Washington (WIAA) high school 3A boys basketball state playoffs: Live updates, scores, top performers, bracket updates

Follow SBLive's live updates from the first day of the 3A boys basketball state tournament at the Tacoma Dome

The WIAA Class 3A boys championships began Wednesday at 9 a.m. with first-round loser-out games in the Tacoma Dome.

WIAA BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES | WIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES

Winners move to the state quarterfinals Thursday to meet teams that had a first-round bye.

Follow all of the action right here with live scores, game updates, highlights and much more. You can also watch the games live on the NFHS Network.

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CLASS 3A BOYS SCHEDULE (Bracket)

G1: No. 11 Arlington (19-6) vs. No. 3 Garfield (15-6), 9 a.m. (Winner plays No. 4 O'Dea (18-9) at 9 a.m. Thursday)

G2: No. 10 Rainier Beach (14-10) vs. No. 7 North Thurston (20-5), 10:30 a.m. (Winner plays No. 8 North Central (19-5) at 10:30 a.m. Thursday)

G3: No. 13 Todd Beamer (19-4) vs. No. 5 Mountlake Terrace (21-3), 12:15 p.m. (Winner plays No. 6 Mount Spokane (20-4) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday)

G4: No. 17 Lincoln of Tacoma (20-5) vs. No. 1 Auburn (24-2), 2 p.m. (Winner plays No. 2 Eastside Catholic (20-6) at 2 p.m. Thursday)

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CLASS 3A BOYS TOP PERFORMERS

Ray Adams, North Thurston

16 points, seven rebounds, five blocks

Jamari Harris, Garfield

13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals

Zaveon Jones, Mountlake Terrace

14 points, nine rebounds

Leyton Martin, Arlington

24 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists

Jaylen Petty, Auburn

16 points, four rebounds, three blocks

Nyale Robinson, Rainier Beach

18 points, four rebounds, three assists

LaVhanta Sandling-Green, Lincoln of Tacoma

15 points, five rebounds, four assists

Legend Smiley, Garfield

18 points, seven rebounds, three steals

Will Tellis, Todd Beamer

19 points, four rebounds

Luvens Valcin, Auburn

14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists

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CLASS 3A BOYS SUMMARIES (Bracket)

Final (OT): No. 3 Garfield 60, No. 11 Arlington 58

How about an overtime thriller to open this season’s state tournament at the Tacoma Dome?

That’s what happened Wednesday morning. Garfield, the defending 3A champion, and Arlington tipped off at 9 a.m. in a first-round, loser-out game, and it wasn’t until just before 10:30 the Bulldogs secured a return trip to the quarterfinals.

“We had to lock in as a unit,” said Garfield guard Legend Smiley, who is the reigning tournament MVP. “We had a lead early, the first, second half. They cut into it. I give props to them. They came out ready to take us off, first round, 9 a.m.

“So, we had to come back as a team, a unit, lock in as one and get the job done.”

Garfield led by as many as 15 twice in the first half before Arlington closed the second quarter on a 10-4 run to cut the lead back to single digits at 29-20.

The Eagles took their first lead of the contest with 3:41 to go in the third on a 3-pointer from Jacoby Falor, and led much of the fourth until Ajayi Simmons’ rebound and putback layup gave the Bulldogs the lead back with 1:16 to go.

Two free throws on the next possession from Ishe Kanhukamwe gave Garfield a 61-48 advantage with 25.4 seconds left, but Jake Willis knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to second the game to overtime.

The teams traded baskets early before Marcel Jones made what turned out to be the game-winner on a spinning layup with 43 seconds to play.

Garfield’s defense held on Arlington’s final possession to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals, where the Bulldogs meet 3A Metro League rival O’Dea for a fourth time this winter. O’Dea is 2-1 against Garfield in the season series so far.

“I feel like we got all our jitters out,” Smiley said. “ … I feel like O’Dea tomorrow 9 a.m. we’re going to be ready.”

Smiley scored a team-high 18 points for Garfield, while Jones and Jamari Harris each had 13. Harris also had 10 rebounds.

Leyton Martin paced Arlington with a game-high 24 points and added 11 rebounds and seven assists. Falor added 13 points and Jackson Trotter had 12.

Up next: Garfield (16-6) vs. No. 4 O’Dea (18-9) at 9 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

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Final: No. 10 Rainier Beach 66, No. 7 North Thurston 45

Moments after their double-digit, first-round victory early Wednesday afternoon, the Vikings rushed to the printed bracket pinned to the stands, and cheered as they moved Rainier Beach over to the quarterfinals.

