The senior guard pours in 35 points as Bainbridge defeats arch-rival O’Dea.
SEATTLE – Who would win in a matchup between Bainbridge and O’Dea?
That’s been debated by high school basketball fans all season as both teams have posted sterling records.
The two could meet several more times in the postseason and with titles on the line, but Game One goes to the Spartans.
Steven Gray scored 35 points in one of his best performances of the season as Bainbridge defeated O’Dea 59-58 at O’Dea High School in downtown Seattle Saturday afternoon.
Gray was 14 of 16 from the field, including a perfect 5 for 5 from beyond the three-point line and converted his last 11 attempts from the field.
He scored 17 in the first half and 10 in the fourth quarter, accounting for all of Bainbridge’s points save for a couple of free throws by Coby Gibler.
“It’s rhythm,” Gray said of his hot hand. “Once you start getting those early baskets it really helps your confidence, and once you get in that rhythm, it’s just playing basketball.”
The senior guard was excited about the play of the team down the stretch.
“We enjoyed the fourth quarter just because we played so hard,” Gray said. “Everyone wanted to come out and play hard for 32 minutes and that’s what we did.”
It’s the first time since Bainbridge entered the Metro League in 2001 that they’ve beaten the Fighting Irish on their court.
“I’m proud that our guys truly competed for four quarters,” head coach Scott Orness said. “Both teams deserve credit for how hard they worked on the floor.”
The Spartans took a 16-13 lead in the first quarter on a Gray three pointer that bounced on the rim several times before rattling in.
They held off the Irish to go into halftime up by five.
O’Dea came back to tie it in the opening moments of the third quarter thanks to Kelly Edwards knocking down a three and Josh Scott working inside for two.
But Gray had six points while Gibler added three as they kept the score tied going into the fourth quarter.
The Spartans came out tough by working their man-to-man defense to perfection and denying the Fighting Irish any good looks at the basket.
Gray and Gibler scored to put Bainbridge up by four, but Chris Banchero scored and was fouled.
He missed the free throw, but Scott was right there for the put back to tie it up.
They took the lead on another Banchero layup, but Gray banked in a three with 3:32 left.
Jamelle McMillan converted on a three-point play, but Gray went right at him for the layin, as McMillan had four fouls.
O’Dea came back to take the lead on a Edwards score, but Gray knocked down another three for the last score of the game with 1:20 left.
The Irish couldn’t convert on their next possession, enabling Gibler to grab the board and allowing Bainbridge to run some time off the clock.
Gray was fouled with 12.5 seconds left, but missed the front end of the one-and-one.
O’Dea was able to grab the loose ball and call timeout with 5.6 seconds left.
After three straight timeouts combined by both sides, the Irish inbounded the ball but couldn’t get it to their main scorers, and a Brian Walker three went in and out as the Spartans and their fans celebrated.
The Spartans shot 58 percent from the field, while neither team turned the ball over in the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Spartans are ranked number one by the Seattle Times and WashingtonPreps.com polls.
Bainbridge plays O’Dea again tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. at Paski Gymnasium.
Grapplers take fifth at Metros
SEATTLE – The Bainbridge wrestling team fought through a tough two days to place fifth at the Metro League tournament Friday and Saturday at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.
Mathew Ritualo and Peter Paskell won Metro championships in their respective weight classes, and junior co-captain Ritualo was named the Wrestler of the Year at the Metro tournament.
Six Spartans will move on to regionals next week.
Ritualo defeated Anthony Rosario of Chief Sealth by a 12-8 decision to take first in the 125-pound weight category.
After a frantic first period where both wrestlers scored points quickly, Mathew used his speed to score two critical reversals in the second period.
He scored one more in the third to sew up the win.
“Mathew dictated everything that happened in that match,” head coach Dan Pippinger said. “He was the most aggressive (wrestler) in that match, he controlled the emotion, he controlled how points were scored. He wrestled really smart.”
Paskell won in the 145-pound category against Jesse Roark of West Seattle in a 6-3 decision.
Roark scored first in the second period, but Paskell got him with a takedown and a nearfall to put him in front for good.
The senior did an excellent job of keeping his balance as Roark went for the single-leg takedown, denying him any more points.
“That’s probably the best match I’ve ever seen him wrestle,” Pippinger said. “He was very, very patient in places that showed that he’s got some experience wrestling.”
Paskell said he had little trouble figuring out his opponent’s moves.
“When he shot on me, he had no setup, which means he was a really fast shooter,” he said. “Basically we got to the point where neither of us had an advantage over each other, (so) we just tried to muscle it out.”
Also heading to districts are Mathew’s brother Stephen, who came in second as he lost a 9-3 decision to CJ Danforth from Eastside Catholic.
Matt Tetlow took third in the 140-pound category, while Eli Narte placed fourth in the 119-pound category.
Robert Ferguson finished fourth in the 189 pound category.
Keith Robert finished fifth in the 135-pound category, which means he’ll be an alternate to regionals.
Brenden Henesey took eighth in the 130-pound category, while Robin Stewart took seventh in the 152-pound category.
Ryan Hinkley finished eighth in the 160-pound category.
Mason Remy took sixth in the 171-pound category, while Jethro Cotton finished in eighth in the 215-pound category.
Bainbridge was fifth with a score of 147.5.
The Spartans travel to Sunnyside High School, 30 miles from Yakima next Saturday for the regional tournament.
Swimmers take fourth at Metros
Bainbridge diver Olaf Olson scored 496.20 points in the diving competition as the Spartans placed fourth at the Metro League championship swim meet Friday and Saturday at Madison Pool in Seattle.
His diving partner Cheyne Clark scored 349.7 points.
Austin Hallett took home two Metro League titles in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 48.74 and in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.93.
The team of Clark, Brooks, Cooper Ashley and David Ortyn took third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:36.65.
The team of Ortyn, Ashley, Brooks and Hallett took third in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:27.32
The Spartans move onto the district meet held at the Hec Ed Pool on the University of Washington campus next Thursday and Friday.
Diving will be held at Hazen High.
