4A/3A State Tournament Roundup: Day 1 (Pt I)

<p>Day one is officially in the books and the field has been whittled down to eight teams. We had buzzer-beaters, upsets, games that went down to the wire, sky-high dunks, and soul-crushing swats. What more did you expect? The 4A and 3A state tournaments present the best of the best and the opening round of games has hardly disappointed. So, it’s time for a little roundup of all the action. We’ll go over the top game of the day, the biggest upsets, and how we got there. Here we go.</p> <p><strong>Game of the Day</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Olympia vs Mariner</em></strong></p> <p>There were closer games played on day one, but none were as back and forth as the opening game of the 4A tournament. This game set the tone for a physical night of games. Mariner came out of the gates with a high zone that made it difficult for Olympia guards to find lanes inside and stifled the use of <strong>Caden Roth’s</strong> playmaking ability at the high post.</p> <p>The Marauders caused turnovers in bunches and jumped out to an early 8-0 lead spurred by the scoring of [player_tooltip player_id="931309" first="Tijan" last="Saine"]. Olympia remained composed and battled back behind some bruising glasswork from [player_tooltip player_id="1270674" first="Andreas" last="Engholm"] as he owned the paint, leading the Bears on their own 9-0 run.</p> <p>Mariner stalled in the second quarter, failing to score until almost six minutes had passed. Olympia capitalized on the lull, and a trey ball from [player_tooltip player_id="1217797" first="Parker" last="Gerrits"] at the buzzer gave them a nine-point lead heading into the half. The second half was a back-and-forth scrum that seemed to tilt towards Mariner when Gerrits picked up his fourth foul with 0.3 seconds left in the third, sending <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="931308" first="Naser" last="Motley"]</strong> to the line where he nailed 2-of-3.</p> <p>With Gerrits in trouble, the Bears fed Engholm and it became a battle of the bigs. Mariner’s [player_tooltip player_id="929620" first="Dakota" last="Joseph"] came out of the half with a killer’s mindset, and the two big men left it all on the floor. What proved to be the difference was junior guard, <strong>Mason Juergens</strong>. Gerrits fouled out with 4:03 left in the game and Juergens took over as point. He put up 8 points in the final quarter including two huge trips to the line where he nailed a pair of one and ones. </p> <p>It was hard to see a loser go home, but both teams left it all on the court. This was an easy choice for game of the day.</p> <p><strong>Upset of the Day</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Eastside Catholic over O’Dea and Graham Kapowsin over Davis</em></strong></p> <p>These were two mammoth upsets if you look at the seeding, but not so big if you’ve been watching either Eastside Catholic or Graham Kapowsin lately. Both teams have been surging at the right time and look like they have no intention of stopping. The boys from the Eastside never looked like an underdog against the 3A three seed, the O’Dea Fighting Irish.</p> <p>The Crusaders lived up to the name, going to work inside the paint and snatching up second chance opportunities that loomed large in a defensive struggle. Led by [player_tooltip player_id="929625" first="Louis" last="Grante-Halliday"],<strong> Jacob Cofie</strong>, and [player_tooltip player_id="1177126" first="Bennett" last="Olujic"], the Crusaders stormed the paint and owned the boards. [player_tooltip player_id="929618" first="Mo" last="Jackson"] and <strong>Kayden Lamebull-Ingrahm</strong> provided enough sharpshooting outside to keep the attack balanced and pull away from a veteran O’Dea team. Next up is another Metro league matchup for Eastside Catholic. They start Day 2 off against Seattle Prep at 9:00 am.</p> <p>The next upset has more of a fairy tale feel to it than Eastside Catholic’s run. Eastside Catholic was a team pinpointed before the year that had major talent, and now that talent is combining with hard work and lifting them closer to the top. Graham Kapowsin began the season coming off of a miraculous win for the football team, and moderate expectations in hoops. But senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1120390" first="Joshua" last="Wood"] clearly isn’t ready for the dream to end. His Graham Kapowsin Eagles scraped through the regular season, doing just enough to keep their heads above water. Now that they’re here, they aren’t taking it for granted.</p> <p>Aside from a 10-0 run from the Davis Pirates in the first quarter, Graham Kapowsin was able to control the entirety of the game, against a Davis team that had lost only two games prior on the year. Wood made play after play and exhibited great leadership and vision, getting his teammates set up for success.</p> <p>Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="1270690" first="Elijah" last="Cain"] came up big, pulling numerous tricks out of his bag and making Houdini finishes at the rack on his way to a team high 19 points. Sophomore <strong>Isaiah Norris</strong> was lights out from long range and put up 17 points. The Graham Kapowsin defense stole the show, shutting down Davis star <strong>Dhantaye Bennett-Joe</strong> (5 points), and creating tons of run outs leading to easy points. The Eagles face a tough next act, squaring off with the undefeated Mt Si Wildcats, Friday at 5:30 pm.</p>