Braeden Smith takes over in second half to lead Seattle Prep over Eastside Catholic into WIAA 3A state semifinals
TACOMA, Wash. — For a half of basketball, the Eastside Catholic boys basketball team held Seattle Prep senior Braeden Smith in check.
The 14th-ranked Crusaders held Smith to just four points in the first 16 minutes of the game, and used a 7-0 run to close out the first half to take a 23-18 lead into the locker room.
But Smith, and his teammates, are battle-tested playing in a tough Metro League and it showed in the second half. Smith exploded for 20 second-half points to finish with a game-high 24 and the fifth-ranked Panthers held off the Crusaders 55-50 to advance to Friday’s WIAA 3A boys basketball state semifinals.
“They did a good job in the first half guarding all of us,” Smith said after the game. “I think Christian King hit a few big shots to keep us within distance. As the game went on in the second half, it was our defensive intensity and causing turnovers to get us in transition and get us some easier shot attempts, which I think helped us.”
After Eastside Catholic scored the opening bucket of the second half, the Panthers went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 26-25. Smith scored the final six points of the run, and had 12 points in the quarter for Prep. The final basket of the period was perhaps Smith’s finest work of the game. With time ticking down, he came up with a steal and dribbled down the right side of the court. He briefly lost the ball and found himself behind the 3-point line in the right corner near the baseline. Smith didn’t panic, gave his defender a pump fake and calmly knocked down a 3-pointer as time expired to give his team a 36-34 lead heading into the final quarter.
“It was low-scoring, not a lot of plays being made,” Smith said. “So, anything could give either team momentum. That shot at the end of the quarter gave us a little bit of a spark going into the fourth and gave us that little push.”
Smith followed up his buzzer-beater with another three from the same spot in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. This time, Smith was fouled on the shot and converted the free throw to put the Panthers up 40-35 with 6:34 to play in the game.
The Crusaders immediately answered with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the game at 40. Moments later, King hit a three to put Prep back on top at 43-40. Eastside Catholic continued to battle, but the Panthers never trailed again.
“We were able to get them twice earlier (in the season), but their coaching staff has done a really nice job with their players, and I thought they were playing their best basketball at the end of the year,” Seattle Prep head coach Mike Kelly said. “The game really wasn’t different than what we were expecting.
The Panthers will play No. 2 Auburn (24-2) in Friday’s semifinals. The Trojans pulled off the upset of No. 1 and formerly unbeaten Garfield (22-1) in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.
“We’ve got two heavyweights tomorrow,” Kelly said. “We’re going to go watch the game and prepare for whoever comes out on top.
“Our schedule this year has been (4A No. 1) Mount Si, a team from Florida that’s ranked top-three, and Garfield twice. We just show up and play and who we’re supposed to play and that’s why our kids enjoy being at our school and playing for Seattle Prep.”
The Crusaders will face Garfield in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Photo by Vince Miller
