(4th-quarter basket by WSHS #23 Anthony Giomi)

FIRST REPORT, 6:25 PM: In the second of two district-playoff games this afternoon/evening at West Seattle High School, the WSHS boys have just defeated Lake Washington, 46-36. Photos and details to be added later. With the win, the WSHS boys will play Rainier Beach at 5 pm Tuesday (February 13th) at Sammamish HS in Bellevue, right after the Wildcat girls’ 3:30 pm game vs. Seattle Prep.

ADDED 11:11 PM: Here’s how the game unfolded for head coach Keffrey Fazio and his team – far more defense than offense, as you can tell from the score. #1 Marcus Collins, West Seattle’s top scorer in the game with 8 points, got the team’s first basket.

That tied things at 2-2. And after a bit of lead-swapping, they were tied again when the first quarter ended, 7-7. Overall, the Wildcats were having an off-day on the boards. Things got a little better in the second quarter, starting with #23 Anthony Giomi (7 points) opening a three-point lead with a basket and foul shot.

#3 Kendall Green followed with a three-pointer on an assist by #32 Maar Rambang, and suddenly WSHS was up by six. A couple of baskets by #5 Abdullahi Mohamed (8 points) in the ensuing minutes helped the Wildcats keep the lead despite a Lake Washington three-pointer shortly before halftime taking the score to 19-15.

A somewhat sloppy start to the second half gave way to a strong scoring run including back-to-back baskets by Collins, and then one by #2 Elijah Nnanabu, giving WSHS a 12-point lead. The Wildcats held a 9-point lead over the Kangaroos by the end of the third quarter, and then it was a matter of digging in to stay ahead. Lake Washington got to within six points at midpoint in the final quarter – 36 to 30 – and a three-pointer a few minutes later made it a five-point margin, 38-33. The Kangaroos tried the time-honored tactic of fouling their opponents, repeatedly, to see if they could make some magic happen, but the resulting WSHS foul shots just widened the Wildcats’ lead, and time ran out for Lake Washington, losing 46-36. As mentioned above, West Seattle’s Tuesday opponent is Rainier Beach, and that’ll be the third Wildcats-Vikings faceoff this season.