No. 1 Garfield breezes by Wilson, 118-80, in 3A regional

The two-time defending state champions made it clear they’re looking for a third.

Top-ranked Garfield — which won the Class 4A title in 2014 and the 3A title last year — put up its highest point total of the season Saturday night at Bellevue College to knock out Wilson in a 3A state regional, 118-80.

“I think we got smacked in the mouth,” Wilson coach Dave Alwert said. “It was the Tyson rule on that one — everyone’s got a plan until you get hit in the mouth. And what can you do after that?”

Shoot it out, he supposes.

Garfield got out to a blistering 22-point lead by the end of the first quarter. The quarter-by-quarter scores were much closer after that, but Wilson never trimmed the lead within striking distance.

“We got hurt in that first quarter, that 33-11,” Alwert said. “We took two timeouts, we just couldn’t really get them calmed down. We didn’t play organized, I thought we ran with them a little too much.

“Giving up 118, I’ve never done that in my career. The kids, I think, just wanted to shoot it out with them and see who made the most 3’s.”

Wilson did have the edge there. The Rams hit 13 of 21 shots (61.9 percent) from beyond the perimeter, while the Bulldogs only netted 10.

But Garfield led in every other statistical category. The Bulldogs finished 41 of 71 shooting (57.7 percent), and outrebounded Wilson, 34-17. Fifteen of those boards were offensive, and Garfield converted 36 points off of turnovers.

“They’re just a really deep team in general,” Wilson guard David Jenkins Jr. said. “We knew we had to come compete, and I think that’s what my team did. Overall, they were just a better team, but I’m still proud of my team because we competed until the end, and that was the bigger part of the game.”

Garfield senior Alphonso Anderson, who transferred from Wilson before the start of his junior year, tied with teammate Jaylen Nowell for a game-high 20 points.

“It was fun, I enjoyed it — playing against all of my old guys like Dave and Montre (Brown-Lofton),” Anderson said. “But it was good that we got it done.”

For Jenkins — who scored a team-high 19 points for Wilson — this game was the end. The senior, who averaged 26 points for the Rams this season, will likely attend Brewster Academy in New Hampshire next year.

And after battling a groin injury all week, Jenkins spent the final three minutes of his final high school basketball game on the bench.

“Dave over his career is phenomenal,” Alwert said. “He’s relentless, and he’s tough. I don’t think he’s missed a game, I don’t think he’s missed a minute. I think those last three minutes were maybe the only three minutes in his career that he had to come out do to an injury. He’s very durable.”

The loss caps a four-year career at Wilson for Jenkins, who has “King of Tacoma” printed across the back of his shooting shirt.

“I wanted to finish what I started,” he said. “I could have easily went to some other school and tried to build something there and win a ring, but, at the end of the day, it’s about staying loyal to my city and loyal to my coach.”

Nate Fisher added another 17 points for the Rams while Anthony Stokes had 16. Wilson finished 26 of 50 shooting (52 percent).

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 9:43 AM with the headline "No. 1 Garfield breezes by Wilson, 118-80, in 3A regional."