Arington returns just in time for districts, as Auburn beats strong Gig Harbor team, 78-66
It’s been a frustrating season for Auburn High School guard Maleek Arington, a two-time selection to The News Tribune’s All-Area high school basketball team. For the most part, he’s been sidelined with a knee injury since a holiday tournament hosted by Auburn High School around Christmas, unsure whether he’d be able to return this season or not. Finally, he was cleared to play this week, just in time for the playoffs: Auburn hosted Gig Harbor in the opening round of the West Central III/Southwest Class 3A bidistrict tournament on Saturday night.
“Mentally, it’s been tough,” Arington said. “I’ve never sat this many games out in my life, so I just had to be there for my teammates, heal myself and rest myself so I could be back out here for these big games. It felt great. I made some shots and it felt great.”
He returned at the perfect time for Auburn, which had a surprisingly difficult challenge for an opening-round district game for the state’s No. 2 team. Gig Harbor had only lost a single game all season, splitting the two-game season series with Timberline in the 3A South Sound Conference. But Timberline lucked out with a card draw prior to the season to earn the tiebreaker over Gig Harbor, forcing the Tides into the league’s No. 2 spot and a matchup with Auburn on Saturday.
Auburn won 78-66, but Gig Harbor gave Auburn everything it could handle, leading by two at half and trailing by just five heading into the fourth quarter. The game had close to no rhythm with officials calling over 40 fouls. Multiple players fouled out and stoppages to play were frequent, as whistles blew over, and over, and over again for minor (and sometimes zero) contact.
“It’s a hard game to describe,” said Auburn coach Ryan Hansen. “And credit Gig Harbor for not really letting us get into our rhythm. I felt like we never did. In the second half, we got some big stops. … We were able to make some defensive plays that got us out in our transition, too. That’s really when we’re at our best.”
Auburn found itself playing passively in the first half, settling for 3-point attempts and stagnant offensively. In the second half, the Trojans emphasized attacking the rim, especially given how tightly the game was being called.
“100 percent, that was a big emphasis for us at halftime,” Hansen said. “We weren’t shooting well in the first half. Obviously, they were taking (Auburn’s best shooter) Kaden (Hansen) away. … We were really just preaching, they’re in foul trouble, they don’t have a shot blocker — keep attacking the basket, keep attacking the basket. So that was a big point of emphasis for us.”
Arington’s return was welcome. He scored a game-high 19 points in the win and was thrilled to be back on the court with his teammates.
“It felt great,” Arington said, smiling ear to ear. “I made some shots and it felt great.”
Arington can score, certainly, but his effect goes beyond just putting the ball in the hoop. He’s a calming presence on the floor and an expert facilitator, always scanning the floor and keeping his eyes downcourt.
“He just kind of brings a calm to our team, he’s just such a heady player, makes a big steal when we need one, can guard in multiple positions,” Hansen said. “He doesn’t turn the ball over a lot, either. He just brings that calm to our team. The guys were very excited to have him back, for sure.”
It was a tough draw for Gig Harbor, which gave Auburn everything it could handle in the loss. This is a really good Tides team, which came into Saturday night’s game with just one loss on the season. Asher Raquiza, who has nearly unlimited range — as evidenced by back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half and a team-high 17 points — hit four 3-pointers in the loss. He’s put on some size and rounded out his game since he was an underclassman. Will Landram (nine points), son of Tides’ head coach Billy, is arguably Gig Harbor’s best player, with immense athleticism and the ability to score all over the floor. And Luke Browne (15 points) can beat defenders in a variety of ways, possessing a good back-to-the-basket skillset and a good midrange game.
Most of the night, Gig Harbor was in foul trouble. At one point, four of Gig Harbor’s five starters had four fouls. It made it challenging to manage the game.
“It was tough,” Landram said. “It was a challenge with Will and Christian (Parrish) not playing as many minutes as we’d want. We hung in there pretty well. The kids stepped up. … You’re playing that caliber of a team, you want your guys playing minutes. It’s hard to be aggressive when you have three calls and then Will goes up for the dunk, they undercut him and then they call a charge. At some point, it makes you passive a little bit, too.”
There’s perhaps a silver lining: Gig Harbor went toe-to-toe with one of the state’s best teams and at a few points, looked primed for an upset bid. While the Tides will have to win the next two district games to secure a state regional round berth, Gig Harbor has to be feeling good about its chances.
“They got a good feel for the environment and the intensity,” Landram said. “I thought we came out and handled it well. There’s no margin for error anymore. You’ve gotta win. But that’s most of life anyways, so, we can’t hang our heads and if we want to get to our goals, we have to win.”
Auburn, meanwhile, secured a berth in the state regional round with the win and will most likely advance to the 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome, where it will be on the shortlist of teams vying for the state title. The Trojans were last in the Dome two years ago, when Arington, Hansen and Tre Blassingname were sophomores. Last year’s tournament was cancelled because of covid. The seniors are eager to make a run in their final go-around.
“We haven’t been there since sophomore year, we got cut short and lost our first game in the Dome, so going back, it feels great,” Arington said. “We’ll look to get that championship.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 10:49 PM.
