Story and video by Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Deck the halls with Columbia blue and red!

Bolstered by a 12-point fourth quarter by senior guard Charlie Smith, the Chief Sealth International High School boys-varsity basketball team upset the seventh-ranked Garfield High School Bulldogs, 71-67, sending the Seahawks into the school’s winter break with a three-game winning streak and looking forward to a trip to San Diego to participate in a tournament in sunnier climes.

Smith, who had 22 total points on the night, seemed to kick-start a critical stretch of the game when he recovered his own miss, by ripping the ball from Bulldog Tucker Haymond’s hands and making a quick pass to Pepe Hernandez, who scored the easiest of his 14 points.

Smith then connected on three-point shots in consecutive possessions, helping Sealth grow a 3-point lead to a more-comfortable 63-52 spread with 2:20 remaining in the game.

Garfield, despite Haymond’s 30-point night, couldn’t quite keep the pace in a fourth quarter in which the two teams combined for 52 points.

Sealth forced turnovers throughout the night, turning them into easy baskets on the other end, possibly taking advantage of the fact that Garfield played in a high-scoring affair the night before. The Seahawks definitely appeared to be the fresher team, particularly down the stretch.

Bronte Corbray was a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side all night, both with pressure defense on ballhandlers and attacking the basket, drawing several fouls on his way to 9-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe and a 19-point night.

Rounding out the scoring for Sealth were Aaron Knox with 13, C.J. Hicks with 3, and Scott Johnson with 2. The victory over a ranked opponent will be a nice way for the Seahawks to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule and perhaps give them a boost upon their return from the holidays, when they will face nobody other than familiar Metro league foes.

For now, they can smile about a big win on the home court against a highly ranked team…

…and maybe about that coming trip to San Diego.