Lakeside shocks Rainier Beach, wins 3A Sea-King District Championship


Saturday- Feb. 16 2013 – 3A – SeaKing District
Bellevue College 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Lakeside 15 20 18 19 72
Rainier Beach 18 22 8 17 65


Lakeside Freshman Isiah Brown


Lakeside shocks Rainier Beach, wins 3A Sea-King District Championship
By Colin Caruso

With Los Angeles Clipper Jamaal Crawford in the house, Rainier Beach faced off against the Lakeside Lions in the Sea-King district final.  The gym was electric, with the Lakeside student section bringing the noise throughout the contest.

This was the third time these teams had met; once in the regular season where Beach won by 14 and the other in the Metro championship game where Beach won again.  Lakeside came out looking for the upset.

The Lions started the game on a six-zero run, but Beach responded immediately with a nine zero run of their own.  Senior Marquis Davis led the charge for the Vikings, scoring 10 points in the quarter and converting on all three of his three-point attempts.  Lakeside responded with a three pointer by junior Tramaine Isabell to cut the Beach lead to just three after one quarter, 18-15.

Both teams came out hot in the second, with Rainier Beach hitting four threes in the quarter and Lakeside hitting five.  Davis led the way for the Vikings again in the second with eight points, and Beach took a five point lead into half.

Coach Hobson must have focused on defense in the halftime talk with his players, because Lakeside came out with great defensive intensity in the third quarter.  They began by playing relentless defense on Marquis Davis, forcing the ball out of his hands and making another Viking beat them.

Lakeside gave up just eight points in the third to the Vikings, nearly matched by Isabell’s seven for the Lions.  Lakeside reclaimed the lead late in the third on a D’Marques Tyson layup and took a five point lead into the fourth, 53-48.

Both teams were in the bonus early in the fourth quarter, and the game essentially came down to a free-throw contest.  In the final quarter, Lakeside shot 13 for 19 from the line and Rainier Beach shot 9 for 19 from the line, four points that would have drastically changed the outcome of the game.

With 2:57 remaining in the fourth, Beach junior Naim Ladd tied the game at 59 with two free-throws.  Lakeside freshman Isiah Brown responded seven seconds later with two free-throws of his own, and Lakeside would never relinquish the lead from that point.  A laundry list of shooters for both teams came to the stripe, and Lakeside hit more down the stretch to win the 3A Sea-King District Championship, 72-65.  What a game!

Top Performers:
Lakeside
Tramaine Isabell (31 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds)
D’Marques Tyson (16, 8 rebounds, 4 steals)
Isiah Brown (13 points)

Rainier Beach
Marquis Davis (23 points, 3 steals)
Djuan Piper (10 points, 7 rebounds)
Fuquan Niles (8 points, 7 rebounds)

Rainier Beach handles Franklin, Advances to Sea-King District Final against Lakeside


Thursday- Feb. 14 2013 – 3A – SeaKing District
Bellevue College 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Franklin 7 9 14 15 45
Rainier Beach 15 12 12 20 59


Rainier Beach handles Franklin,
Advances to Sea-King District Final against Lakeside
By Colin Caruso

In their third matchup of the season, Franklin faced off against Rainier Beach for a trip to the Sea-King Final against Lakeside. Rainier Beach won the first two matchups of the season, but Franklin came in looking for the upset.

The first quarter was a quarter of runs. Rainier Beach scored the first five points of the game, but Franklin responded with the next seven to take the lead 7-5. Beach came back, sparked by senior Marquis Davis’ six points in the quarter, to score the final ten of the first to take a 15-7 lead.

Franklin stayed toe to toe with the Vikings in the second quarter, limiting Rainier Beach’s quickness and fast break opportunities. Franklin did a good job of controlling the pace but Beach’s 2-3 zone was stifling and allowed just nine points in the quarter. Rainier Beach had the lead 27-16 at halftime.

The Quakers came out with a much needed strong third quarter, looking to close the gap against the Vikings. Franklin started the third on a 9-3 run, putting the pressure back on the Rainier Beach. The Vikings responded, led by Davis with six more in the third. Franklin outscored Beach in the quarter 14-13, but trailed 39-30 going into the fourth.

Despite the defensive intensity picking up in the final quarter, both teams exploded for their highest quarter point totals of the game. Beach extended their lead to as many as 17, led in the quarter by senior Jordan King with ten points. The Vikings closed out the contest 59-45, advancing to the Sea-King District Final against Lakeside, a rematch of the Metro final that Beach won 69-61.

Next Opponents:
Lakeside vs. Rainier Beach- Sea-King District Final
Saturday – 6:30 PM at Bellevue College.

Mercer Island vs. Franklin- 3rd/4th place game
Saturday – 11:30 AM at Bellevue College.

