After defeating Seattle Prep, Auburn seeks first state championship in school history
As middle schoolers, Maleek Arington, Dae’Kwon Watson, Tre Blassingame and Kaden Hansen won a state tournament together in Spokane, playing for the Auburn High School basketball feeder program.
They’re all seniors at Auburn High now, and they’re going to try to win another one together. For the first time in school history, Auburn will play for the Class 3A state championship on Saturday night in the Tacoma Dome, after defeating fifth-seeded Seattle Prep in the semifinals on Friday night, 45-34.
“It means the world to me,” said Blassingame, who had nine points and six rebounds in the win. “To do it for the first time, to do that for the town means so much to me. I couldn’t be more happy. “
This isn’t a collection of transfer students from other schools, shadily thrown together with the lone goal of hoisting a trophy. This group has been through it all together, from playing together in middle school, to reaching the Dome for the first time as promising sophomores and losing in the first round, to having their junior postseason canceled because of the pandemic.
Saturday’s championship game appearance has been a long time coming.
“It’s just authenticity,” Blassingame said. “We’ve been grinding together for years, it’s been our goal in our high school careers. To see it finally coming to fruition is crazy. We work so hard, we deserve to be here and we knew that we were going to be here the whole time.”
In the first half against Seattle Prep, neither team was able to generate much offense, with Seattle Prep holding a 17-14 lead at half. In the Garfield game one day earlier, Auburn junior guard Tyrell Nichols didn’t come off the bench until overtime. He proceeded to make the biggest shot of his life, a go-ahead 3-pointer that gave Auburn the lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
On Friday, Nichols had his number called earlier, coming off the bench in the first half. Again in the third quarter, he entered the game, immediately making an impact, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a layup to give Auburn a 31-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“I think he gained some confidence last night,” said Auburn coach Ryan Hansen, grinning. “He was just ready for his moment and showed that again tonight and I’m really proud of him.”
About that confidence: Nichols said it’s always been there.
“I’ve always had confidence,” he said. “I just didn’t really play much yesterday. It was a tough game, so I get what my coach is doing. When he put me in, I knew what to do. I’ve been working my whole life, so I just use my skills.”
Then it was senior guard Maleek Arington’s turn to take over. He scored seven of 12 points in the fourth quarter, attacking the rim.
“We challenged Maleek to get aggressive, get downhill and he took that to heart and had some big moments for us,” Hansen said.
When the clocks hit zero, Auburn had held Seattle Prep to just 34 total points, 38.7 percent shooting from the field and just 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
“Every time we go out, we say it’s a mental game,” Watson said. “We’re always talking on defense, make sure we know our personnel, make sure we’re doing the right things on defense and make sure we get after each other for the mental game. Everything is mental.”
Auburn will face the winner of the Mount Spokane vs. Rainier Beach game in the championship game.
“It’s been a dream for these guys, it’s something they’ve worked really hard for,” Hansen said.
