Watch: Louis Grante-Halliday, Amari Jackson break down Eastside Catholic's upset win over O'Dea in 3A first round
TACOMA, Wash. — A closer look at Eastside Catholic's low scoring, grind-it-out 48-44 win over O'Dea in the first round of the 3A WIAA state basketball tournament reveals the type of late-season strategy required for a familiar opponent.
The Metro League foes know each other inside and out. There are moves, then there are counter-moves.
"I've been playing against them for four years," senior Amari Jackson said. "We know what they run, we rep it in practice and we're just preparing for every game, day in and day out."
All of that was in play on Wednesday morning at the Tacoma Dome as No. 14 Eastside Catholic advanced to Thursday's quarterfinals, ending its foe O'Dea's season in the process. The Crusaders will play No. 5 Seattle Prep on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the quarterfinals.
The Fighting Irish sent extra defenders at sophomore big Jacob Cofie senior forward, and did the same with senior guard Louis Grante-Halliday.
That allowed Kayden Lamebull-Ingram shake loose for two timely fourth quarter 3s. After hitting the first, he demanded the ball and drilled the second to help the Crusaders establish a lead in the fourth.
Cofie, who was relatively silent offensively (eight points, seven boards), had roughly five blocks — including one on O'Dea guard Owen Moriarty to help seal the win in the final minute.
SBLive caught up with Halliday and Jackson post-game to talk about the win, the stakes and the Crusaders' outlook going into Wednesday. Watch the interview above.
Follow along with game-by-game live updates, highlights, top performers, photos and more at SBLive's 3A boys first round roundup.
