(UPDATED SATURDAY NIGHT with playoff info)

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

Unlike the girls’ game that preceded it, last night’s Chief Sealth @ West Seattle boys-varsity game was relatively suspenseful – though the Wildcats won, 58-52, there were longer stretches in which you felt it could have gone either way. And the fans that filled both sides of the gym seemed to be hanging on every play like a dunking player who won’t let go of the rim.

Sealth #14 Sadique Calloway led scoring with 18 points. He and his teammates roared out to a 6-0 lead before West Seattle got on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter.

Despite a flurry of three-pointers, the first quarter ended with the relatively low score of 13-10, in the Seahawks’ favor. They kept the edge well into the second quarter, until an intense round of turnovers ended with a basket by #23 Anthony Giomi, who was West Seattle’s top scorer with 15.

Next for WSHS with 13 points was #1 Marcus Collins, followed by #5 Abdullahi Mohamed with 11, same tally as Sealth #22 Elijah Jackson. The Wildcats tied the Seahawks at 23-all with less than two minutes to go in the half – and the scoreboard went dark for a long moment. Shortly after it came back, West Seattle took the lead, and took it into the locker room at halftime, 26-24.

WSHS head coach Keffrey Fazio‘s team held the lead most of the way from there, though CSIHS head coach Colin Slingsby and team never let them run away with it. The Seahawks kept aggressively angling for steals and achieved some. The third quarter wrapped with WSHS ahead 42-36.

Then it was time to settle things. Here’s a short clip of fourth-quarter action:

The fans stayed dug into the action, as Sealth kept trying to knock away at West Seattle’s lead, which was up to 8 with less than a minute and a half left, and starting to look permanent. But it got a little closer in the final minute, and Sealth seemed to have an outside chance – until the unavoidable fouling to pry away the ball resulted in foul shots and added points. And the buzzer sounded with WSHS six points ahead.

Senior Night acknowledgments preceded the boys-varsity game:

The varsity team is losing six seniors – #2 Elijah Nnanabu, #3 Kendall Green,, #11 Jackson Golgart, #15 Cass Elliott, #23 Anthony Giomi, and #24 Simon Harris. But first, the postseason awaits, and as with the girls, the boys will find out soon what’s next.

ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: According to the Metro League website, the WSHS boys are scheduled to play O’Dea at 7 pm Monday (February 5th) at that school’s First Hill campus (802 Terry Ave.; map).

(UPDATED SATURDAY NIGHT with playoff info)

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

The high-school basketball regular season closed in raucous style Friday night at the jampacked West Seattle High School gym, as the Wildcats were visited by the crosstown competition, the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks. The girls’ varsity game started unusually – West Seattle reserves played most of the first quarter, which began with each team getting a technical foul for what we’re told were numbering problems. By the time the first quarter ticked down to two minutes, the players on the floor were mostly varsity.

Sealth’s #3 Celia LaGuardia led all scorers with 24 points. For West Seattle, #20 Grace Sarver was tops with 20.

She came into the game with about three minutes to go in the first, and that’s when WSHS started chipping away at Sealth’s early lead. #32 Meghan Fiso tied it up at 11-11 with less than :20 to go in the quarter – she was the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer on the night with 14 points.

#2 Jasmine Smith had 13 for Sealth:

The Seahawks kept close for much of the second quarter. Baskets were answered, and they didn’t give West Seattle much of a chance to pull away – until the last few minutes of the half, when the Wildcats piled on 12 unanswered points, and went into the locker room with a 37-23 lead.

They held Sealth scoreless for the first three-plus minutes of the second half, until a foul shot that put the score at WSHS 46, Sealth 24. The gap continued to widen, with the third quarter ending WSHS 56, Sealth 30, and nothing much changed in the fourth quarter – though the big crowd, packed on both sides of the gym, kept the energy high, all the way to the final buzzer, with the Wildcats winning 76-51.

P.S. This was senior night for West Seattle – just one varsity player is graduating this year, #5 Rilcy Newsome:

The JV team has three seniors – Kathryn Anawalt, Hanan Yassin, and Rosa Grossi – we were a bit late to the pregame recognition and didn’t catch everyone on camera:

Senior cheerleaders Sophia Grupp and Kat Morigi were celebrated too!

We’ll find out within a few days who’s playing where in the postseason.

ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: According to the Metro League website, the WSHS girls will play their first Metro League tournament game at 7 pm Wednesday (February 7th) at Seattle Pacific University (3307 3rd Ave. W.; map), vs. Cleveland or Ballard (whichever wins their Monday night game).