By Gerardo Bolong
Smooth flowing senior Gerald Hood was nearly unstoppable in a 34-point performance to lead 2A Highline High School to a 68-53 boys basketball victory at 1A Seattle Christian on Thurs., Dec. 13.
HHS improved to 2-6 overall. Seattle Christian fell to 2-5.
"We started out slowly," said Pirate coach Edward Thompson. "Our man-to-man defense didn't work, so we switched back and forth from a 2-3 zone and 1-3-1. This really gave us energy."
Defining moments that also mirrored the entire game surfaced with the home team Warriors trailing only 58-51 after Connor Knack's three-pointer with 2:25 remaining in regulation game time.
At this point, the suspect SC field goal shooting fell off the cliff and HHS fired away to safely lead 64-53 with just less than one minute left in regulation.
"We couldn't guard one man," said a disappointed Seattle Christian head coach Micheal Watts. "Hood is physical, gets to the paint and finishes well. We're averaging 22 per cent from the field. We have to shoot better and not miss lay ins. The mixing of older with younger players is tough. Their team wanted it more than we did."
In the first quarter, the Warriors forced turnovers to lead 12-8 despite contributing their own share of errors.
Trailing 19-14, the Prates worked inside and outside for a 13-2 run into a halftime 37-21 margin at intermission.
Hood and Joey Joyal were turning the Seattle Christian defense every which way.
The Warriors caught fire to tie the score at 29-all and overcame a 35-29 deficit to trail only 37-34 after three quarters.
Highline built double-digit leads of up to 14 points in the final quarter ahead of one final Warrior rally that forged the 58-51 situation.
Hood twisted and turned for 14/20 from the field as the foundation of his 34 point total. He also grabbed nine caroms and dished out four assists. Joyal added nine points while Riley Piper contributed eight points and 13 rebounds.
For Seattle Christian, Connor Knack gunned home 17 points and collared eight boards. Jacob Fors was 5/5 from the field for 10 points while also blocking a shot. Riyo Sasaki earned eight points in the effort.