Top Performers:
Franklin
Eugene Artison (11)
Patrick Ball (9)

Rainier Beach
Marquis Davis (14)
Jordan King (12)

Beach Holds off Lakeside, Wins 3A Metro Title


Beach Holds off Lakeside, Wins 3A Metro Title
By Colin Caruso 

Friday- Feb. 8 -2013- Metro League Championship
Garfield High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Lakeside 13 10 21 17 61
Rainier Beach 10 27 12 20 69

The #2 ranked Rainier Beach Vikings took on the Lakeside Lions for the Metro League Championship on Friday night in a packed house at Garfield High School.  The regular season contest between these two ended in a 14-point win for the Vikings, but with the Metro title at stake and the building electric, everyone knew this would come down to the wire.

Lakeside started the game aggressively, attacking the hoop and drawing contact going through the lane.  Viking starters Fuquan Niles and Shaqquan Aaron both picked up two fouls late in the first quarter and ended up sitting for the remainder of the half.  Lakeside’s smothering defense held the Vikings to just 10 points in the quarter, and the Lions took a 13-10 lead into the second.

Rainier Beach’s shooting woes in the first turned into a shooting clinic in the second.  The Vikings began the quarter on a 14-0 run, forcing five Lion turnovers and capitalizing on baskets in transition.  Senior Marquis Davis led the Vikings with eight points in the quarter, followed closely by teammate Elijah Foster with seven.  Beach took a 37-23 lead into the half.

The tables turned again in the third quarter; it was now Lakeside’s turn to put their foot on the gas, starting the quarter on a 15-5 run.  Niles picked up his fourth foul with 5:20 remaining in the third, and Lion big man Peter French picked up his fourth foul with 4:53 remaining in the period.

Lakeside kept up their offensive rhythm until the game took a turn with 1:03 remaining in the third on a hard foul by Marquis Davis.  Unfortunately, this did not turn out well for the Vikings as Marquis Davis was ejected, Shaqquan Aaron and Coach Mike Bethea both receiving technical fouls.  Lakeside junior Tremaine Isabell also received a technical foul.  The outcome gave four free-throws to the Lions, and Matthew Poplawski stepped up to the line and made all four.  Lakeside outscored Beach in the quarter 21-12, cutting the Viking lead to five entering the fourth.

Lakeside continued to battle in the fourth quarter, exchanging baskets with the Vikings and chipping away at the Beach lead.  Lakeside cut the lead to just three with 32 seconds left, with the ball.  Lion coach Tavio Hobson drew up a play for the Lions, but the inbounds pass was stolen by Rainier Beach and led to a leak-out dribble drive that forced Lakeside to foul from behind.  The foul was ruled a flagrant, giving Beach two free-throws and the ball, ending Lakeside’s chances at the upset.

Beach won in a nail-biter, 69-61.  It was a Great Game to watch!

Leading Scorers:
Lakeside
Tramaine Isabell (18)
Matthew Poplawski (15)

Rainier Beach
Marquis Davis (16)
Djuan Piper (14)

Rainier Beach Handles Franklin; will meet Lakeside in Metro Final


Rainier Beach Handles Franklin; will meet Lakeside in Metro Final
By Colin Caruso 

Tuesday- Feb. 5 -2013- Metro League Tournament
Ingraham High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Franklin 11 20 14 24 69
Rainier Beach 28 24 12 27 91

With Seahawks safety Cam Chancellor watching, the Rainier Beach Vikings were at their finest, beating the Franklin Quakers 91-69 to advance to the Metro final.  Beach came out on fire, with Djuan Piper scoring 11 and Shaqquan Aaron scoring nine in the first quarter alone.  They jumped on Franklin early, taking a 28-11 lead at the end of the first.  Beach didn’t lay off the gas in the second quarter either.  Aaron and Piper both finished with 13 at the half, and freshman Dejounte Murry added seven in the second alone.  Beach led at the break 52-31. Arell Hennings and Eugene Artison led the way for the Quakers, both scoring seven points in the first half.

The scoring for both teams slowed down in the third quarter with Franklin outscoring the Vikings 14-12, cutting the lead to 19 going into the fourth.  But Beach was too much to handle in the fourth quarter.  Fuquan Niles had all of his 11 points in the second half and the Vikings put up 27 points in the fourth quarter to win 91-69.  With the win, Rainier Beach will play Lakeside in the Metro final, a rematch of their January 15th meeting where the Vikings won by a score of 78-64.

Leading Scorers:
Franklin
Arell Hennings (18)
Eugene Artison (14)

Rainier Beach
Shaqquan Aaron (22)
Marquis Davis (18)

Big thanks to Nic Beckman (the world’s greatest public address announcer) for game analysis.