Edmonds-Woodway boys fend off Bellevue comeback attempt, win in OT

BELLEVUE — The Warriors were teetering on disaster.

After holding a 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter against Bellevue in the Boys 3A Basketball State Tournament at Bellevue College on Saturday, Edmonds-Woodway was smacked by a Wolverines 13-0 run from the 2:16 mark until 5:23.

After Bellevue hit a 3 to tie it 54-54 in the final 15 seconds to force overtime, the No. 5 seed Warriors (24-2) outscored the No. 4 seed Wolverines (22-6) by a 12-2 margin to advance to the quarterfinals unscathed with a 66-56 win.

Final: E-W wins 66-56

Cam Hiatt was nails at the line, going 12-for-12 in the 4th+OT alone (by my initial count).

Warriors avoid blowing the game, and are onto the Final 8@HeraldNetPreps

— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 1, 2025

The key: free throws. Edmonds-Woodway senior Cam Hiatt dropped 37 points in the win; 27 came in the second half, and he went 12-for-12 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and overtime alone. For an aspect of the game that Hiatt — and the team as a whole — considers to be a weakness, their preparation paid off in a big way on Saturday.

“We’ve been really working on (free throws),” Hiatt said. “That’s been something that’s kind of been frustrating me, and not being able to convert at the line, and so it’s cool that it translates in a huge game like this.”

Hiatt said he ends every workout practicing free throws, sometimes standing at the line for 20 minutes or more trying to make 10 in a row. The 6-foot-4 guard said “it sucks,” in the moment, but it is necessary. His attitude towards it flipped after Saturday.

Edmonds-Woodway coach Tyler Geving emphasized making foul shot practice more fun, implementing a free throw ladder competition, for example. He believes it helped the team buy in.

“As a coach, you can’t yell at them,” Geving said. “What are you gonna say? They’re trying to make it. That’s not going to work. So I think we just tried every different strategy. … I think we’ve turned it into a positive and not a negative.”

After nearly letting a win slip away, it was free throws that earned them a spot in the Final 8. But it did not have to come to that.

In the final four minutes of the first quarter, the Warriors connected on four 3-pointers, which helped them pull ahead 16-8. While Bellevue was missing its shots, it was strong on the offensive glass. That would come back to bite Edmonds-Woodway later on.

But the Warriors continued to make shots and defend well going into the second quarter, expanding the lead to as large as 14. The Wolverines put together a couple of strong possessions in the final 90 seconds to cut it to 31-21 entering the break. Hiatt and senior DJ Karl (14 points) each led the team with 10 points at the half, with Karl’s shooting a big reason why the Warriors went ahead.

“I started with a couple free throws, so I was pretty confident in my shot throughout the whole game,” Karl said.

Both teams found a consistent rhythm in the third, trading buckets nearly every possession, but that meant the Warriors remained comfortably ahead going into the fourth. Then the lead got less comfortable.

Edmonds-Woodway stopped hitting their shots, and Bellevue continued to dominate the offensive boards, turning misses into second-chance points. Despite being out-muscled by a physical Wolverines squad, it wasn’t for a lack of effort. Karl drew a critical charging foul early in the fourth to halt Bellevue’s momentum. He briefly exited the game limping, but set the tone for the rest of the group.

“People don’t realize what DJ means to our team,” said Geving, praising his defense and ball-handling, among other traits. “In my mind, he’s a first-team All-League player. He does so much for us that I don’t think a lot of people realize, and it’s hard. … DJ was probably the unsung hero today.”

After Bellevue’s Max Harrity (14 points) hit a game-tying 3 with 11.5 seconds left, Edmonds-Woodway junior William Alseth (7 points) missed the potential game-winning jump shot along the right side. Overtime seemed inconceivable just eight minutes prior. Now the Warriors had to lock in for four more.

Heading to OT tied 54-54

Bellevue storms back with a 13-0 run in the 4th to take a 1-point lead before the sides trade shots to break even

Will Alseth can’t connect on potential game-winning jumper as time expires, so we’re playing extra here in Bellevue@HeraldNetPreps pic.twitter.com/68C6kd41qx

— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 1, 2025

In the quick break, Geving brought the team together and simply told them: “We’re gonna win. We’re mentally tougher. This is what we’ve been working on all year. So we’re good. Let’s go out and win it and earn it.”

Hiatt earned it.

A steal-turned-breakaway layup put the Warriors up 60-56 with 1:30 to go, a massive four-point swing that forced Bellevue to start fouling. Hiatt never missed, and Edmonds-Woodway punched its ticket to the quarterfinals, where it will face one of No. 11 Auburn Mountainview/No. 14 Federal Way or No. 3 Garfield/No. 6 Lincoln – depending on the outcome of those games – at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday.

“For us to be in a spot where we can seed for this community, for this town that hasn’t been able to experience something like this in a long, long time, it’s really cool,” Hiatt said. “I’m really happy that I’m able to do this, that we’re able to do this as a team, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.”