Things have come full circle for Mike Bethea of
Rainier Beach (Seattle). The longtime head coach won his first state title with the Vikings in 1998 behind the play of then-junior Jamal Crawford.
Saturday, Bethea won his 10th with Crawford on the bench serving as an assistant and freshman son
J.J. Crawford leading the team in scoring in the state championship game.
Crawford had a game-high 20 points while the country's top prospect
Tyran Stokes added 16 to help the Vikings beat
Lincoln (Tacoma) 75-53 to capture Washington's Class 3A state championship at the Tacoma Dome.
Tyran Stokes scored 16 points to help Rainier Beach to its second straight WIAA state championship and 11th overall Saturday against Lincoln. (PHOTO: Jason Wang)
Stokes capped a highly-productive campaign at Rainier Beach with seven rebounds and five assists to go along with his point total in the final, helping the Vikings secure their second straight state title.
Ranked No. 15 nationally by MaxPreps, Rainier Beach (29-1) led 18-3 after one despite Stokes sitting at the 3:10 mark after picking up three fouls. The Vikings didn't allow a first-quarter field goal until under a minute to play. Crawford had 10 first-half points as the Vikings led 38-8 by the intermission.
Freshman J.J. Crawford cuts down the nets at the Tacoma Center after leading Rainier Beach with 20 points against Lincoln in the Washington 3A state championship Saturday. (PHOTO: Jason Wang)
Lincoln outscored Rainier Beach 25-16 in the third quarter behind 11 points from
Davion Shareef-Dulanaey, who finished with a team-high 18.
But the Vikings held firm in the fourth as Stokes had seven points in the final period to close out his illustrious high school career.
Micah Ili-Meneese added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings.
Rainier Beach, which also won a state title pre-Bethea in 1988, finished the season on a 24-game win streak.
