By Nathan Joyce
MaxPreps.com
The last time these two teams met, it was for a highly-anticipated matchup of state powers.
That game, last year's Class 3A state title game, was won handily by the O'Dea Fighting Irish, avenging three losses to the Bainbridge Spartans in regular-season play.
They met again for the first time since that game Friday night in Metro League play.
"Redemption," said Bainbridge point guard Nick Fling, who scored a game-high 18 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. "We needed to win this game after the state tournament last year."
It showed in the game's opening minutes as Bainbridge jumped to an 8-0 lead. O'Dea, which had won seven straight, had four turnovers in its first five possessions.
O'Dea never found its way back in the game, and any hope the Irish had was crushed in the third quarter. They scored just four points on 1 of 8 shooting and had five turnovers. O'Dea never found its stroke, hitting only 3 of 18 from 3-point range (17 percent) and 17 of 53 overall (32 percent). Bainbridge was 21-41 (51 percent) from the field.
"They appeared to be hungrier than we were and they outplayed us," O'Dea coach Phil Lumpkin said.
Until recently, the Spartans didn't look like a team that advanced to the 3A state title finals last year, won league and district titles and spent time as the top-ranked team in the state.
Granted, the Spartans lost several key pieces (including state player of the year Steven Gray, who is at Gonzaga) from that squad, but they never imaged they would get off to a 3-6 start.
"I think the first thing was we were humbled and we were grounded with our start," said Bainbridge coach Scott Orness, whose team won its fourth straight. "I think that made them dig a little deeper inside."
"This game really marks us meshing together," said Bainbridge guard Caleb Davis, who scored 13 points, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-pointrange. "The games before we sort of second guessed ourselves about what we're supposed to be doing, what roles we were supposed to be doing."
And despite the rough start to the season, the Spartans (7-6, 5-3) are in a pretty good place. They are just a game behind Seattle Prep (9-3, 6-2) and O'Dea (8-3, 6-2) in the Mountain Division. And if somebody had told Orness before the season that in the middle of January his team would be in that position, he wouldn't have argued.
"Definitely," Orness said. "I think we can look back and say that this (win) was the thing that really spring-boarded us forward"
Boys Basketball: Harvey Pours in 54 Points
Stuart Harvey, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, scored 54 points and grabbed nine rebounds but his Shorewood team lost to Jackson 95-93 in double overtime. The 54 points are believed to be a WesCo record.
Harvey, who didn't hit one 3-pointer, was 23 of 32 from the field.
"He just was going at the basket, just kept attacking," Shorewood coach Shawn Hall told the Seattle Times. "It was not a forced 54. Nothing they did could slow him down."
Harvey is an interesting player as he didn't play as junior, and jumps at the tip-off at just 5-10.
The 54 points is the second-highest total in the state this season. Gig Harbor's Mathias Ward scored 56 on Jan. 4.
ALSO: No. 8 Mount Rainier upset previously unbeaten and third-ranked Renton 61-58. The Rams hit 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter, including six points in the final minute, to rally for the win.
Girls Basketball: Coach Apologizes for Blowout
Kennedy coach Tom Mummert was reprimanded by the Seamount League and he apologized after his team beat Evergreen 112-16.
"That won't ever happen again," Mummert told the Seattle Times.
Mummert is in his first season as head coach after 11 as an assistant at the Burien private school.
Mummert told the Times his starters and key substitutes played longer than they usually would have in a mismatch because he wanted to sharpen them for a big game against Mount Rainier.
ALSO: No. 2 Auburn-Riverside, the defending Class 3A champs, beat sixth-ranked Auburn 94-46 behind 32 points from star Katie Grad (a Washington State commit). . Shauneice Samms had 39 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks as Mount Tahoma crushed Foss 94-64.
