Rainier Beach Blasts Lincoln in Quarterfinals


Rainier Beach Blasts Lincoln in Quarterfinals
By Steve Dion

Thursday- March 3rd 2016 Boys 3A State
Tacoma Dome 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Lincoln 18 10 17 18 63
Rainier Beach 16 24 19 22 81


Rainier Beach junior N’Keil Nelson

A battle of teams hailing from Seattle and Tacoma placed Rainier Beach and Lincoln in a Thursday lunchtime bout. The Abes enjoyed the home court advantage from the opening tip by taking a two point lead into the second frame. The Abes converted on a number of possessions in which they attacked the rim.

However, the suffocating Rainier Beach defense started to roll as the half wore on and posted 24 points in the second frame alone putting the Vikings up by a dozen at the break.

The contributions of Lincoln’s Brandon Cotton and Trevion Brown who netted 15 and 14 respectively proved not enough as leading scorer Sam Cunliffe who finished with 19 was joined by four other double figure scorers (Keith Smith, Marquis Gurski, Tijon Rodde, N’Kiel Nelson) before the final whistle. A rematch of the 2015 state final between Rainier Beach and Garfield takes place tomorrow at 5:30!

The Final Score
Rainier Beach 81, Lincoln 63.

Top Performers:

Rainier Beach
Sam Cunliffe- 19 points, 6 rebounds

Lincoln
Willie Thomas- 11 points, 7 rebounds