While the wind howled outside, a tough boys’-varsity basketball matchup proceeded inside, at Chief Sealth International High School on Tuesday night. Visiting O’Dea won, but the final score was only part of the story:

From WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand:

By the end it got close, but long before that it got personal. When the final buzzer sounded, O’Dea had taken the game 63-59, but that’s when both teams started exchanging words and both benches cleared. The last thing anyone saw was both coaching staffs separating their players and hustling them off the court. O’Dea started off with a quick lead and managed to put a double-digit distance between themselves and Sealth, but the Seahawks used the three-pointer to pull close in the fourth quarter. Between those points, both teams played a very aggressive game, with both teams matching each foul for foul in both halves. O’Dea’s leading scorer for the night was senior Dana Abe with 23 points, while Sealth’s Charlie Smith led his team with 16. Right behind Smith was teammate Pepe Hernandez with 13 points.

Both teams occupy second place in their respective Metro divisions, and both have ground to make up on their division leaders. Sealth settles into a bit of a routine for their last six games, playing Bainbridge three times while traveling to West Seattle and Eastside Catholic.