Rainier Beach Grinds Out Gritty Win Over West Seattle
By Steve Dion
| Saturday- December 17th | 2016 | Boys | 3A | Metro | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Seattle High School | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| West Seattle | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 46 | |
| Rainier Beach | 11 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 50 | |
Rainier Beach Senior Khalil Shabazz
The marquee Metro matchup Saturday night featured the defending champs Rainier Beach visiting the West Seattle Wildcats. Both teams entered the game with a 3-1 league record which meant the victor would take the league in the Sound division.
A defensive battle was the theme of the contest starting under the rim with Yusuf Mohamed patrolling the post for WS and was countered by the physical Nehemie Kabeya for Beach. Meanwhile Tyler Lenzie and Tijohn Rodde found the mark from beyond the arc and at the break, Rainier Beach led by a pair.
When play resumed, West Seattle started to inhibit the Beach attack even more than it was heading into the game with talented guard Kevin Porter Jr. not playing by putting the Viks in foul trouble. This curbed the Beach offense, but West Seattle failed to capitalize. In the closing minutes, West Seattle led by a single point.
As Rainier Beach has done for years, they executed down the stretch by earning trips to the free-throw line and knocking down their shots. Monte Britt and Fred Roberson both buried critical pairs from the charity stripe and a desperation shot by the Wildcats was not enough to extend the ballgame.
Another gutsy win by one of Washington’s premier basketball powerhouses.
The Final Score
Rainier Beach 50, West Seattle 46.
Top Performers:
Rainier Beach
Tijohn Rodde- 11 points
West Seattle
Yusuf Mohamed- 12 points