By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last night, West Seattle and Garfield battled it out at Bellevue College in a loser-out game to determine who would be advancing to the next round of districts tonight to play for 5th and 6th place in the district tournament.
Looking ready to play from the very beginning of the game, Garfield played fast, securing good shots while West Seattle struggled to find their rhythm. The Bulldogs would seize momentum early with aggressive fast breaks and steals from BJ Roy Jr. and KJ Hightower, and a few timely points by Ohmono Bomet. Despite his team’s struggles, West Seattle’s Wes Armstrong took two trips to the free-throw line during the opening quarter, converting 2 out of the 4 free-throw points. As the dust settled, Garfield held a 19-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
West Seattle showed signs of life to open the second quarter, as Tattum Joyner knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 19-12. However, the Bulldogs continued to dominate offensively, capitalizing on second-chance points and defensive pressure. Garfield’s Doni Burkett grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for two points. The Bulldogs’ Tripp Haywood quickly followed up with a steal and an assist to Isaiah Davis for two points, pushing the lead to 23-12. Armstrong responded with a steal, as West Seattle increased their intensity on the defensive end. With two minutes left in the first half, the Bulldogs led 27-16, but the night was far from over. Roy knocked down a quick jump shot, and Hightower ended the quarter on a high note after making a three-point shot to extend Garfield’s lead to 32-18 at halftime.
Despite the score, West Seattle’s fans and bench grew much louder at the start of the half. Armstrong quickly went to the free-throw line and converted both attempts, while Duncan Monnin added a free throw of his own to make it 36-21 with five minutes left in the third quarter. While West Seattle had been seemingly afraid to attack the basket and relied on shooting around the perimeter early in the game, they started to change that narrative. Garfield picked up five team fouls and kept sending West Seattle to the free-throw line, giving them an opportunity to cut into the lead. Monnin and Alex Pierce each added a point from the line, but West Seattle suffered a setback when Peyton Duong picked up his fourth foul and had to sub out with 1:35 remaining. After the substitution, Burkett hit a three-pointer that stretched Garfield’s lead to 42-25. With 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, West Seattle chipped in a few points to gain some momentum heading into the final quarter, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot by Armstrong, as the Wildcats trailed Garfield 44-31 at the end of the third.
Garfield’s JuJu Ervin dominated during the final quarter, scoring seven fourth-quarter points. In addition to Ervin’s fourth-quarter efforts, D-Jack Jackson scored eight fourth-quarter points, including an and-1, and grabbed two offensive rebounds for putbacks.
With under a minute remaining, Garfield led 65-51, and West Seattle made a last-minute push, attacking the rim more aggressively. Brittin Joyner added two points under the basket, and Pierce capped off the night with a dunk. However, the Wildcats’ late surge wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit, as Garfield secured a 65-55 victory to extend their season.
Garfield was led by Ervin, who finished the night with 13 points, while West Seattle was led by Armstrong, who finished the night with 14 points.
With the win, Garfield will play for 5th and 6th place today at 3:00 p.m. against Eastside Catholic.
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