10 Best: Spanaway Lake Sentinels vs. Seattle Prep Panthers
Seattle Prep fed its bigs as the Panthers moved on to the 3A state tournament with a 64-45 victory over Spanaway Lake in a regional game. Ranked No. 11 by the WIAA RPI, Seattle Prep will head to the Tacoma…
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Continue ReadingSeattle Prep fed its bigs as the Panthers moved on to the 3A state tournament with a 64-45 victory over Spanaway Lake in a regional game. Ranked No. 11 by the WIAA RPI, Seattle Prep will head to the Tacoma Dome for a loser-out game in its 3A state opener. The loss ends the Sentinels’ season.
MVP: Nic Lynch. The 6-foot-10 junior could not be stopped. Lynch helped the Panthers get off to a fast start with the team’s first eight points and finished with a team-high 19. Lynch was the focal point of the Seattle Prep offense early and often and added eight rebounds for the Panthers.
Play of the game: Less than a minute into the game, Seattle Prep showed the gymnasium what it was going to do all night. The Panthers utilized their height advantage with Nic Lynch working the ball down low for an easy bucket. Lynch did the same thing the next two times down the court for Seattle Prep to set the tone early.
Best offensive performance: Isaiah Turner. Turner kept battling the whole game for Spanaway Lake and finished with a game-high 21 points. The athletic, 6-foot-4 junior turned it on in the second half, driving to the lane and shooting from all over the floor.
Best defensive performance: Collin Welp. The other big post presence for Seattle Prep finished a double-double with 12 rebounds and 11 points. The 6-foot-9 Welp was a force in the middle for the Wildcats and forced Spanaway Lake to put up shots from other areas on the floor – which the Sentinels struggled with early.
Best guy off the bench: Alexander Flor. Seattle Prep’s junior finished fourth for the balanced Panthers with six points and added four rebounds. Flor had a pair of buckets in the second quarter to help Seattle Prep keep Spanaway Lake from making a run before the break.
Best intangibles: Aaron Nettles. The Seattle University signee was all over the floor for Seattle Prep, finishing with 11 points and three steals. The 5-foot-11 senior showed poise and passion in the must-win game to keep his high school career going for at least one more contest.
Best under-the-radar performance: Divante Moffitt. Moffitt is one of several key juniors for a Spanaway Lake team that saw its season end Friday night but should bounce back with another successful run next year. Moffitt scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and added a pair of steals for the Sentinels, who have yet to win a state playoff game in their program’s history.
Best underclassman: Nikola Trifunovic. A sophomore, the 6-foot-2 guard came off the bench and immediately drained a bucket for Seattle Prep. Trifunovic finished with six points and a couple boards while seeing decent minutes in a deep Panthers’ rotation comprised mostly of juniors and seniors.
Best rebounder: Collin Welp. Welp led all rebounders with 12 and got four easy points on putbacks in the contest. Welp was a load down low for Seattle Prep and no one on Spanaway Lake, which doesn’t feature a player over 6-foot-5, was able to slow Welp down.
Best story to watch moving forward: Can Seattle Prep break through in a loaded 3A field? The 3A state tournament is probably going to go through top-ranked Nathan Hale and star Michael Porter Jr. The Panthers finished fourth in Metro, behind Nathan Hale, Garfield and Rainier Beach, but the No. 11 ranking by the RPI seems pretty high. Seattle Prep will have to win a loser-out game in its state opener against No. 6 Timberline and then go on a run if it wants to hoist the trophy.