Glacier Peak boys overcome slow start, top Arlington in Round of 12

TACOMA — Through the first three minutes of the game, Glacier Peak boys basketball might have felt the need to switch out their water cooler for a coffee pot.

Dealing with an unfavorable 9 a.m. start for their WIAA 4A Round of 12 matchup against Wesco rival Arlington at the Tacoma Dome, the Grizzlies did not get on the board until 4:50 left in the first, and star senior Jo Lee missed his first three shot attempts. Lee got on the board with a layup, then hit a 3-pointer a couple possessions later. Finally, things started to click.

The No. 3 seed Grizzlies (22-3) rode an 11-0 run to take the lead, and trailed only once more before grinding out a 49-42 win against the No. 14 seed Eagles (19-8) to advance to the quarterfinals.

Final: GP wins 49-42

Arlington cuts it as close as 3, but went 4/11 from 3 in the final frame. Leyton Martin (12p) held without a point in the 2nd half until 6 seconds left.

GP’s Jo Lee (26p) dominant after slow start and leads Grizzlies to quarterfinals.@HeraldNetPreps

— Joe Pohoryles (@Joe_Poho) March 5, 2025

“I guess a morning game, it’s tough to get going,” Lee said. “Once I made the first one, I was feeling a little better.”

That might be an understatement; Lee dominated with a game-high 26 points, routinely hitting fadeaway jumpers and driving to the net to keep the Glacier Peak offense running. But it was the Grizzlies’ defense that made the biggest difference, holding Arlington star senior Leyton Martin (12 points, 11 rebounds) scoreless in the second half until a last-ditch 3-pointer with six seconds left.

Upon hearing that, Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter gave Lee a fist bump. In Hunter’s eyes, smart rotations, communication and pure effort were the keys to success on that side of the ball.

“(Martin) is as good a player as there’s going to be in this tournament,” Hunter said. “He’s really difficult to plan for. … We held (Martin) to single-digits until that last shot, and you hope to have a good defense like that. We pride ourselves on great defense. That’s a pretty good defensive performance today.”

It was the Grizzlies’ third win against Arlington this season, and it marked the third year in a row that the Eagles bowed out in the Round of 12, with the last two years coming in the 3A bracket.

“We battled here three years in a row. They had a lot to hang their hats on,” Arlington coach Drew Bryson said. “We’re not the biggest team. We’re not the most athletic, not the most talented, but these boys always find a way to — no matter who we’re playing — make it a close game. And more often than not, we come out with a better outcome. But we’re obviously disappointed.”

After Glacier Peak’s 11-0 run to close out the first quarter, Martin started to get going for the Eagles in the second, swishing a 3-pointer and then hitting a spinning jump shot two minutes later to push Arlington ahead 18-17 with 3:15 left in the half. But the Grizzlies outscored them 6-2 down the stretch to enter the break up 23-20. Glacier Peak did not trail for the rest of the game.

The two sides traded shots in the third, but it was Lee in the driver’s seat and fellow senior Jayce Nelson (12 points, 6 rebounds) riding shotgun for Glacier Peak. The pair — who have played together in Glacier Peak’s youth program since fourth grade — combined for all 14 of the Grizzlies’ points in the quarter, with Nelson attacking the basket and Lee connecting on more tough shots.

“It was really fun,” Nelson said. “Our chemistry is just amazing. We’re each other’s best friends, and we just love to get it done together.”

The Eagles trailed by seven entering the fourth and came out firing from behind the arc. Arlington senior Jake Willis (11 points) swished a 3-pointer with 4:40 left to cut it 39-36, but that’s as close as it would get. The Eagles finished 4-for-11 from 3 in the final quarter alone (6-for-24 total), and Lee continued to facilitate as the Grizzlies held on for their ninth win of the past 10 games.

In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Glacier Peak will face No. 5 seed Camas (21-5), whom they defeated 65-61 in last year’s Round of 12 en route to a third-place finish.

“We know that from last year, it doesn’t get any easier,” Hunter said. “Camas is an incredible basketball team that’s had a great season. There’s going to be a lot of motivation on their end because of what happened with us last year, so we have to play our best game of the season tomorrow.

“If you can’t get excited about playing in the Dome in the quarterfinals, I don’t know, why are we doing this? Jo and I have been together a lot. We talk a lot. I love him. We want to keep playing.”