TACOMA — Just when it looked like O’Dea was going to build an insurmountable lead, Stanwood made things interesting.
Trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Spartans went on a 20-8 run to pull to within three in the game’s final seconds. But the Fighting Irish finished strong at the free throw-line to hold off Stanwood 72-65 in a 3A boys state quarterfinal game Thursday morning at the Tacoma Dome.
“I don’t think they had incredible length that caused us issues, we just didn’t finish,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said. “I told those guys, ‘You’ve done such a good job finishing. The strength of our team has been our post play the last three weeks.’ Those guys just had a tough day.”
Stanwood trailed 60-45 with 6:52 remaining in the game. The Spartans missed a few layups, but chipped away at the Fighting Irish’s lead and cut the deficit to 68-65 on a 3-pointer by junior Cameron Plautz with 37 seconds remaining.
But Michael Carter made a pair of free throws and, after another foul, hit two more to put the game away for O’Dea (21-7), which moves on to face Kennedy Catholic in a semifinal game Friday afternoon.
“We had to battle an awful lot,” O’Dea coach Jason Kerr said. “But we were able to squeak out some defensive rebounds when they weren’t able to get it in the basket that I think, really, was the difference in the game.”
The Spartans play No. 2 Bellevue (23-3) in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. Friday. Stanwood (17-6) has a chance to make it to the fourth/sixth-place game. The Spartans rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to place sixth the last time they made it to the Tacoma Dome, in 2014. They lost, 64-50, to O’Dea in their final game that season.
“I’ve known Coach Ward for quite awhile. We have a tremendous amount of respect for him and the job that he does,” Kerr said. “We knew that when you’re going against Zach, (you) don’t look at the record. They’re going to be prepared and they’re going to give you a heck of a game. As usual, they did.”
Stanwood out-rebounded O’Dea 44-26, with juniors Austin Wilhonen and Chase Strieby leading the Spartans with eight boards apiece. Stanwood had 11 second-chance points in the game, but couldn’t overcome Fighting Irish seniors Michael Carter (31 points) and Quin Barnard (20).
“I think that shows you that we did have the advantage inside,” Ward said. “The rebound numbers don’t lie — 44 to 26 — that’s big time. That makes it more confusing why, on the offensive end, we didn’t have more success inside.”
Stanwood took its first lead of the game on a mid-range jumper by Quinton Borseth with 3:40 remaining in the second quarter. That came as part of an 11-0 run that gave the Spartans a 25-20 advantage. But O’Dea countered with an 11-0 run of its own to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
“I think the end of that first half was a big run for them,” Ward said. “… That’s where we lapsed again a little bit. … You can’t do those things in games like this. Those mistakes are magnified.”
AJ Martinka led Stanwood with 15 points. Strieby scored 13 and Wilhonen added 10.
Ward said he hopes his players can rebound with a strong showing against Bellevue and bring home a trophy for the second time in three seasons.
“The goal hasn’t changed: you want to get hardware,” he said. “It might just be a different piece of hardware now. But it’s two teams who are playing tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock that neither of them really want to be in that game. Those are those games, in that loser-side bracket, that are going to be kind of ugly and just a battle and war. One season’s team is coming to an end. Similar to (Thursday), it’s the little things you have to do.”
At the Tacoma Dome
Stanwood10171622—65
O’Dea18162117—72
Stanwood—AJ Martinka 15, Bryson Kelley 4, Cameron Plautz 3, Carter Garcea 0, Chase Strieby 13, Henry Oldow 3, Quinton Borseth 7, Isaac Olson 2, Austin Wilhonen 10, Nate Kummer 3, Trygve DeBoer 5. O’Dea—Quin Barnard 20, Ryan McAloon 5, Michael Carter 31, Xavier Smith 4, Tommy McAloon 0, Noah Williams 5, Race Porter 0, Cal Hansen 3, Peter Jones 4. Records—Stanwood 18-7 overall. O’Dea 21-7.
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