Coast to Coast
Viks beat O'Dea with 2 seconds left, fly east and beat Bishop McNamara
Three days and a cross-country flight after beating arch-rival O’Dea at the buzzer, Rainier Beach defeated Bishop McNamara (Maryland) 91-85 in overtime. Freshman JJ Crawford scored 10 of his 32 points during the extra period in the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. The game was played at Springfield College, in front of dozens of NBA and college scouts.
Crawford, who sank 13 of 20 shots, opened overtime with a pair of three-pointers and later fielded a court-length pass from Tyran Stokes for a reverse layup with 25.2 seconds left to play, then scored another tough transition layup with 12.9 seconds remaining to help the Vikings fend off a Bishop McNamara comeback. Stokes finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.
The Vikings, now 14-1, were led by Stokes’ 30 points in the 78-76 victory over the Fighting Irish at Rainier Beach on Friday night. O’Dea, ranked second in the state 3A, scrambled back from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit and tied the score on Brian Webster’s deep three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left. Rainier Beach then beat O’Dea’s full-court press with a zipper play leading to a pass from Crawford to all-alone KJ Hightower for a game-winning layup with two seconds remaining.