Crawford Hurt as Vikings Roll Garfield
Tyran Stokes leads with 37 points in little more than three quarters
The ‘Hood Classic between the Rainier Beach boys basketball team and Garfield has lost some luster since state champion coach Brandon Roy was mysteriously fired and seven players left the Bulldogs. Now Garfield is tiny in size and roster, making it no match for the now 17-1 Vikings, ranked No. 1 in the state.
Freshman sensation JJ Crawford, on a serious heater lately, left the sold-out Garfield gym in crutches after his team won 94-50 in an eventful if not competitive rivalry contest. Crawford suffered a right-ankle sprain in the first quarter after getting tangled with a Bulldog defender and spilling behind the Rainier Beach baseline. He and his father, Jamal Crawford, both said the younger Crawford would be fine.
Tyran Stokes more than filled the void, raining 37 points on the beleaguered Bulldogs. The consensus No. 1 college prospect in the country sank out a good chunk of the fourth quarter.
Rainier Beach used ferocious defensive pressure from the beginning, igniting a Stokes-led dunkathon. Stokes had nine slams and 22 points during less than the first 10 minutes of the game. Best of show was Stokes leading a fast break, flipping the ball along the baseline to Knowledge Wright, who, airborne, delivered a perfect lob back to Stokes for a dunk.
Wright said afterward that the impressive array of lob dunks were never practiced and simply improvised during the game.
After the game, tempers flared in the lobby as several Garfield fans aggressively heckled Beach coach Mike Bethea and his staff. Fans were screened with metal detectors entering the gym and there also was a significant police presence.
