| 07 January 2012
Seattle Prep guard D.J. Fenner rises up for a dunk in Friday's game against O'Dea. (Photo Credit//Kevin Culala)
Friday’s game at Seattle Prep did not disappoint. The atmosphere was electrics with a sold-out crowd and two entertaining student sections; Prep's student body was "blacked-out," while O'Dea's students showed up in a plethora of Halloween-esque costumes.
At the start of the game both teams couldn’t buy a bucket. Seattle Prep relied on their F Mitch Brewe to do all the work in the paint. With O’Dea lacking in height, Brewe took advantage of the mismatch that was given to him, scoring six of Prep’s ten first quarter points. O’Dea’s lack of experience took a toll on them in the beginning.
The Irish were outrebounded, turned the ball over and air-balled multiple shots. Prep was the dominant team; they continually shared the ball and found the open man. When Prep G D.J. Fenner blew past an O’Dea defender for a slam dunk, the gym erupted leaving the O’Dea students in silence. Going into the half up by 26 to 9, Prep looked like they had this game locked up.
Entering the second half, most fans knew that O’Dea wouldn’t go down without a fight. G Sekou Wiggs wasn't going to settle for three points and a humiliating defeat. O’Dea was in this position before earlier in the season in a December game against Rainier Beach Beach, down seventeen points.
Just like the Beach game, O’Dea came out strong. Once Wiggs hit a three ball to open up the second half, the O’Dea student section started getting back into it. Before you knew it, the lead was only seven for Prep and O’Dea had all the momentum; pushing the ball after each defensive rebound and fighting for every loose ball.
Going into the fourth quarter O’Dea was only down by one point: 32-31. G Jalen Ward helped the Irish come back by controlling the tempo and dishing-out jaw-dropping no look assists. Seattle Prep started to find their groove again in the fourth quarter going back to their main weapon (F Mitch Brewe). G DJ Fenner also helped the Panthers extend the lead, knocking down key jumpers.
The biggest moment of the game came when G Ryan Caindec sank a three-point shot along the baseline to put the Panthers up 48-41 with less than a minute left. O’Dea extended the game after Prep missed critical free-throws; with an opportunity to tie or take the lead with ten seconds left, O'Dea was unable to execute. F Dana Abe struggled to catch a pass from G Jalen Ward which gave Prep the ball and chance to seal the game. G Jackson Clough hit one of two from the line to put Prep up three with about a second left. The Irish inbounded the ball, and G Sekou Wiggs heaved up a prayer hoping for a miracle, but came up short.
Add another chapter to one of Seattle's most storied rivalries.
--Evan Baron (@BaselineBaron09)
