One from the Heart
Micah Ili-Meneese leads win over Seattle Prep for fallen friends
Rainier Beach cruised into a Metro League championship matchup with O’Dea by squashing Seattle Prep, 102-71, on Wednesday night, but it was a night for legacies.
Tyran Stokes had 34 points and a double-clutch dunk and Micah Ili-Meneese added 26 points.
Ili-Meneese is honoring his friends Tyjon Malik Stewart, 18, and Tra’Veiah Houfmuse, 17, who were gunned down at a Rainier Beach bus stop on Jan. 30. Though he and his older brother, Marcus, have been playing with heavy hearts, Ili-Meneese has lifted his game with a more aggressive approach offensively. His scoring off hustle plays has helped provide rhythm on his outside shot, which has been humming of late.
“It gives me a boost to want to play hard for them,” Ili-Meneese said of Malik-Stewart and Houfmuse, “and keeping their names alive.”
Meanwhile, Coach Mike Bethea moved to 699 wins and is poised to become the fourth high-school boys basketball coach to win 700 games. He already is fourth all-time, behind Ron Brown of Centralia (722), Pat Fitterer of Ellensburg (728) and Ed People of Mercer Island (952). With 10, Bethea has the most state championships of any coach in Washington state history.
No. 1 Beach will play the No. 2 Fighting Irish on Friday night, 8 p.m., at Seattle Pacific University’s Royal Brougham Pavilion.
