Stanwood boys fall to Garfield in non-elimination playoff game

Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 25, 2017

BELLEVUE — The Stanwood boys basketball team didn’t come away with the victory.

But with a valiant effort against a storied program that features several nationally ranked players, the Spartans proved they belonged.

No. 7 seed Stanwood took a four-point lead into halftime, but No. 2 seed Garfield used a dominant third quarter to pull away and hand the Spartans a hard-fought 83-76 loss in a non-elimination Class 3A state regional Saturday at Bellevue College.

“Really proud of my guys,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said. “We had a tough third quarter. We beat them the other three quarters, but unfortunately that’s not good enough. But I just couldn’t be prouder of my guys to come down, play a team like that and hold your own.

“I think that everybody who was there watching the game that maybe went in thinking we didn’t belong, probably leaves thinking that these guys belong here.”

Garfield (21-5) earned a bye into the state quarterfinals with the win. Stanwood (21-3), by virtue of its top-eight seed, advances to the Tacoma Dome for next week’s Hardwood Classic despite the loss.

The Spartans will face No. 10 seed Shorecrest in a loser-out game Wednesday. That will be the third meeting in the last month between the two Wesco 3A rivals, who split their previous two encounters. The winner will play top-seeded and nationally ranked Nathan Hale in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Garfield 6-foot-5 senior guard Jaylen Nowell scored 16 of his game-high 32 points in the pivotal third quarter, helping the Bulldogs outscore Stanwood 26-9 in the period. Nowell is one of two University of Washington signees on Garfield, both of whom are ranked on ESPN’s list of top 100 Class of 2017 recruits.

“He’s really, really good,” Ward said. “And at 6-5 with the ability to fade away, you can’t really contest (shots). He’s probably going to have a really good career at the University of Washington.”

Garfield raced to a 6-0 lead in the game’s first 90 seconds, but Stanwood tied it at 11 midway through the first quarter and led 18-17 at the end of the period. Late in the first half, Stanwood senior Chase Strieby converted a three-point play and senior Quinton Borseth followed with a 3-pointer as the Spartans took 35-31 lead into halftime.

But Stanwood commited a slew of turnovers in the third quarter against Garfield’s tenacious defense, which allowed the Bulldogs to get out in transition and showcase their elite speed and athleticism. Garfield quickly erased its four-point halftime deficit and steamrolled to a 57-44 lead by the end of the third.

“Turnover-wise in the third quarter, we did some stuff that was kind of uncharacteristic and some things that we didn’t do in the first and second quarter,” Ward said. “We were letting them get out in transition, and that’s when they shine.”

Stanwood cut the deficit to eight points early in the fourth quarter, but Garfield quickly pushed the margin back to double digits and led by 15 late in the contest.

Borseth hit four 3-pointers for the Spartans and finished with a team-high 18 points. Stanwood senior AJ Martinka scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, Strieby had 13 points and senior Austin Wilhonen added 10 for the Spartans.

Garfield 6-foot-9 junior J’Raan Brooks, nationally ranked by Scout.com, scored 17 points and senior Curtis Walker added 14 for the Bulldogs.

Tensions flared in the game’s final minute as a Garfield player was ejected and a Stanwood coach was issued a technical foul.