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

If “beat the No. 1 team in the state” was a New Year’s resolution for the West Seattle High School boys’ basketball team, they were’t quite able to keep it on Tuesday night, losing 76-53 to visiting Rainier Beach HS.

RBHS brought with them their No. 1 ranking in Washington’s 3A classification, a spotless 8-0 record, and the state’s highest-rated player in Anrio Adams, who is signed to play basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks next season. As if that weren’t enough, ESPN also has the Vikings listed as the 26th-best team in the nation.

Those credentials were on display early and often, as the visitors scored the first seven points of the game and never trailed, saddling the home Wildcats with their first loss of 2012.

While getting 21 points from their leader Adams, it was an aggressive defensive effort from the entire visiting team that ultimately spelled the difference between the two teams. While the Wildcats were willing to be patient and make extra passes to get the best look at the basket, the shots didn’t fall as often as they needed to in order to keep pace.

The final margin was not indicative of how entirely Rainier Beach controlled play from the opening tip. The Vikings extended a 20-10 first-quarter lead to 43-20 at the half, before seeming to take their foot off the gas slightly, allowing West Seattle to show that they were not without talented players themselves.

Vidal Griffin III and LaTrey Newsome each contributed 16 points with workman-like efforts in a losing battle. DeAndre Coulter also tallied double digits, scoring 12.

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 1-3 in Metro play and 5-4 overall. They will travel to Bishop Blanchet (1-9) Friday night to look for their first win of the new year. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:15.