by defensive stops and transition offense, taking a 54–45 lead.
Webster attempted to respond with a three-pointer, but Babbs came from the side and blocked the shot, sending the ball out of bounds and energizing the Vikings bench.
JuJu Duckett added a basket under the rim for O’Dea, but Stokes closed the quarter by converting a free throw, giving Rainier Beach a 55–47 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Crawford, who had been on fire all game, opened the final quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the Vikings lead to 61–47.
Stokes followed with a shot under the rim, giving Rainier Beach an 8–0 start to the quarter and widening the gap.
Bowman and Stokes traded baskets during the next stretch as each added four points for their teams while Rainier Beach maintained control with a 67–52 lead.
Despite trailing, O’Dea continued to battle. Webster, Brooks and Bowman chipped away at the Vikings’ lead while the pace remained fast.
With 2:34 left on the clock and Rainier Beach leading 76–64, Stokes delivered the decisive stretch of the game. He went on a solo 7–0 run, highlighted by a dunk that quieted the O’Dea student section and pushed the Vikings’ lead to 83–64 with under a minute remaining.
In a losing effort, Leonard and Brooks added four late points, and Rainier Beach secured an 85–68 victory over O’Dea.
Stokes led Rainier Beach with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Crawford added 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. For the Fighting Irish, Brooks finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, and Bowman finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
After the game, Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea said he is simply glad to not have to go up against O’Dea anymore and credited Kerr for a well-rounded team.
“Like I told them, my biggest thing is that we don’t have to play O’Dea anymore,” said Bethea. “Jason is always going to have his team prepared, we always know it is going to be a competitive game and they got close the last two times so they had that confidence and got warm on the court and it just took us a while at the start but we prevailed.”
