Washington (WIAA) high school 3A boys basketball state playoffs: Live semifinal updates, brackets, scores, top performers (3/1/2024)
TACOMA — The WIAA Class 3A boys championships finished up Friday with semifinals and loser-out consolation games in the Tacoma Dome.
WIAA BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES | WIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES
Follow all of the action right here with live scores, game updates, highlights and much more. You can also watch the games live on the NFHS Network.
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CLASS 3A BOYS SCHEDULE (Bracket)
SEMIFINALS
No. 4 O'Dea (19-9) vs. No. 10 Rainier Beach (16-10), 3:45 p.m.
No. 6 Mount Spokane (21-4) vs. No. 2 Eastside Catholic (21-6), 5:30 p.m.
CONSOLATION GAMES
No. 3 Garfield (16-7) vs. No. 8 North Central (19-6), 9 a.m.
No. 5 Mountlake Terrace (22-4) vs. No. 17 Lincoln of Tacoma (22-6), 10:30 a.m.
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CLASS 3A BOYS TOP PERFORMERS
Yabi Aklog, Eastside Catholic
10 points, 13 rebounds
Omarion Boston, Lincoln
25 points, 10 rebounds
Malcolm Clark, O’Dea
16 points, nine rebounds
Jacob Cofie, Eastside Catholic
20 points, nine rebounds
Jaxon Dubiel, Mountlake Terrace
23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals
Jamari Harris, Garfield
12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists
Ryan Lafferty, Mount Spokane
22 points, seven rebounds, three steals
Kaden Powers, Rainier Beach
28 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks
Maceo Rivers, Rainier Beach
14 points, six rebounds, three steals
Eli Williams, North Central
25 points, three assists
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CLASS 3A BOYS SEMIFINALS SUMMARIES (Bracket)
Final: No. 10 Rainier Beach 59, No. 4 O’Dea 46
Rainier Beach and O’Dea had already met four times this season, and the two 3A Metro League rivals split those games.
The Vikings won the first league meeting in December by three, and the Fighting Irish the second by 31. O’Dea posted another rout, by 21, in the league tournament semifinals in early February. The Vikings answered with a four-point upset win in the 3A District 2 semifinals the next week.
This time, it was Rainier Beach that ran away with a double-digit victory in the most pivotal meeting between the two programs this winter, which sends the Vikings on to Saturday’s state title game.
“We know they’re a very disciplined team, so just playing hard, playing fast and just taking them out of their comfort zone,” guard Kaden Powers said of how the Vikings approached this fifth meeting.
Rainier Beach never trailed in the final three quarters, led by double digits most of the second half, and extended the lead to as many as 22 in the fourth. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ defense limited O’Dea to a season-low 46 points.
Powers led all scorers with 28, while Maceo Rivers added 14 for the Vikings.
Malcolm Clark paced O’Dea with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Following 10 losses in the regular season and league and district tournaments, the Vikings are now 4-0 in the state playoffs, and have a chance to win their first title since 2016 on Saturday night.
“I’m just proud of my team, man,” Powers said. “We came a long way. A lot of people didn’t see us coming this far, so I’m just proud of my team. We’re just having a really good moment with each other right now.”
Up next: Rainier Beach (17-10) plays the winner of Mount Spokane-Eastside Catholic in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. O’Dea (19-10) plays the loser of that semifinal in the third-fifth place game at 11:15 a.m. Saturday.
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Final: No. 2 Eastside Catholic 55, No. 6 Mount Spokane 53
Eastside Catholic will have a chance to make program history Saturday night in the Tacoma Dome.
The Crusaders led much of the way in their Friday evening semifinal against Mount Spokane, and held off a late fourth quarter rally by the Wildcats to reach a state final for the second time in their history.
The first and only time Eastside Catholic had reached a championship game until now was in 2014, when they lost to 3A Metro League rival Rainier Beach — the same program they’ll meet in Saturday’s championship.
The Crusaders and Vikings have already had three meetings this winter, and the Crusaders lead the season series, 2-1.
“They’re a great team,” Eastside Catholic forward Jacob Cofie said. “I can’t wait to play them.”
To get there, though, the Crusaders had to get by Mount Spokane in a close contest that never had a lead higher than eight points, had eight total lead changes and three ties along the way.
Eastside Catholic led by seven on a dunk from Cofie late in the fourth, but the Wildcats responded with four free throws and a Lafferty putback inside the final two minutes to cut the lead to two with 3.7 seconds left.
The Wildcats then caused a turnover with 2.7 to go, and Lafferty got a contested shot up at the buzzer, but it fell short.
“I don’t even know what to say, man,” Cofie said of the final sequence. “I’m just happy to be in the championship. Proud of my team. We played great, man. We played great.”
Cofie, a Virginia signee, scored a team-high 20 points and added nine rebounds, while Yabi Aklog had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Lafferty led all scorers with 22 points and had seven rebounds and three steals. Bode Gardner added 14 points for the Wildcats.
Up next: Eastside Catholic (22-6) plays Rainier Beach (17-10) in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. Mount Spokane (21-5) plays O’Dea (19-10) in the third-fifth place game at 11:15 a.m. Saturday.
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CLASS 3A BOYS CONSOLATION GAMES SUMMARIES (Bracket)
Final: No. 3 Garfield 71, No. 8 North Central 58
Defending 3A champion Bulldogs now guaranteed a trophy for fourth consecutive season, paced by Legend Smiley's team-high 17 points. North Central's Eli Williams led all scorers with 25.
Up next: Garfield (17-7) plays Mountlake Terrace (23-4) in the fourth-sixth place game at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Final: No. 5 Mountlake Terrace 67, No. 17 Lincoln of Tacoma 56
Jaxon Dubiel paced Mountlake Terrace with 23, and Hawks went 28-of-55 (50.9 percent) from the field to advance to the trophy round. Omarion Boston scored a game-high 25 and had 10 rebounds for Abes.
Up next: Mountlake Terrace (23-4) plays Garfield (17-7) in the fourth-sixth place game at 8 a.m. Saturday.
