Garfield leaves slow start in dust, barrels past Timberline for Class 3A regional boys basketball blowout victory

BELLEVUE, Wash. - At first, it looked like Timberline's Brookyln Hicks was going to steal the moment Friday.

And then the Garfield Bulldogs got cookin.'

By the end, it looked like just another Bulldogs' blowout victory. Garfield earned the first-day bye at the Tacoma Dome next week with an 83-51 regional-round victory over the Blazers - and will play the final WIAA quarterfinal game Thursday at 9 p.m.

“That’s huge,” Garfield senior guard Jamari Jackson said. “You get an extra day to go over the game plan. You don’t have to play that first day.”

In the early moments Friday, the Bulldogs looked rusty - and Hicks did not, pouring in 23 of his game-high 33 points over the first 12 minutes.

Garfield missed several first-quarter layups as Timberline built a 20-13 lead on a three-point play by Hicks with 1:25 to go.

The Metro League champions closed the gap to 20-18 before Hicks scored twice in the final 32 seconds of the quarter.

“He did make some shots that I was surprised he made, but I wasn’t surprised, you know,” Garfield coach Brandon Roy said. “He’s good enough to make them. We knew he would come out ready to play. He was focused, even though I don’t want him to play well against my team.”

The advantage remained until the Bulldogs turned up the heat defensively. Garfield extended its pressure to fullcourt - and the Blazers began to turn the ball over. That allowed Garfield’s offense to finally get in gear, reeling off 10 consecutive points to take the lead, 35-30, on a Marquardt putback with 47 seconds remaining in the first half.

“We played hard in the first half,” Timberline coach Allen Thomas said. “But we got tired. Brooklyn has been battling sickness all week. He tried to play through it.”

Once they got going, though, the Bulldogs became virtually unstoppable. Garfield controlled the third quarter scoring 22 of the first 28 points in the period to push the lead past 20 at 59-38 with 39 seconds left in the quarter.

Jackson scored 10 of his 18 points in the period, including half of his four 3-pointers. He was one of four Bulldogs in double figures. Jaylin Stewart’s 19 points led the way, followed by Legend Smiley with 12, and Marquardt chipped in 11.

Hicks was the only Blazers player with more than seven points.

CLASS 3A GIRLS

Garfield 62, Meadowdale 48: Gia Powell made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 31 points for the Mavericks (18-7), but the Bulldogs (20-1) earned the bye next week in Tacoma with a balanced attack, pulling away with a big second quarter and coasting to the regional victory.

Powell made three of her 3-pointers and scored 13 overall in the first quarter to stake Meadowdale to a 17-15 lead after the first eight minutes. Garfield outscored the Mavericks 17-5 in quarter no. 2, extended its lead to double-digits and never led by less than 10 again, save for the first minute and a half of the third quarter.

Rakiyah Jackson led the Bulldogs with 19 points.