High school basketball: Auburn upsets unbeaten No. 14 Garfield 64-60 in Washington Class 3A state tournament

In the most highly-anticipated game of the season in Washington, Auburn knocked off No. 14 Garfield (Seattle) 64-60 in overtime to advance to the Class 3A state semifinals.

It was the rematch that everyone wanted to see after Garfield (23-1) won the previous meeting 62-53 back on Dec. 23, but few expected it to come in the state quarterfinals.

Auburn took advantage of missed free throws on the front-end of three consecutive one-and-ones to hand Garfield its first loss of the season.

Unsung hero Tyrell Nichols entered the game for the first time midway through the overtime session after teammates Tre Blassingame and Kaden Hansen fouled out.

Following a missed free throw on the other end, the 6-foot-2 junior made an immediate impact, knocking down 1 of 2 at the line to cut the Auburn deficit to 58-57. After another pair of missed free throws from the Bulldogs, Nichols calmly pump-faked his defender and knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer to give Auburn a 60-58 advantage with 45 seconds remaining.

Dae'kwon Watson, who finished with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, played a crucial role down the stretch by knocking down four consecutive free throws and taking the game-winning charge on a driving Raphiel Justice with 3.4 seconds remaining.

Blassingame also played a pivotal role in the win, knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation to send things into overtime tied at 53-53.

The Trojans jumped out to an early double-digit lead and were up 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, but fell behind 28-26 at halftime and trailed 42-36 entering the fourth quarter.

Auburn (25-2) faces Seattle Prep (Seattle) in tomorrow's WIAA Class 3A state semifinal showdown. Garfield faces Eastside Catholic (Sammamish) in the consolation bracket.