Metro League Boys | Rainier Beach stops No. 1 Bainbridge

Folks who travel by ferry are used to disappointment — missed boats — but the Bainbridge boys basketball team is dealing with a much bigger disappointment today.

Rainier Beach upset the top-ranked Spartans 37-36 in the Metro League championship game Saturday night before 2,000 fans at Seattle Pacific University.

Bainbridge has been a Metro League member for six years and was going after its first title in the state's toughest 3A league.

Beach is a fixture in the title game — appearing for the 10th straight year and winning Saturday for the seventh time in that span.

"The Metro championship game has been very good to us," said Beach coach Mike Bethea, who said this triumph was special because his fourth-ranked team was "definitely the underdog."

The game had 10 lead changes and came down to the final possession.

Reggie Moore put Beach up 37-36 on his only basket of the game with 35 seconds to play. Bainbridge star Steven Gray missed with 15 seconds left and Jermaine Delgardo rebounded for the Vikings. A missed Beach free throw gave the Spartans the ball with 11 seconds left, but Austin Wood missed a hook shot and Coby Gibler was off on a putback try.

Beach (16-6) was led by New Mexico State recruit DeAngelo Jones, who scored 15 points but also guarded Gray, a Gonzaga recruit, and held him to 13 points.

"I told coach Mike I wanted to guard him from the start," said Jones.

Losing coach Scott Orness said, "Our guys really wanted that title for respect for Bainbridge. Rainier Beach played great defense and dictated our offense, and that's not normally the way we've been able to play this season. We've been the aggressor and have been able to put other teams on their heels."

Beach and Bainbridge (19-3) are among seven Metro teams and five KingCo teams that will play in the Sea-King District tournament. The tournament bracket will be available at www.wiaa.com.