O’Dea Cruises to Huge Win Over Islanders

O’Dea Cruises to Huge Win Over Islanders
By Steven Dion

When you are one of the best teams in the state and seemingly every shot falls, it’s a recipe for disaster to virtually any opponent. The Islanders of Mercer Island were the unfortunate victim to a complete game by the Irish on both ends of the floor. The stifling defense the Irish is capable of throwing at opponents was clicking on all cylinders which translated to smooth offensive sets. Mercer Island earned a first round bye in the SeaKing tourney after solid play in KingCo regular season. O’Dea defeated Nathan hale by a dozen on Saturday. The winner of this contest would take on the winner of Bainbridge versus Rainier Beach.

The first four minutes of the game were the most evenly matched as O’Dea took a few minutes to get rolling. The Islander guards did a nice job keeping the three-point threat Quin Barnard unable to take attempts from the perimeter. Unfortunately, Mercer was unable to capitalize on the slow O’Dea start by only scoring 9 points in the first frame. The second quarter is where the Irish grabbed this game by the horns. Jacob Lampkin was a force in the low block throwing that lanky 6’9 frame around. The senior even drained a triple in that second quarter as part of a strong eight points in eight minutes. Turnovers were plentiful as the Islanders were unable to get any open looks and for that matter shot attempts as the Islanders only scored 3 points in the second quarter! One takeaway in the O’Dea zone led to a Jamie Orme dunk on the other end. At the half, OHS led by 23 points at 35-12.

Not much changed in the second half as O’Dea continued to dominate in all phases of the game. This fighting Irish squad is talented, but even the biggest fan of the red and yellow would admit they will have a tough time replicating this performance time after time. There was a point in the fourth quarter where a handful of O’Dea possession resulted in three after three. It was curious that Al Hairston did not pull out his starters late in the fourth quarter even with a forty point lead and a running clock. A highlight for the Islanders in the second half was Kaleb Warner going coast-to-coast and finishing with a two-handed slam. But a complete game by the Irish earned them a 77-32 win. Up next, Rainier Beach. They’ll need this performance and maybe more to take down the Vikings.

Top Performers:
O’Dea
Jamie Orme, Tyler Kidd, Quin Barnard, David Woodard, Jacob Lampkin (All in double figures)

Mercer Island
Andrew Pickles-9 points (played strong defense against relentless O’Dea attack)