Boys Basketball Season Recap
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The Garfield Boys Basketball season has come to an end and the team finished 24-1.
Going into the season, there were many storylines. Koren Johnson returned after going to Wasatch Academy last summer, Kenzel Massey joined the team this season, and it was first full season for Head Coach, Jay Von Nickens. Returning for Garfield was Raphiel Justice, Jazel Brown, and Tremaine Guidry (all seniors) as well as juniors Jaylin Stewart, Sherrell McCullum Jr, Yemoni Howell, and Emmett Marquardt. The team also added freshman Legend Smiley, who already had an offer from the University of San Francisco going into this year. In fact, the only player Garfield lost was Marjon Bennett. So with almost everyone returning, the team figured to be good, but a big question was how the team would respond after going 8-4 in the shortened COVID year of 2020-21.
To start the season, Garfield won its first five games by an average margin of 38 points, including a win over a tough Seattle Prep team. These wins set Garfield up well for the Hardwood Invite, a tournament with elite talent such as O’Dea, South Medford, and Auburn. In the Hardwood Invite, Garfield beat the 1A runner ups, Kings’ in the first round, 4A Union in the next round, and South Medford in the semifinals before facing Auburn in the finals. In the title game vs Auburn, Garfield trailed by two at halftime but was able to prevail off of a 27-point performance from tournament MVP Koren Johnson.
At this point, Garfield was 9-0 and had proven that they would be a force to be reckoned with this season. This continued in January despite games being canceled due to COVID. The team breezed through upper tier teams like Eastside Catholic, O’Dea, and West Seattle while adding Kenzel Massey into the rotation. Massey had a huge first game, dropping 29 points and scored 20 in the first quarter two games later. The Bulldogs went into postseason play at 16-0. In the Metro League Championship, Garfield faced a surging Seattle Prep team that had won its last eight games. Seattle Prep definitely came to play as they got out to a 12-point lead in the third quarter, and a few minutes later, star guard Koren Johnson fouled out. It seemed like panic time for Garfield, but in the fourth quarter, Sherrell McCullum and Jaylin Stewart brought the team storming back with clutch plays and the Bulldogs were able to seize the Metro Championship and keep their perfect season alive.
After the Metro League Tournament is the SeaKing District tournament, which Garfield had not won since 2016. After beating Eastside Catholic in the quarterfinals, Garfield had an intriguing matchup: Rainier Beach. Normally, Garfield plays Rainier Beach in January during the regular season, but this year, that game got canceled due to COVID. As a result, Garfield would meet Rainier Beach for the first time in the District Semifinals. In the end, Garfield won 76-57 with 20 of those points coming from Raphiel Justice, who hit five three pointers in the game. For their 21st game, Garfield would get a second meeting with O’Dea, who they had beat by 37 points the first time. But there was a big difference between the first and second game: the O’Dea student section was at the second meeting. The fans were louder than any team Garfield had faced and O’Dea was able to lead by six points at halftime. But despite their roaring student section, the Bulldogs were able to take the lead back and the game seemed all but over when Garfield led 46-41 with 23 seconds remaining. However, two free throws from O’Dea and a missed shot from Garfield gave the fighting Irish a chance to hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, and with one second remaining, that’s exactly what they did. Similar to the Seattle Prep game, the undefeated season was on the line. Coming down to the wire, Garfield responded to the task and dominated overtime to win 57-49 and win their first District Championship since 2016.
The following round, regionals, was routine for #1 seeded Garfield as they beat Timberline 90-58. Meanwhile, #2 seed Auburn lost their regional game to Mt. Spokane in a stunning upset. This pitted the two best teams in the State against each other in the Quarterfinals of the State Tournament. Auburn got out to an early 15-5 lead and Koren Johnson suffered a dislocated shoulder moments later. Already, the team had to dig deep, and they did that by erasing that deficit and taking a two-point lead at halftime. In fact, Garfield took a lead as large as nine points in the third and fourth quarter as Jaylin Stewart and Kenzel Massey were able to make a big impact. But late in the fourth quarter, Auburn came roaring back to trail by two points with seven seconds left and with the ball. A foul on Garfield sent Auburn to the free throw line and two free throws sent the game to overtime. Auburn ended up getting the better of Garfield in overtime and won the game.
The Bulldogs were able to win their last two games against Eastside Catholic and Mountlake Terrace to finish 4th in the 3A State Tournament. Although they had the disappointing loss against Auburn, it was an incredible season for Garfield. The team had a 24-1 record, was ranked #14 in the nation according to Max Preps, and won the Hardwood Invite, Metro Championship, and District Championship. That’s a huge amount to accomplish in one season and the team should be proud of their heroic effort this year.
