By Nathan Joyce
MaxPreps.com
In a weekend of big basketball games, none was bigger than Monday's matchup between the Franklin Quakers and Bainbridge Spartans.
Franklin (9-2) is the No. 1 team in the 4A classification and the defending state champ. Bainbridge is ranked No. 2 in the 3A classification and entered the game undefeated.
Bainbridge (9-1) looked as if it would remain that way for much of the game, but Franklin took the lead for good with just under four minutes to play and held on for a 73-64 win at the King Holiday Hoopfest on the University of Washington campus. The Hoopfest was one of two showcase high school sports events over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
"They raised their level of intensity and we didn't match it at the end, especially on the offensive glass," Bainbridge coach Scott Orness said. "That's why that team is the defending state champs."
The game was also matchup of two of the top guards in the state.
Franklin has USC-bound Venoy Overton, who scored 24 points despite hitting 2 of 9 3-point attempts.
"It was a big stage, against a big-time opponent, and he just let the game come to him," Franklin coach Jason Kerr said. "He never once looked like he was forcing anything or showing any panic when they got up nine ... It's what we've been working toward, to get the whole package, for him to be the leader at the end of the game."
Bainbridge has Gonzaga-bound Steven Gray, who had 21 points but hit only 8 of 24 shots.
Bainbridge had a size advantage in the game, and nobody on Franklin's squad could match up with 6-foot-9 forward Coby Gibler, who had 19 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.
"He's a load," Franklin coach Jason Kerr said. "He was actually dominating us in the first half. We were able to limit him a little more in the second half."
Among the other games at Monday's Hoopfest:
King's (10-1) used an 11-0 run to open the second half as the Class 1A school upset the Class 4A's sixth-ranked team, Kentridge, 45-40.
No. 3 O'Dea, which has made it to three-straight Class 3A state title games, handled Lynden, 53-31. It was a rematch of last year's state semifinal game. Lynden has since dropped to 2A and is a favorite to win add a state basketball title to the state football title in won in December.
Also, Kentwood beat Garfield, 65-54, and Curtis beat Bothell, 69-46.
In the girls games, Gonzaga-bound Courtney Vandersloot scored 22 as No. 2 Kentwood showed they are state title contenders by crushing Garfield 71-38. Garfield has lost three straight, all to ranked teams. Mackenzie Argens, playing on the same court she'll play in college, had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Roosevelt (No. 4 in the 4A) beat Bainbridge (No. 8 in the 3A) 49-42.
MLK Classic: Mount Tahoma Earns Respect
The Mount Tahoma Thunderbirds girls basketball team have been crushing opponents this entire season, but are still earning the respect of the state.
Saturday helped that cause.
Mount Tahoma, which finished fifth at the Class 4A state tournament last year, beat Garfield, 67-60, at the King Classic at Key Arena.
"I think we'll use this as an inspiration and keep playing hard," junior forward Shauneice Samms told the Seattle Times. She led Mount Tahoma with 17 points and 20 rebounds. "We proved ourselves, but we know we can play better."
In the other girls games, Seattle Prep beat Holy Names 63-52 in a Metro League showdown, and Class 1A King's beat Class 4A Foss 59-42.
In the boys games, Mount Rainier beat Garfield 62-56. Bellevue Christian handled King's, 47-41. Federal Way beat Renton, 65-34, and Lynden beat Foss, 54-41. And in a matchup of the top two teams from Kitsap County, Bainbridge edged South Kitsap, 57-49.
