Bennett calls game! Game-winning three lifts Emerald Ridge over Puyallup
Jordan Bennett was wide open. Emerald Ridge trailed rival Puyallup by two, 53-51, when their senior sharpshooter slipped out of the paint and drifted along the perimeter for a three-point shot delivered on a silver platter. Nothing but net.
Less than 10 seconds remained in Tuesday night’s 4A SPSL thriller when Bennett called game. He rejected the host Vikings’ last gasp, too, palming Lawson Looker’s midrange try before the horn — the hero twice over in a 54-53 road win.
Soon enough, Bennett was swarmed by Jaguars underneath the basket, the obvious MVP in front of a packed house at Puyallup High School. The Vikings led for most of Tuesday night’s rivalry. Emerald Ridge simply never went away.
So what was more satisfying for Bennett? The clutch, go-ahead three-pointer with 9.9 seconds left in regulation, or the game-sealing block on the other end?
He smiled. “They both feel great. Just being able to come back down and execute the defense is amazing.”
Moments before Bennett won the game himself, head coach Pat Mullen and the Jaguars debated their final play in the huddle. Would they go back to Bennett, running the same play they tried unsuccessfully at the end of the third quarter? Would they try something new?
“If we run it hard, I’m (open),” Bennett recalled. “Setting hard screens and running it correctly just got us that shot.”
It was run to perfection. Jaguars star forward Jamaize McGriff bolted inside, commanding attention and leaving Bennett to himself. Point guard Darius Alexander inbounded an accurate pass and Bennett did the rest.
“I told (Jordan) in the huddle, ‘You better shoot it,’” Mullen told The News Tribune. “And he did. And it went in.
“That’s all we wanted, to make sure that we got a good shot.”
The Jaguars (17-2, 14-0) remain unbeaten in 4A SPSL play with two regular-season games left, the North Division leader and favorite entering the league tournament from Feb. 5-7. Emerald Ridge has won 11 in a row, possesses star power in the senior forward McGriff, and sits at No. 9 on The News Tribune’s latest statewide 4A rankings.
“It’s really a next-game mentality,” Alexander said. “We’re gonna soak up this win and celebrate it, but we’re on to the next. We’ve got to keep fighting in practice and keep pushing each other because there’s always the next level.”
Emerald Ridge stumbled early in Tuesday night’s thriller, mustering just nine points in the first quarter and held without a field goal until McGriff’s hard-earned and-one nearly six minutes into regulation. That changed as the 6-foot-7 forward took over the post, helping clear the perimeter for the Jaguars backcourt.
“I tell our guys: I don’t care if we miss shots. We’ve just got to get shots,” Mullen said. “But we’ve got to defend at the other end, and they did a good job defending in the fourth quarter.”
Alexander paced a balanced Jaguars offense with 15 points. McGriff had 14 points and Bennett added a dozen — none more important than his game-winner with 9.9 on the clock.
Puyallup’s Will Nasinec, a senior wing, dropped a game-high 24 points with four triples.
“Good atmosphere. Good playoff atmosphere,” Mullen said, “and these guys know each other. They play against each other all the time. Maize played on the same AAU team as Nasinec and (Puyallup wing Mason) Sonntag. They became friends. It was just a great atmosphere. Great high-school basketball game.
“We’ll probably see ‘em again. Last year, we played them four times, so we’ll see.”
BOX SCORE
ER: 9-18-12-15—54
P: 15-16-14-8—53
Scoring: (ER) Alexander 15, McGriff 14, Bennett 12, Turner 8, Mosley 4, Kilbourne 1; (P) Nasinec 24, Jones 7, Costello 6, Looker 5, Foto 4, Sonntag 4, Hedman 3
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