Going into the season, there were many storylines. Koren Johnson returned after going to Wasatch Academy last summer, Kenzel Massey joined the team this season, and it was first full season for Head Coach, Jay Von Nickens. Returning for Garfield was Raphiel Justice, Jazel Brown, and Tremaine Guidry (all seniors) as well as juniors Jaylin Stewart, Sherrell McCullum Jr, Yemoni Howell, and Emmett Marquardt. The team also added freshman Legend Smiley, who already had an offer from the University of San Francisco going into this year. In fact, the only player Garfield lost was Marjon Bennett. So with almost everyone returning, the team figured to be good, but a big question was how the team would respond after going 8-4 in the shortened COVID year of 2020-21.
To start the season, Garfield won its first five games by an average margin of 38 points, including a win over a tough Seattle Prep team. These wins set Garfield up well for the Hardwood Invite, a tournament with elite talent such as O’Dea, South Medford, and Auburn. In the Hardwood Invite, Garfield beat the 1A runner ups, Kings’ in the first round, 4A Union in the next round, and South Medford in the semifinals before facing Auburn in the finals. In the title game vs Auburn, Garfield trailed by two at halftime but was able to prevail off of a 27-point performance from tournament MVP Koren Johnson.
At this point, Garfield was 9-0 and had proven that they would be a force to be reckoned with this season. This continued in January despite games being canceled due to COVID. The team breezed through upper tier teams like Eastside Catholic, O’Dea, and West Seattle while adding Kenzel Massey into the rotation. Massey had a huge first game, dropping 29 points and scored 20 in the first quarter two games later. The Bulldogs went into postseason play at 16-0. In the Metro League Championship, Garfield faced a surging Seattle Prep team that had won its last eight games. Seattle Prep definitely came to play as they got out to a 12-point lead in the third quarter, and a few minutes later, star guard Koren Johnson fouled out. It seemed like panic time for Garfield, but in the fourth quarter, Sherrell McCullum and Jaylin Stewart brought the team storming back with clutch plays and the Bulldogs were able to seize the Metro Championship and keep their perfect season alive.
After the Metro League Tournament is the SeaKing District tournament, which Garfield had not won since 2016. After beating Eastside Catholic in the quarterfinals, Garfield had an intriguing matchup: Rainier Beach. Normally, Garfield plays Rainier Beach in January during the regular season, but this year, that game got canceled due to COVID. As a result, Garfield would meet Rainier Beach for the first time in the District Semifinals. In the end, Garfield won 76-57 with 20 of those points coming from Raphiel Justice, who hit five three pointers in the game. For their 21st game, Garfield would get a second meeting with O’Dea, who they had beat by 37 points the first time. But there was a big difference between the first and second game: the O’Dea student section was at the second meeting. The fans were louder than any team Garfield had faced and O’Dea was able to lead by six points at halftime. But despite their roaring student section, the Bulldogs were able to take the lead back and the game seemed all but over when Garfield led 46-41 with 23 seconds remaining. However, two free throws from O’Dea and a missed shot from Garfield gave the fighting Irish a chance to hit a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, and with one second remaining, that’s exactly what they did. Similar to the Seattle Prep game, the undefeated season was on the line. Coming down to the wire, Garfield responded to the task and dominated overtime to win 57-49 and win their first District Championship since 2016.
The following round, regionals, was routine for #1 seeded Garfield as they beat Timberline 90-58. Meanwhile, #2 seed Auburn lost their regional game to Mt. Spokane in a stunning upset. This pitted the two best teams in the State against each other in the Quarterfinals of the State Tournament. Auburn got out to an early 15-5 lead and Koren Johnson suffered a dislocated shoulder moments later. Already, the team had to dig deep, and they did that by erasing that deficit and taking a two-point lead at halftime. In fact, Garfield took a lead as large as nine points in the third and fourth quarter as Jaylin Stewart and Kenzel Massey were able to make a big impact. But late in the fourth quarter, Auburn came roaring back to trail by two points with seven seconds left and with the ball. A foul on Garfield sent Auburn to the free throw line and two free throws sent the game to overtime. Auburn ended up getting the better of Garfield in overtime and won the game.
The Bulldogs were able to win their last two games against Eastside Catholic and Mountlake Terrace to finish 4th in the 3A State Tournament. Although they had the disappointing loss against Auburn, it was an incredible season for Garfield. The team had a 24-1 record, was ranked #14 in the nation according to Max Preps, and won the Hardwood Invite, Metro Championship, and District Championship. That’s a huge amount to accomplish in one season and the team should be proud of their heroic effort this year.