High-school basketball: West Seattle HS over Chief Sealth in overtime thriller

(New WSHS head coach Keffrey Fazio with his players; photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
A home-court win tonight for the West Seattle High School boys-varsity basketball team against visiting-from-across-town Chief Sealth International High School.

(Sealth’s Trevor Reed, left, and Aaron Knox double-team West Seattle’s Jimi Martin III)
It was closer than the final score suggests – after a 47-47 tie in regulation, the Wildcats won 58-51 in overtime. Game details coming up later; the two schools’ girls-varsity teams face off tomorrow night.

ADDED 1:21 AM: Game details and more photos:

(Siddique Newkirk takes to the court)
West Seattle did everything you would want a home team to do in a big game against a crosstown rival.

(Jimi Ylagan of WSHS reaching for the rebound)
They came from behind, erasing what was a double-digit deficit, kept the other team from scoring, and forced the game into an overtime they dominated.

Both teams began the night trying to play their game at high speed while failing to control the ball. Sealth’s early success came from playing a very defensive game:

That’s Sealth’s Trevor Reed with the rebound. But as the night progressed, the Seahawks had trouble shooting the ball. The last 1:47 of regulation saw the Seahawks struggle, which led to the 47-all tie when the clock ran out.

The Wildcats’ second-half comeback was engineered by senior LaTrey Newsome:

Newsome ended the game with 21 points. For most of the second half the game seemed to be a one-on-one duel between Newsome and Sealth’s Vidal Griffin II, who also ended the night with 21 points. Sealth’s Bronté Corbray was a top scorer too, with 18:

In the overtime period, the Wildcats’ Newsome and Raphael Jackson, who had 5 points in OT, dominated, to finish out the game.

This was Coach Fazio’s third official game as the Wildcats’ head coach after Donald Watts stepped down from the job last week.

Despite the win, Fazio told WSB, “We’re still getting some bugs out” of the newer things he’s trying with the team. The Wildcats and Seahawks boys-varsity teams are scheduled to face off one more time this season, January 22nd at Sealth; the WSHS and Seahawks girls play tonight (Wednesday), 7:30 pm at West Seattle HS.

2 Replies to "High-school basketball: West Seattle HS over Chief Sealth in overtime thriller"

  • Tim McMonigle December 18, 2012 (10:55 pm)

    Don’t forget that the WSHS boys JV also went into overtime against Sealth, and WSHS won by one point. Both of them great games!

  • Cami December 19, 2012 (6:48 am)

    Yes, Tim! Nice of you to point that out and nice to see you last night!

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