| Friday | Feb 14th | 2014 | 4A | Boys | Basketball | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juanita High | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Eastlake | 13 | 14 | 15 | 22 | 64 | |
| Garfield | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 74 | |
Bulldogs Outpower Wolves
By Colin Caruso
In the primetime matchup in the 4A KingCo Tournament, the Garfield Bulldogs faced off against the Eastlake Wolves for a spot in the KingCo Final and an automatic trip to the state tournament. In their only other matchup this season, Garfield put together a dominating 23 point win. This game, due to its magnitude, proved to be much closer to that.
Eastlake was not going to let their previous defeat let them down, as they came out fighting in this contest. If it wasn’t for a couple of missed layups in the first quarter, the Wolves would have trailed by just one. But those misses hurt, and Garfield took a five point lead into the second.
The second quarter stayed fairly close as Garfield held a double digit lead for less than one minute midway through the frame. With just five seconds left in the quarter, Tramaine Isabell, senior guard for the Bulldogs, pulled up from about 30 feet and knocked down a three pointer to push the Bulldog halftime lead to nine.
Garfield continued to control the pace in the third quarter, extending their halftime lead to as many as 17. As the seconds winded down in the third, Garfield continued to put pressure on the Wolves, and took a secure 13 point lead into the fourth.
The Bulldogs were in a groove throughout this contest. Every time the Wolves made a run, Garfield was right there to answer with either a spectacular drive to the basket or ferocious offensive rebounding leading to a put back bucket. This continued in the fourth quarter, as the Bulldogs bulldogged their way into the lane and capitalizing off their own misses. Eastlake won the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to take the game, as the Bulldogs advanced to play Issaquah in the KingCo final, where both teams qualify for state.
Eastlake will have to win three straight games to qualify for state, with the last contest coming against the third seed from the Wesco district in a winner in, loser out game.
Top Performers:
Eastlake
Davis Woerner – 19 points
Jordan Lester – 17 points
Garfield
Tramaine Isabell – 28 points
Brayon Blake – 18 points