Fast-hands Fife easily stamps ticket to Class 2A tourney

Fastbreak Fife?

The Trojans’ ability to create chaos on both ends is one big reason they are returning to the Class 2A boys basketball championships.

Frustrating Burlington-Edison with extended defensive pressure, the seventh-ranked Trojans broke out to a big first-quarter lead, and cruised to a 70-48 victory Friday in the regional round of the state tournament at Puyallup High School.

Gannon Ginnis poured in a game-high 18 points for the Trojans (21-5), who will go back to the 2A tournament for the first time since 2015 in Yakima. They will play the loser of Columbia River-Selah on Wednesday in the SunDome.

“This feels real good,” Fife guard Malachi Afework said. “Our whole goal has been to get to state and make some noise.”

Afework’s quick hands are a big reason the Trojans made their regional showdown a laugher Friday.

He scored nine of his 13 points in the first quarter, including easy baskets off steals as Fife rode a 19-2 run to gain early control.

“He is smart and crafty, so he needs to stay aggressive and stay engaged,” Trojans coach Mark Schelbert said. “When he does, that is what he is capable of.”

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Eli Graham and Bryson Williams gave the Trojans a 14-5 lead at the 2:53 mark of the quarter.

And Afework went right at Burlington-Edison’s Brock Brewer in the lane for a bucket, was fouled and completed a three-point play to complete the run, and the Trojans led, 19-5.

The bigger Tigers just could not get a handle on Fife’s pressure, turning it over 23 times — eight in the first quarter.

“Those (turnovers) helped,” Afework said. “We started off slow, and needed a quick spark to make buckets, and get our confidence going.

“We wanted to land the first punch.”

This was this kind of play that Schelbert saw consistently during summer league that convinced him this team, led by five key seniors, had a chance to go far.

“It was just smart basketball, unselfish basketball,” Schelbert said. “We gave a good team effort on both ends.”

After losing to defending 2A champion Foss twice during the regular season, the Trojans returned the favor in the West Central District semifinals, 62-58, before falling to North Kitsap in the district title game.

And now the Trojans are among the final 12 teams still playing.

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Fast-hands Fife easily stamps ticket to Class 2A tourney."