4A Boys Basketball | Franklin survives Wroten, Garfield

On one end, potential glided toward the basket. Garfield freshman Tony Wroten started at the three-point line when the shot went up, and he flung his 6-foot-5 frame higher than everyone into the air to grab the rebound. Still in the air, he tried the near impossible: a dunk.

But the dunk went off the rim, and then Franklin went the other way.

On the other end, the ball ended up in the hands of Peyton Siva, whose fulfilled potential couldn't be more evident Tuesday night at Franklin gym. Siva slammed home an alley-oop, the exclamation point on an 85-70 Quakers victory against rival Garfield.

"It was an exciting game," Siva said. "It's the first game, and we got our jitters out in a tough game."

In front of a boisterous standing-room-only crowd — including Washington coach Lorenzo Romar — two of the state's most highly acclaimed players went back and forth. Wroten, ranked in some parts of the Internet as the country's best freshman, scored a game-high 29 points.

At times, he was dazzling, making NBA-range three-pointers and driving through Franklin's defense. At other times, he was dazed, committing three charging violations and heavily contributing to Garfield's 28 turnovers.

Franklin's Siva, who like Wroten started as a freshman, scored a team-high 22 points. He drew two of the charges on Wroten, and he also had seven assists for the second-ranked Quakers.

"That's probably his No. 1 asset," Franklin coach Jason Kerr said. "He scores the ball so well because he does pass. That's what makes him really, really dangerous.

It appeared that every time Garfield pulled close, Siva had a shot to answer. When the Bulldogs cut a 15-point to lead 39-30, Siva made a three-pointer that pushed the Quakers (1-0) lead back to 12.

In the third quarter, Garfield (0-2) cut the lead to 51-46 on a shot by De'Andre Taylor, who scored 22 points. But on the next possession, Siva hit a three-pointer, starting a nine-point run that Siva closed with a dunk. And then Garfield took a 61-50 lead into the fourth quarter.

"He's a playmaker and the leader of this team," Kerr said. "He needs to be able to make those plays."

Sterling Carter scored 20 points for the Quakers, and Chris Holmes added 19. But all wasn't well for Franklin, which had 28 turnovers, the most in Kerr's nine years as coach. He said the Quakers can't be that sloppy on Saturday against Rainier Beach, the No. 1 team in Class 3A.

"We're going to have a fun time in practice tomorrow because of it," Kerr quipped.

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com