2022-02-11 at 11.22.49 PMgarfield-seattle prep-basketball-washington-girls-metro-mason-kelley 30

No. 1 Garfield boys get big, beat Seattle Prep in comeback fashion to hoist Metro League trophy: 3 takeaways

On the Metro League's defensive MVP Raphael Justice, Sherrell McCullum's interior dominance and Seattle Prep's confident outlook.

Author:
Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
Publish date:
Feb 12, 2022 11:02 AM EST

SEATTLE — No. 1 Garfield was presented with a scenario it hadn't yet seen in the Metro League championship on Friday night.

A) Mount a fourth quarter comeback.

B) Do it with your best player on the bench.

After Johnson, a four-star recruit and Washington commit, fouled out in the final seconds of the third, it was the Bulldogs' imposing frontcourt that utilized its size advantage.

Jaylin Stewart and Sherrell McCullum combined for 35 points and the top-ranked Bulldogs (17-0) collectively hoisted the league trophy after beating Seattle Prep 67-60 at Seattle Pacific University.

That leaves the defending 3A state champion Bulldogs, SBLive's top team in the state across all classifications, with two more goals: districts and state.

"It's a great feeling," McCullum said. "It's what we've been working toward all offseason, during the season we've been dedicated to get this. Still got more to go.

"Keep winning. Let's get this ring."

Here are three takeaways:

McCullum is a force down low

Sherrel McCullum, Garfield 6-6 junior. (Photo by Mason Kelley)
Photo by Mason Kelley

McCullum nursed a ginger back after tweaking it during the Bulldogs' win over West Seattle on Wednesday. It took him time to feel out how to best play through it on Friday night.

Once he did — Bulldogs' coach JayVon Nickens adjusted to exploit their size advantage with McCullum down low.

"I told him, every time I touch it, I'll get us a bucket and help. us win," McCullum said, "and they started feeding me."

He has four days to rest his back before Garfield plays the winner of Eastside Catholic and Hazen in the District 2 Tournament at Bellevue College on Tuesday.

McCullum had three consecutive buckets in the second — all on post-ups — but scored the rest of his points in the second half.

'Poppy' fueled Garfield's defensive effort

All-league awards announced over the loud speaker before lineups may as well have been a precursor to the matchup of the night.

Raphiel "Poppy" Justice was the Metro League defensive player of the year and had to account for Seattle Prep's jitterbug point guard Braeden Smith.

Though Smith, a Colgate commit, had 21 points, Justice made him earn each one, face guarding him full-court.

"It was taking away his left, his right, staying on top of him," Justice said. "It was a lot, but we came through with it, so that's a good job."

Justice is the the Bulldogs' top defensive guard and a multi-year contributor. He rode a breakout football season in the fall into an all-league selection as a corner and has carried that momentum into his most productive season yet.

That isn't lost on his coaches and teammates.

"Poppy is the key to our team," McCullum said. "Every player has a role and he plays his perfectly every game."

What does Seattle Prep learn from this?

Last June, the Metro League championship was one of the few culminating events in the state of Washington in a season reduced to a fraction of the length and pushed to the spring.

And it was by far the most memorable.

Smith stole an inbound and finished a contested layup at the buzzer to beat O'Dea to win. This year, the ball doesn't stop bouncing after Metros.

And the Panthers have plenty of momentum heading into districts. They dealt No. 3 Rainier Beach its second loss of the season in an 18-point comeback double-overtime win on Wednesday.

And while head coach Mike Kelly can point to a list of things he'd like to improve, he walked away with the perspective that the close loss to the state's best team is a good measuring stick.

"You've got to be a good team to compete with them," Kelly said. "I just thought we were able to stay poised, make some plays, keep them contained and play at a pace we wanted for a good stretch of it."