Prep is the Jet Lagged
Vikings engineer 25-point win after coast-to-coast trip
To get to Springfield, Massachusetts, the Rainier Beach High School boys basketball team had to be at the airport at 5 a.m. on Saturday, fly six hours, then bus another two hours. They beat Bishop McNamara on Sunday, bussed for 2 1/2 hours in a whiteout, and caught a plane home at 2 a.m. on Monday.
And the next day, Tuesday night, the Vikings beat Seattle Prep on the road, 100-75.
As they did at Rainier Beach, Seattle Prep (11-5 and a week removed from beating Eastside Catholic) stuck with Rainier Beach for about a half, thanks to their splendid guard, Nico Christofilis, who had 14 points and several nifty dishes.
The Vikings, 16-1, asserted control with full-court pressure that blendered Prep with a 19-0 surge from the end of the third quarter into the fourth. The feeding frenzy included Knowledge Wright passing the ball off the backboard for a Tyran Stokes slam.
Stokes, per usual, led Rainier Beach with 27 points. The Vikings got a significant lift from 6-feet-3 junior Micah Ili-Meneese, who collected 21 points on an assortment of hustle plays, a couple dunks, and a three-pointer.