Basketball roundup: Eastside Catholic takes down defending state champs Garfield

Eastside Catholic High School

Boys (2-0): 

Eastside Catholic 68, Garfield 64 (April 30)

In this rematch of last year’s 3A state semi-final game, Eastside Catholic ultimately secured a close win against defending state champion Garfield. The Crusaders started their away game strong, scoring 21 points under Jaylahn Tuimoloau’s lead. By halftime, however, they were trailing by 9 points, but quickly came back and evened the score during the first two minutes of the third quarter. The game continued unpredictably back and forth, with several lead changes. Late in the game, senior shooting guard Tate Cerino nailed two big threes off the bench with assists from Shane Nowell. Freshman post Jacob Cofie contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for his second double-double in a row. Sophomore point guard Kayden Lamebull-Ingram played for the majority of the game and helped run the offense.

Girls (1-1):

Eastside Catholic 56, Garfield 62 (April 30)

Next up, the Lady Crusaders take on Franklin at home on Friday, May 7, at 5:45 p.m.

Eastlake High School

Boys (6-0):

Eastlake 66, Juanita 41 (April 30)

The Wolves entered the night still undefeated, ready to take on the Juanita Ravens and spoil their Senior Night. Once again, the defense set the tone early, as they helped the Ravens to just 7 points in the first quarter, while staying true to the team’s mantra⁠—Defend, Rebound, Run⁠—to take a 20-7 lead. The Wolves held Juanita’s leading scorer to just 6 points in the first half, with Cooper Brown taking defensive accountability. The Wolves maintain their lead through the first 3 quarters and came out with an added level of energy in the fourth quarter. Dealing with injuries to starters Jackson Edward and Luke Wiljanen, it was a team effort getting contributions from Bryce Johnson, Ataberk Yildiz and Zach Zimney coming off the bench by committee. Eastlake outscored Juanita 16-9 in the fourth quarter. Cooper Brown finished with 12 points and Owen Kinzer came away with 12 points and 4 assists. Jackson Edward, who was injured in the third quarter, still managed to bag 15 points, and Will Woodward got another game high of 16 points and 7 rebounds. After running through home-and-home games with all the teams within the district, Eastlake clinched the district title with two more games to go in the season.

Girls (5-1):

Eastlake 61, Juanita 43 (April 30)

On Friday night, the Lady Wolves had their second game in a week against the Juanita Ravens. The Wolves struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. However, they were able to manage a 7-point lead going into halftime thanks to some sharp shooting by Mckayla Matsuoka. After the break, Eastlake came out in a high-intensity, full-court press to create a strong offense. The Wolves were able to find their groove and put up 21 points in the third quarter while holding Juanita to only 10, and the Wolves never looked back. Ava Schmidt led the way with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Junior guard Mckayla Matsuoka added 14 points while shooting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Fellow classmate Hallie Sehlin had a career high of 12 points. Seniors Emily Holsan and Kaitlyn O’Brien rounded out the scoring with 8 points apiece. Holsan ripped down 5 rebounds and got 6 deflections while O’Brien added 4 rebounds and delivered 6 assists on the night. Joy Haltom from Juanita led all scorers with 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Eastlake girls travel to Redmond on Monday, May 3, with tip off at 7:15 p.m. They will take on Lake Washington at home Tuesday, May 4 at 7:15 p.m. for their last game of the season.

Skyline High School

Boys (4-1):

Skyline 61, Liberty 54 (April 28)

Skyline took the lead in the first quarter and held a narrow margin throughout, withstanding several runs by the hosting Patriots. Senior Kauner Przybylski contributed 25 points to the cause. Senior Kyle Shim chipped in 9 points and nine Spartans scored in the contest.

Skyline 58, Mount Si 57 (April 30)

Trailing for most of the contest, Skyline took a 1-point lead on a backdoor feed to Senior Tyler Halter from sophomore Dylan Reilly, and never relinquished that lead. Kauner Przybylsk, a senior, dropped 22 points and Halter added 14⁠—ten in the final quarter⁠—to lead Skyline over the host team and defending state champion Mount Si. Kyle Shim added 7 points for the Spartans, who swept the home-and-home series with the Wildcats with the margin in both contests being 1 point. The Spartans face Issaquah at home on Monday, May 3 and Hazen at home on Tuesday, May 4 to wrap up the abbreviated season.  

Girls (3-2):

Skyline 23, Issaquah 52 (April 28)

Skyline 50, Liberty 46 (May 1)

The next game is Wednesday, May 5 at Hazen at 7:30 p.m.

Gordon Kaplan, James MacIntyre, Megan Novak contributed to this report.