By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
SEATTLE, Wash. - Fairfax center Renardo Sidney and Franklin guard Peyton Siva were the star attractions of Monday's headliner at the King Holiday Hoopfest on the campus of the University of Washington, but it was Franklin's Sterling Carter who walked off the court to a hero's applause.
Carter, a 6-foot junior guard, put back a game-winning shot attempt by Siva with 1.5 seconds remaining, giving Franklin (Seattle) a 56-55 win over Fairfax (Los Angeles).
"I saw Peyton coming down the court and I just went wide, around the three-point line," Carter said. "I came straight down to the basket when he put it up and I knew there were a couple of seconds left when I caught it, so I just put it back up."
The win gave Franklin (13-2) - No. 2 in MaxPreps' Washington rankings - arguably its biggest out-of-state victory under head coach Jason Kerr.
"We want (to use this game) to get better and build confidence," Kerr said. "We aren't real worried about the national rankings or anything else like that this time of the year. Fairfax is a good team and we want to challenge ourselves against the best."
Just 10 seconds before Carter's shot, it was Fairfax (12-3) sophomore Jordan Weathers that looked like he had propelled his team to a comeback victory. After a wild scramble on the floor, Weathers collected the ball near the hoop and converted an easy chip shot to give Fairfax a 55-54 lead.
Franklin immediately put the ball in play to Siva, who fumbled and tripped his way to halfcourt before throwing up a tightly-contested shot from three-point range. Thankfully for Franklin, who let a pair of games against California teams slip away in late December at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego, Carter came to the Quakers' rescue.
In a game continually interrupted by trips to the free throw line for both teams, a finish this good seemed unlikely.
After a sluggish first quarter, the Quakers sprang to life in the second, beating Fairfax on the boards and getting to loose balls. Franklin outscored the visitors from Los Angeles 21-9 during the period, getting eight points from Siva, and taking a 16-point advantage into halftime.
Sidney, widely regarded as one of the nation's top juniors, was quick to assert himself after the intermission, spurring Fairfax to an 11-0 run to start the half. The 6-foot-10 post had a hand in the Lions' first seven points, hitting a pair of free throws, converting an easy lay-in and kicking out to senior Chris Solomon for a three-point basket.
Fairfax consistently chipped away until the 4:15 mark of the final quarter, finally taking its first lead of the game, 47-45. The Lions took a one-point lead into the final minute of the contest and pulled the ball out to force a Franklin foul, but a Chris Holmes steal and Siva bucket turned the tables.
Sidney, who produced 36 points and 19 rebounds in a big win against rival Westchester Friday, scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down 22 rebounds - including 10 on the offensive end.
Siva led Franklin with 23 points, but shot just 4-of-18 from the field. The cat-quick 6-0 junior connected on 14-of-17 free throw attempts. Freshman Lavell White chipped in 10 for the Quakers while Carter finished with six points and six rebounds, in addition to providing the day's most memorable moment.
The teams combined for 47 free throw attempts, hitting 28.
* No. 9 Kentwood 80, No. 17 Bellarmine Prep 75
Big men Josh Smith and Jeremy Green helped Kentwood hold off Bellarmine Prep's junior guard duo of Abdul Gaddy and Avery Bradley for an 80-75 victory.
The Conquerors (13-3) used the inside combination of 6-9 sophomore Smith and 6-7 senior Green to out-muscle the guard-oriented Lions (15-2). Smith finished with 29 points while Green poured in 27.
"They tried to accelerate the game and make it more of a guard-oriented game," Kentwood head coach Mike Angelidis said. "We tried to take the ball out of their hands as much as possible and make other players makes shots."
Green scored 10 of his 27 in the fourth quarter, including a thundering dunk off a Kentwood steal that stretched the lead to seven with just over three minutes remaining.
"He has been the difference for our team going back to the state tournament last year," Kentwood head coach Mike Angelidis said. "He's blossomed and continued to grow. What a great game for him tonight."
Bellarmine Prep's Gaddy - already committed to Arizona - and Bradley are both regarded as top 100 juniors nationally by CSTV and combined for 56 points against Kentwood.
Bradley scored a game-high 30 points with Gaddy adding 26. At one point in the second half, the duo combined for 19-straight points for Bellarmine Prep, keeping the Lions within striking distance despite the Conqs' overwhelming advantage in the post.
Kentwood's Smith, a top 20 sophomore nationally by CSTV, helped the Conquerors answer each of the Lions' runs with timely put-backs on the offensive end and blocks on the defensive end.
In Other Action.
Boys
O'Dea 65, Lynden 48: Three-time defending 3A state champion O'Dea (10-4) outscored 2A Lynden (8-4) in the second half 32-22 after leading by seven at the intermission. Johri Ferguson, Washington's 3A Player of the Year in football, led the Irish with 23 points.
Bothell 65, Gig Harbor 57: Johnny Hekkar, another football star who quarterbacked Bothell to the 4A title game, scored 18 points while Neddy Dirini added 14 to lead Bothell (8-5) past Gig Harbor (8-9).
Girls
Jackson 65, Kentwood 62: University of Washington-bound Kristi Kingma scored 21 points to help the Timberwolves improve to 13-1 on the season.
Issaquah 62, Garfield 44: Freida Li led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points as the Eagles, ranked No. 5 in 3A by the Seattle Times, dominated the event's opening game.
King Holiday Hoopfest Notebook
Faces in the Crowd: Rick Pitino (Louisville head coach), Lorenzo Romar (Washington head coach), Josh Pastner (Arizona assistant coach), Mike Bush (former Washington State football/basketball standout), Venoy Overton (Washington point guard and former Franklin Quaker).
In Defense of Fairfax: The Lions and Sidney, who have been accused of underachieving this year despite a 12-3 record, didn't do anything to dispel that notion in the first half against Franklin. But Fairfax could be forgiven after a big win Friday night over arch-rival Westchester followed by a long flight to Seattle Sunday. Head coach Harvey Kitani got his Lions turned around in the second half, erasing a big deficit and looking like the team the crowd at Bank of America Arena expected to see. As far as Sidney goes, he doesn't play with the outward emotion that would suggest a fiery competitor, determined to dominate every second he is on the floor, but his 60 points and 41 rebounds over the last two games should be more than enough to show he cares.
Quick Turnaround for Quakers: Franklin head coach Jason Kerr has set up a mini-state tournament scenario to get his Quakers ready for a title run in March. Just a little over 24 hours after their emotional win over Fairfax, the 2006 state champions will take the court again at Seattle rival Roosevelt, currently No. 4 in the MaxPreps' Washington state rankings. Roosevelt is 12-2 with its only losses coming to out-of-state teams in Christian Life (Texas) and Compton (Calif.).
* MaxPreps Washington State Rankings