O’Dea pulls away in fourth quarter to defeat Auburn in state regional
For three quarters, things were going to plan for the Auburn Trojans in their Class 3A state tournament regional round game against O’Dea at Auburn High on Saturday night.
The Trojans frustrated O’Dea’s offense and had largely neutralized the Fighting Irish’s noticeable height advantage. Eventually though, O’Dea cracked the code, outscoring Auburn 21 to 15 in the fourth quarter — including a 10-0 run, at one point — to come away with a 63-61 win.
“For us, it was acknowledging that they’re good players and knowing we had to contain them,” said senior wing Miles Clark, who scored a team-high 19 points. “Offensively, it was moving the ball. We had to get it to everybody. We had to make sure the whole team was getting involved.”
Clark is listed as 6-foot-8. Junior teammate Malcolm Clark is also 6-foot-8. They’re not even the tallest players on the O’Dea roster, either — that honor belongs to 6-foot-10 junior wing Miles Goodman. Auburn coach Ryan Hansen doesn’t have the luxury of that kind of height.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “Their size, they’re kind of everything that we aren’t. Big, long. We did a pretty good job for a long stretch of that game of keeping them in front of us, knowing the scouting report and keeping them off the glass. That’s what we were looking to do. We executed that for a long time.”
Auburn sophomore guard Jaylen Petty, the MVP of the 3A North Puget Sound League this winter, was up to the challenge, pouring in a game-high 31 points.
“He’s been doing it all year,” Hansen said. “He’s such a good player, very good competitor. I thought he did a really good job of staying within himself and not really forcing too many. When we needed him, he had some big buckets.”
Junior Luvens Valcin also played well, attacking the basket and flashing his immense athleticism with a one-handed transition jam. He scored 16 in the loss.
O’Dea’s Amare Jackson added 14 points for the Irish and Malcolm Clark scored 11.
It was a physical game, keeping the officiating crew plenty busy.
“The refs will always be there,” Clark said. “That’s something that playing basketball, you get to learn. It was good. We have to expect games to be like that. Having this one be like that and being able to pull through was good for the team.”
With the win, O’Dea earns a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. Auburn, meanwhile, will play No. 12 Arlington on Wednesday in the opening round. The silver lining for the Trojans? Auburn lost in the state regional round last year, as well (to Mount Spokane). The Trojans ended up winning the state title last winter, despite having to play on the first day.
“I really am a believer that if you can get that win on Wednesday, it’s to your advantage to play on Thursday,” Hansen said. “I know you have to play four days in a row, but just having a game under your belt, in that facility, getting a feel for it, I think is an advantage (compared) to the teams that don’t play until Thursday.”
