Wilson wakes up to beat Kamiakin, 71-62, finish fourth in 3A state tournament
Playing its fourth game in as many days, the Wilson High School boys basketball team didn’t come out with its typical up-tempo, frenetic energy in the first half of the fourth/sixth place Class 3A state tournament game at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday morning, falling behind to Kamiakin at half, 28-24.
Then again, it’s tough to get up for an 8 a.m. tip.
“Man, it’s real early playing in an 8 a.m. game,” said Wilson senior guard Emani Mitchell. “We started off slow. We knew it was going to be slow. At halftime, coach talked to us, we came in with some fire and that sparked our lead.”
The Rams’ players eventually found their legs and Wilson outscored Kamiakin 47-34 in the second half en route to a 71-62 win, securing the fourth-place trophy in the process. It was Wilson’s best finish since current assistant coach Amad Robinson led the Rams to a runner-up finish in 1998.
“It feels great,” said Mitchell, who scored a game-high 21 points in the win. “This is the farthest I’ve ever been in the tournament. To be playing on saturday means so much to me in my senior year.”
Mitchell was arguably the best player on the court Saturday morning, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and making 11-of-13 free throws. It’s the type of performance Wilson coach Mike Cocke has come to expect from his senior captain.
“He’s a four-year varsity player for a reason,” Cocke said. “I’ve enjoyed coaching him. He’s just so poised — 11-13 from the line. Late in the game, we get him the ball. He wants the ball. He’s a college basketball player.”
Senior guard Damani Green added 14 points for Wilson, while Dominique Ellison had 12. Kamiakin 6-foot-9 forward Kyson Rose had 17 points and forward Messiah Jones had a team-high 19 points. For the most part, Wilson held Rose in check.
“Our gameplan was just to try to front him, have backside help on the big man,” Mitchell said. “They’re big, strong and they’re good, so we just had to have backside help and stay on the shooters.”
Cocke, in his second season at Wilson after previously coaching at Foss, seems to be building something in Tacoma, with Wilson winning the 3A PCL this season and the West Central III/Southwest bi-district championship, and now taking fourth in state in a loaded 3A classification.
“When I took the job two years ago, it was very much about changing the culture,” Cocke said. “When I met those guys who were going to be juniors, I told them this is what it looks like. There were some growing pains, but I think they all bought in and we got the most out of that group. They all gelled, they care about one another. I think they set the foundation for our program.”
