No. 4 Rainier Beach boys turn up intensity, holds off No. 6 Gig Harbor in WIAA Class 3A quarterfinals

The Vikings, eight-time state champs under coach Mike Bethea, show they are a sure bet in March — no matter what.

TACOMA, Wash. — Momentum seemed to be on the side of the Gig Harbor boys basketball team entering the fourth quarter of Thursday’s 3A state quarterfinal matchup against Rainier Beach.

But the fourth-seeded Vikings have danced the state tournament dance a time or two in the past.

The Vikings have appeared in the 3A state tournament 24 times in the past, winning nine times (eight under current head coach Mike Bethea). After hanging on for a 65-60 win over the Tides, the Vikings are very much alive for championship number 10.

“We got up early, and then we kind of like shifted to cruise-control,” Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea said. “It was kind of a wake-up call. I pulled them aside in a timeout and I just told them, ‘Look, you guys want to play in the final four? Or do you want to be where we’re playing a one-and-done. It’s that simple.’ I said, ‘We played all year for this? For this kind of effort.’ Because we weren’t giving the effort, that’s all it was.”

(Class 3A WIAA boys Hardwood Classic 2022: Quarterfinal live updates, highlights, photos, top performances, stats leaders)

The Vikings (19-4) built a nine-point lead late in the first quarter and they extended that lead to as many as 12 in the second quarter. In danger of letting the game slip away, the Tides responded by closing out the half on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to three at 35-32 at halftime. They were able to ride that momentum into the second half, controlling the third quarter. Gig Harbor took its first lead with 7:03 to play in the third when senior Asher Raquiza banked in a 3-pointer. The Tides never trailed again in the period, taking a two-point lead into the final quarter.

Gig Harbor led the Vikings 52-49 with 6:49 to play but were outscored 13-8 the rest of the way.

“They definitely ratcheted up the pressure,” Landram said. “We had a tough time getting into sets, for sure.”

The Tides lived and died by the 3-pointer throughout the game. It helped them erase the deficit and take the lead. It also sealed their fate in the final few minutes when the shots no longer fell.

“We had a couple of shots with some of our better shooters that I would take every time, but they didn’t go in,” Gig Harbor head coach Billy Landram said. “We’re big on ball movement and trying to hit open shots when we have them. That’s our game.”

Leading the charge from the Tides from long-range, was junior Luke Browne. Browne finished with 18 points and was 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, but all three of his makes came in the first half.

“He’s a really good player,” Landram said of Browne. “He averages 20 (points) per game for a reason. We try to run stuff to him and for him because the more he shoots usually the better it works out for us.”

Gig Harbor junior Will Landram scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead all scorers.

The Vikings were balanced offensively. Junior Nahmier Robinson and senior Jaelin Green each had 15 points to lead the way. Senior Josh Conerly Jr. and junior Myles Daymon each added 11. Conerly Jr. also had 10 rebounds.

The Vikings will play the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal against No. 7 Mt. Spokane at 5:30 p.m. on Friday for a spot in Saturday’s championship game. Gig Harbor will play the loser of that game at 10:30 a.m. on Friday for a spot in the fourth-sixth place game on Saturday.

---Aaron Lommers; @aaronlommers.

Photo by Vince Miller

Photo by Vince Miller

Photo by Vince Miller

(All photos by Vince Miller)