TACOMA â€" Sad faces turned to smiles and even a few laughs for the Bellevue Wolverines.
A day after losing a heartbreaker to Enumclaw that ended their state-championship dreams, the Wolverines responded with a 66-54 consolation-round victory over O'Dea Friday to secure a state trophy for the third time in four seasons.
Bellevue (24-4) will play Glacier Peak (21-6) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday to decide fourth and seventh place.
"After last night's loss it was hard to find motivation to play," said junior guard Will Locke, who scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting against O'Dea. "Getting fourth is still better than not even playing (Saturday). We wanted to come in here and get the bad taste out of our mouths from last night."
Stanford-bound point guard Aaron Bright scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half for the Wolverines, who increased an eight-point halftime advantage to as many as 18.
O'Dea (21-9) finished a season that began soon after the death of legendary coach Phil Lumpkin. The Irish, a team with only two seniors, dedicated the season to the man who guided the program to five state championships.
"They had a good season," said Jerry Carr, Lumpkin's former assistant who stepped in to coach O'Dea for one season. "They had a 21-win season. They're very close to making some noise in next year's state tournament. They need to get a little bit more disciplined and be a little bit more patient. And I think that will come with maturity. ... I don't know who the coach is going to be, but he's getting a pretty good group."
Sophomore guard Sekou Wiggs led O'Dea with 14 points, followed by 11 points apiece from junior Devante Williams and sophomore Jalen Ward.
The game entered the surreal during the third quarter when two Bellevue fans dropped their pants and O'Dea's Jerrell Davis dropped a shot from just inside midcourt to cap an 8-0 run and trim a 14-point Bellevue lead to six.
A 15-3 run by Bellevue to start the fourth quarter left the Wolverines feeling happy at the end.
"It was just good to get a win," Bellevue's Nate Sikma said. "It kind of makes it (the Enumclaw loss) hurt a little less."
Not many Bellevue fans attended the game but two did their best to stand out.
Wiggs was at the free-throw line when two Bellevue students several rows behind the basket began dancing wearing nothing but Speedos. They were soon shown the Tacoma Dome exit.
"I was thinking to myself, 'Is that legal?' " said Wiggs, who missed the first free throw but made the next. "I was trying not to look at them. I was looking at the basket. But in my peripheral vision I could still see them, so it was difficult."
Even Bellevue coach Chris O'Connor laughed as Bellevue's mood lightened up a little.
"Those are always tough games to play when you follow a tough loss," O'Connor said. "I'm just proud of my kids. They came out and competed and got a win."
Glacier Peak 52, Rainier Beach 45
Glacier Peak wanted to make sure it returned to Snohomish with a trophy.
The Grizzlies shook off Thursday's loss to fourth-ranked Lakes in the quarterfinals and knocked off second-ranked Rainier Beach to ensure the team will bring some hardware back to the second-year school.
"I had a hope that they would do this," Grizzlies coach Brian Hunter said. "You don't know for sure. We've never been in this spot before. I think they really, really wanted to get a trophy."
Glacier Peak (21-6) will take fourth or seventh place, depending on the result of its game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jack Bonner finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who out-rebounded the Vikings, 43-26.
Tanner Southard had seven points and eight offensive rebounds for Glacier Peak. Joseph Stroud scored 12 for Rainier Beach (23-5).
Mason Kelley
Meadowdale 44, Renton 36
The Mavericks guaranteed themselves another trophy by slowing the pace and working the ball inside to 6-foot-7 Connor Hamlett (15 points, 13 rebounds) and 6-5 Dillon Sand (10 points, eight rebounds).
Hamlett, headed to Oregon State on a football scholarship, scored seven points in the fourth quarter when Meadowdale outscored Renton 11-3 to snap a 33-33 tie.
A botched alley-oop dunk in the third quarter was one of Hamlett's only flaws.
"Usually it's 90 percent in," he said with a smile. "It's the third day (of the tournament). I'm pretty sore and pretty tired. I wish I could've got it."
Meadowdale (21-7) will try to earn the school's highest finish when it plays Franklin (17-12) for fifth and eighth place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Last season, the Mavericks lost to Franklin in the semifinals and wound up sixth.
Meadowdale, which has finished sixth three times, didn't want to leave trophy-less.
"It was a pride game," said senior wing Riley Neff-Warner, who scored 13 points. "We wanted a chance to be the best Meadowdale team in history as far as state performance goes."
Guard Hanley Shum led Renton (15-14) with 16 points, including three three-pointers.
"Our guys are small but we play big," Renton coach Rick Comer said. "We played big so far to get to this point."
Ron Newberry
Franklin 82, North Central 55
With less than four minutes to play, Franklin led by eight against North Central.
The Quakers ended the game on a 22-3 run to earn a spot in Saturday's consolation finals, where they can finish as high as fifth.
"It's one of the things that we talked about before we came down here, that you have to have the correct goals walking in, in order to make sure that you're getting the most out of it," Franklin coach Jason Kerr said.
Sophomore Anrio Adams scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half he hit 4 of 8 three-point shots and 12 of 13 free throws while senior Juwuan Buchanan finished with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Quakers (17-13).
Brandon Olsen scored 14 to lead North Central (15-14).
Mason Kelley
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