Metro League Boys Roundup | O'Dea triumphs without "A" game

Top-ranked O'Dea beat its archrival Saturday, but the Irish looked less than invincible in the process.

They got past rebuilding Seattle Prep 64-55 in the noisy O'Dea gym, where some of the free-spirited Irish student rooters arrived in costume.

One boy came dressed as the Pope. His fellow rooters included a gorilla, a strawberry, a football player with shoulder pads and a fellow in a referee's shirt.

Irish fans with or without costumes went home happy as their team improved to 13-1 overall and 10-0 in the Metro League.

"It was probably not our 'A' game, but I don't want to take anything away from their [Seattle Prep's] effort," said O'Dea coach Phil Lumpkin. "Some of the things they may have done may have contributed to that not being an 'A' game for us. We've been playing at a pretty high level and we were due to probably have a game that was a little subpar."

O'Dea never trailed against the defending Class 3A state champions, but had trouble bringing the hammer down on the Panthers (8-7, 6-5).

The Irish used a 7-0 run to build a 46-34 lead after three quarters, but Seattle Prep cut the lead to 52-47 on a basket by Nate Girma with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left. O'Dea then scored the next seven points to put the game out of reach.

O'Dea senior forward Josh Scott led all scorers with 20 points and three of his teammates were in double figures -- Chris Banchero (15), Jamelle McMillan (12) and Ellis Pressley-Whitman (10).

McMillan's pedigree as son of ex-Sonics coach Nate is well-known, but Pressley-Whitman has hoop genes, too. He is the son of Harold Pressley, who played for the 1985 NCAA champion Villanova Wildcats and was a first-round NBA draft choice and played four seasons with the Sacramento Kings.

Jack Hanley, a 6-foot-4 junior, led Seattle Prep with 19 points.

The game was a makeup for the Dec. 15 contest postponed by the historic windstorm. The teams play again Tuesday at Seattle Prep.

Other games

Rainier Beach 86, at Cleveland 71

The third-ranked Vikings (9-5, 8-2) overcame a five-point halftime deficit to defeat the No. 10 Eagles (10-4, 7-3) in a Sound Division game. Rainier Beach's DeAngelo Jones scored eight of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter, when the Vikings outscored Cleveland 24-14. Three other Vikings scored in double figures, with Michael Ladd getting 18, Shawn West 15 and Reggie Moore 11. Hilton Horne had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Cleveland.

At Nathan Hale 70, Ingraham 36

Wyatt Taboh-Graziano had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Thomas Pierson scored 17, and the Raiders (7-8, 2-8) beat the Rams (0-15, 0-11) in a Sound Division matchup. Davon Dennis had 15 points to pace Ingraham.

At Chief Sealth 69, West Seattle 43

The fourth-ranked Seahawks (12-2, 9-2), led by Robbie Graham's 19 points, overcame a slow start to beat the Wildcats (6-9, 3-9) in a Sound Division matchup. West Seattle led 16-15 after one quarter, but the Seahawks scored 21 in the second and led 36-26 at halftime. Reggie Rogers scored 17 and Melvin Jones had 16 for Chief Sealth.

Bainbridge 69, at Bishop Blanchet 50

The second-ranked Spartans (13-1, 10-0) survived a challenge from the Braves (5-11, 4-8), who trailed by eight points at the end of three quarters in the Mountain Division game. Bainbridge senior Steven Gray, who has committed to play for Gonzaga next season, had nine of his 19 points in the fourth. Carter Edwards led Bishop Blanchet with 19 points.

Eastside Catholic 66, at Lakeside 50

The Crusaders (7-10, 3-9) outscored the Lions 29-17 in the fourth quarter to seize control of a tight, Mountain Division game. Vince Taylor led Eastside Catholic with 19 points, and Tyler Mendezona had 14. Spenser Spencer-Walker had a game-high 25 points for the Lions (7-8, 3-8).