Eastside Catholic guard livin' 'The Dream' with last-second game-winner against Richland, 3 takeaways

Kayden Greene's 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds to go lifts the top-ranked Crusaders (3A) past Richland, 64-63, at the MLK 'The Dream' Showcase

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Jacob Cofie, a University of Virginia signee, ran interference when time was ticking down on his team, Eastside Catholic, the top-ranked team in Class 3A.

That allowed senior teammate Kayden Greene to steal a little limelight.

Greene knocked down what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left as the Crusaders rallied for a gritty 64-63 victory over Richland, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, on Monday at the MLK “The Dream” Showcase at Federal Way High School.

On the final possession for Eastside Catholic (13-1), Cofie dribbled out top and when the defense went with him, Cofie found an open Greene, who finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers, all in the second half.

“Originally, I was supposed to be in the corner and Jacob said, ‘No, I want my shooter coming off of it, setting [the screen] and popping,” said Greene, who dribbled, side-stepped a defender and sank the game-winning trey after the catch from Cofie. “That’s what we did and I knocked it down.”

Eastside Catholic made six 3-pointers to rally from a nine-point first-half deficit and a six-point third-quarter hole. Cofie led the Crusaders with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Richland (8-3) was led by the 24 points of Landen Northrop, who drilled five 3-pointers. Jack Forbes and Josh Woodard added 12 points apiece.

The Bombers called timeout with 4.2 seconds to go and had two chances to get off a game-winning shot, but failed to do so with inbounds passes that were deflected by the Crusaders.

Here are three takeaways from the Eastside Catholic-Richland game:

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CRUSADERS MADE SECOND-HALF STRIDES

Eastside Catholic trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but found another gear at both ends of the floor.

Suddenly, all the first-half looks Richland was draining were pressured enough that it changed the shooting percentages in the second half. Add in that Eastside Catholic sank six 3-pointers in the second half and that was key to the momentum shift.

“We just had to lock down our guys and we all had a matchup,” Greene said. “We all had to execute and when we executed ,the result showed.”

Trailing 54-48 late in the third quarter, the Crusaders came out firing in the fourth.

A 3-pointer from Greene triggered the game-turning run and Kevelle Parkman made two more 3s to turn a six-point deficit into a 59-54 lead with 6:13 remaining.

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DON'T SLEEP ON RICHLAND

With the rim protection of 6-foot-10 Luke Westerfield inside and wealth of 3-point shooters, it appears Richland should the right kind of balance to reach state again.

The Bombers can make 3s in waves and are going to give their opponents fits defensively.

Richland, which has been a fixture at state with 45 state appearances overall, sank seven 3-pointers, including four before halftime.

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LEARNING LESSON COULD PAY OFF BIG FOR EASTSIDE CATHOLIC

Against a quality Richland team that led most of the game, Eastside Catholic proved it can adapt and adjust on the fly.

“This game was really important [for March],” said Greene, whose team was sixth at 3A state last season and looks poised to make another state run. “We were down most of the game, and we showed that we kept fighting, battling and not giving up. First half was kind of rocky and we just talked about guarding our guy and doing our thing. Every guy on the bench, every team on the team can play. So, you think you can guard one, someone else will step in and you’ve got to figure out how to stop it.

“We got guys all around, all sorts of weapons.”

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