“It’s been a long season,” Vikings guard Kaden Powers said. “Ups and downs. So, that just meant a lot. Especially moving on to the next round, it means a lot.”

What was a close, single-digit contest early — Rainier Beach took a 24-17 lead into halftime, and led 40-33 at the end of the third — turned into an eventual 21-point win for the Vikings.

Rainier Beach outscored the Rams, 26-12, in the final quarter to run away with the victory.

“On offense it was running kind of slow the first half, so execute on offense,” Powers said of what keyed the second-half run.

Nyale Robinson had a game-high 18 points — including four 3-pointers — for the Vikings. Powers added 17, including nine during the fourth-quarter run. Maceo Rivers had 11, and Jeremiah White added 10.

Ray Adams paced North Thurston with 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, while Micah Gentry had 12 points.

Up next: Rainier Beach (15-10) vs. No. 8 North Central (19-5) at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals. 

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Final: No. 5 Mountlake Terrace 69, No. 13 Todd Beamer 59

Mountlake Terrace led most of the way — and often by double digits — but needed a 15-6 run over the final 3:09 on Wednesday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals.

“We fought back, we came out fighting and then we got the W,” forward Zaveon Jones said.

After the Hawks built a 34-19 lead at the break, and led by as many as 18 early in the second half, the Titans posted a 24-point third to cut the lead to two heading into the final quarter.

They eventually took the lead at 46-45 on a Dominic Simpson free throw with 7:46 to go, and pushed it to three points moments later on a Will Tellis basket, but Mountlake Terrace rallied after that.

Jones gave the Hawks what turned out to be the game’s final lead with 5:41 to go, and was 8-of-8 from the free throw line during Mountlake Terrace’s decisive fourth-quarter run.

“I think it just took us just taking care of the ball and just closing out on their shooters, because they came down and they just hit a bunch of 3’s,” Jones said. “A lot of fouls, so just taking away our fouls, taking care of the ball and just playing defense.”

Rayshaun Connor scored a team-high 16 points for Mountlake Terrace. Jones had 14 points — including going 10-of-11 from the free throw line, and 6-of-6 in the final 25 seconds — and nine rebounds. Jaxon Dubiel added 13 points.

Will Tellis scored a game-high 19 points for the Titans, while Caleb Berry had 15 and Terrence Whiting added 14.

Up next: Mountlake Terrace (22-3) vs. No. Mount Spokane (20-4) at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

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Final: No. 17 Lincoln of Tacoma 60, No. 1 Auburn 56

Playing in the Tacoma Dome for the first time since 2020, the Abes were minutes away from a first-round exit late Wednesday afternoon.

They trailed by double digits in the fourth, with the Trojans leading by as many as 14 in the early moments of the final quarter.

Then, they put together a 24-6 run over the final seven minutes to shock top-seeded Auburn and reach the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2018 season.

“We talk about in practice that you just have to start building stops and then start executing on offense,” Abes coach Ryan Rogers said. “So, a stop a score, a stop a score, a stop a score. So, instead of just trying to get them all back at once, it’s just one possession at a time.

“And once we started doing that, the dominos just started falling and kids just started believing more and more and more.”

Senior guard LaVhanta Sandling-Green hit what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer with 56 seconds to play, giving Lincoln a 57-56 lead.

“It started on defense, really,” Sandling-Green said of the Abes’ late rally. “At Lincoln, we praise defense, and defense had our back in that last quarter. It opened (up) for us for shots to get through.”

Auburn turned the ball over on the next possession, and on the ensuing in-bounds pass, Lincoln freshman Oshea Lamar got loose behind the Trojans’ defense for a quick layup with 18 seconds left to push the lead to 59-56.

After an Auburn miss and foul, Lamar hit the first of two free throws to extend the lead to four with 6.8 to go, and Lincoln celebrated at midcourt moments later.

“I just wanted to make one so they couldn’t hit a three and tie,” Lamar said. “I really wanted to win.”

Omarion Boston led all scorers with 21 points for Lincoln, while Sandling-Green had 15 and Dairius Dillard had 12 and eight rebounds.

Jaylen Petty paced Auburn with 16 points, while Luvens Valcin had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Carter Hansen added 12 points.

Up next: Lincoln (21-5) vs. No. 2 Eastside Catholic (20-6) at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.