Peninsula falls short against Cleveland in Class 3A state regionals

In his heart of hearts, Jake Jackson knew the truth.

He knew how much his Peninsula boys basketball team had to overcome just to reach the point of the Class 3A regional round of the state tournament Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School.

Two regulars — Jimmy Ritchie and Garrett Kingman — were battling injuries. Six players missed school Tuesday, so Jackson canceled practice.

He did not want to believe that the seventh-ranked Seahawks were running on empty.

Ultimately they were.

Eighth-ranked Cleveland already came into it boasting Metro League pride. It was hungry, too, to end a 12-year drought of making it to the Tacoma Dome.

The Eagles finished the job, eliminating Peninsula, 75-62. They will play a team to be determined at a time to be determined Thursday in the quarterfinals.

Davon Bolton led Cleveland (22-6) with 23 points with 21 coming in the second half. C.J. Elleby added 22, with 17 coming in the first half.

JaQuori McLaughlin led all scorers with 32 points for the Seahawks in his final game.

“This means a lot. We haven’t been (to state) in 12 years,” Bolton said. “I am so proud being part of this organization.”

Aside from the Seahawks’ first three possessions of the game — two McLaughlin 3-pointers and a Cade McGill short jumper to give them an early lead — it was a struggle offensively much of the night.

Cleveland trapped often which is something it normally doesn’t do. It met McLaughlin, the Oregon State signee, at midcourt with at least two defenders who constantly swarmed and tugged at the WIBCA state player of the year.

It threw the Seahawks out of kilter as they committed 26 turnovers. McLaughlin had 12 of them.

“I never want to have turnovers as a point guard,” McLaughlin said. “Going into the Pac-12, I have to get better at that — keep my head level and be stronger with the ball.”

Peninsula (21-4) started the second half on an 11-1 run to cut Cleveland’s lead to 31-30 — capped by McLaughlin’s driving bucket right at Ellerby.

But Bolton heated up, tallying 10 points over the final 3:51 to give the Eagles a big cushion at 43-33.

Afterward, Jackson told his players they did as well as could be expected, given the injuries and tough games they played.

“To go 21-3 and get where we are — with the obstacles we overcame — we put so much heart, soul and energy into our first 24 games, there was no fuel left,” Jackson said. “Cleveland had way more energy. They are a very scrappy team.”

No. 1 Garfield 118, Wilson 80: The nightcap turned into a nightmare quickly for the Rams.

Garfield got out to a 22-point lead by the end of the first quarter to overwhelm Wilson.

The back-to-back state champions — the Bulldogs won the 4A tournament in 2014 and the 3A tournament last year — made it plenty clear they’re playing for a three-peat.

Seven players recorded double-digit scoring for Garfield, led by Alphonso Anderson — who transferred from Wilson this year — and Jaylen Nowell, who had 20 apiece.

David Jenkins Jr. scored a team-high 19 points for Wilson, while Nate Fisher added 17 and Anthony Stokes had 16.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Peninsula falls short against Cleveland in Class 3A state regionals."