Garfield Proves Strength in Regional Victory Over Rams


Garfield Proves Strength in Regional Victory Over Rams
By Steve Dion

Saturday- February 27th 2016 Boys 3A Regionals
Bellevue College 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Wilson 11 26 26 17 80
Garfield 33 29 26 30 118


Garfield Bulldogs

Defending 3A champions Garfield entered this season as a clear favorite to repeat in 2016 given their returning core group and added talent this year. Saturday’s regional contest with Wilson served as the Bulldogs final step to get back to the state tournament.

Wilson found themselves in a tough situation early when Garfield’s defense strung together a series of turnovers leading to transition buckets. This stifling defensive display resulted in 33 big first quarter points. The Rams were able to match the ‘Dogs bucket for bucket as the half progressed including five finishing with double digits led by senior captain David Jenkins Jr. who ended with 19. However, the halftime lead created by knock-down Jaylen Nowell jumpers and Terrell Brown slashing to the cup gave them an edge they would not put in jeopardy.

As the second half wore on, Wilson’s Nate Fisher found a groove recording a cool 17 points on 6/7 shooting, but former Wilson Ram Alphonso Anderson netted 20 in addition to 8 rebounds. This proved enough to eventually put this game on ice. Afterwards, Anderson talked about facing former friends on Wilson saying, “It was fun playing against the old guys. Dave, Montre; been playing with them since I was little.” When asked about the depth of this talented Bulldogs roster, Anderson responded, “We’ve got pretty much ten division-1 basketball players on the team. At practice, we get each other better.” Finally, he said the defensive intensity shown is a result of the team’s eagerness on offense and that, “Defense leads to dunks, so as many steals as we can get, the more dunks we get!” Ed Haskins finds himself three wins from three state titles in a row, can Garfield complete the task at hand?

The Final Score
Garfield 118, Wilson 80.

Top Performer:

Garfield
Alphonso Anderson- 20 points, 8 rebounds

Wilson
David Jenkins Jr.- 19 points, 4 rebounds

Peninsula Soars in Heavyweight Bout with Wilson


Peninsula Soars in Heavyweight Bout with Wilson
By Steve Dion

Saturday- December 19th 2015 Boys 3A SPSL/Narrows
Showare Center 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Wilson 9 14 19 19 61
Peninsula 16 12 10 25 63


Peninsula senior JaQuori McLaughlin

The primetime matchup of the 2015 Showare Shootout featured a heavyweight bout between Peninsula and Wilson. The guard matchup of Seahawk JaQuori McLaughlin and Ram David Jenkins Jr. presented itself early as the two led their teams in scoring with 21 and 28 apiece. Austin Kingman allowed the Seahawks to go into halftime with momentum as the senior forward rushed down the floor in the final moments of the second quarter to finish at the cup at the buzzer. PHS ran into the locker room energized and with a five point lead in hand. Could Wilson strike back in the second half?

The intensity heated up as the second half progressed. Jimmy Ritchie and Kingman made big contributions for the Seahawks recording 13 points apiece. Additonally, McLaughlin showed his exceptional scoring ability knocking down several acrobatic shots. Wilson countered with Emmitt Matthews Jr. who finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jenkins helped the Rams tie the game up a 37 apiece midway through the third. Moments later, Wilson was leading and did so until 3 minutes left in the fourth when Peninsula roared back. A 25 point fourth quarter gave the Seahawks a late lead which put Wilson in desperation mode in the waning moments. Jenkins and Matthews made clutch shots to keep Wilson alive, but cold-blooded free throws by Ritchie held off a Ram miracle. Peninsula escaped with a narrow win against a top Narrows opponent.

The Final Score
Peninsula 63, Wilson 61

Top Performers:
Peninsula
JaQuori McLaughlin- 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Wilson
David Jenkins Jr.- 28 points