Garfield vs Auburn Recap
Aaron Orbeck
The undefeated Garfield Bulldogs’ season came to a sudden end after losing 64-60 to the Auburn Trojans in the quarterfinals of the state championship tournament.
The Bulldogs expected a challenge and in the first quarter got one. The Trojans quickly jumped out to a 12-2 lead as it looked like the Bulldogs hadn’t quite woken up for the game. But, after Garfield started to heat up, they managed to close the gap to 17-12 by the end of the quarter.
Garfield looked poised to catch up further until a scary moment when Koren Johnson drove in for a layup but was hit by a defender and flew into the base of the hoop. He quickly got up and ran to the bench clutching his right shoulder. The Garfield crowd was silent as their star player hobbled to the medical tent. Perhaps inspired by Johnson’s sacrifice, the Bulldogs fought hard for the rest of the quarter and ended the half up 28-26.
To start the second half the Bulldogs’ fans were pleasantly surprised to see Koren Johnson back in the game with some athletic tape on his shoulder. Back to full strength, Garfield pressed on, eventually extending their lead to 42-36 by the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was particularly tense after an offensive drought from Garfield allowed the Trojans to come back. Auburn consistently drew fouls and free throw shots that would prove essential to their victory. Garfield seemingly couldn’t make a defensive stop without the referees blowing their whistle. These free throws eventually would be Garfield’s downfall after Auburn made 2 free throws with .8 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
The fouls continued to trouble Garfield even after they took a 4-point lead in overtime. Almost every possession Auburn would be fouled and given two free throws. A nice three-pointer from the Trojans gave them a two-point lead with only a few seconds left. A few desperation fouls later the Bulldogs were defeated.
After being undefeated through 22 games this loss for Garfield is particularly tough. They were expected to at least make the finals in this tournament but had to face the second seed Auburn in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs should still be proud of their performance all season. They pushed through adversity and showed true grit to give the Garfield fans a memorable season.
Although knocked out of contention for the championship, the Bulldogs will play Eastside Catholic on March 4th in the consolation semifinal.
The Bulldogs expected a challenge and in the first quarter got one. The Trojans quickly jumped out to a 12-2 lead as it looked like the Bulldogs hadn’t quite woken up for the game. But, after Garfield started to heat up, they managed to close the gap to 17-12 by the end of the quarter.
Garfield looked poised to catch up further until a scary moment when Koren Johnson drove in for a layup but was hit by a defender and flew into the base of the hoop. He quickly got up and ran to the bench clutching his right shoulder. The Garfield crowd was silent as their star player hobbled to the medical tent. Perhaps inspired by Johnson’s sacrifice, the Bulldogs fought hard for the rest of the quarter and ended the half up 28-26.
To start the second half the Bulldogs’ fans were pleasantly surprised to see Koren Johnson back in the game with some athletic tape on his shoulder. Back to full strength, Garfield pressed on, eventually extending their lead to 42-36 by the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was particularly tense after an offensive drought from Garfield allowed the Trojans to come back. Auburn consistently drew fouls and free throw shots that would prove essential to their victory. Garfield seemingly couldn’t make a defensive stop without the referees blowing their whistle. These free throws eventually would be Garfield’s downfall after Auburn made 2 free throws with .8 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
The fouls continued to trouble Garfield even after they took a 4-point lead in overtime. Almost every possession Auburn would be fouled and given two free throws. A nice three-pointer from the Trojans gave them a two-point lead with only a few seconds left. A few desperation fouls later the Bulldogs were defeated.
After being undefeated through 22 games this loss for Garfield is particularly tough. They were expected to at least make the finals in this tournament but had to face the second seed Auburn in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs should still be proud of their performance all season. They pushed through adversity and showed true grit to give the Garfield fans a memorable season.
Although knocked out of contention for the championship, the Bulldogs will play Eastside Catholic on March 4th in the consolation semifinal.