(WSHS #21, Wes Armstrong)

Story and photos by Tracy Burrows
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

MLK Day is a popular date to showcase high-school basketball in Seattle and throughout Washington. This afternoon, the West Seattle High School boys team matched up with Class 4A Kentridge High School in the MLK Day Classic Tournament at Seattle Pacific University.

The game started with cold shooting from both teams, with the first quarter ending with the Kentridge Chargers leading 10-9. In the second quarter, West Seattle found a groove by cutting down on turnovers and hitting key shots.

(WSHS #3, Sully Pond)

The Wildcats led by 5 at the half, 28-23. Halftime included a brief presentation on Dr. King’s legacy with a reminder to fans to consider how we can put hope into action to make the world a better place.

After the half, the lead seesawed back and forth for much of the third and fourth quarters. During a late game timeout, Wildcats Coach Fred Wilson exhorted his team to play with energy and pound the ball inside on offense. The team responded and with less than a minute to go, Wes Armstrong drove to the bucket, was fouled, and made a key free throw that gave the Wildcats a 3-point lead. West Seattle prevailed by a final score of 51-48. Duncan Monnin led with 13 points, followed by Alex Pierce and Tyce Sayles with 9 each.

No rest for the Wildcat boys – next game is at 7:30 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, January 21), at Eastside Catholic.