3A Boys | Seattle Prep denied by Lakes

In 16.7 seconds, Seattle Prep darted down the court and found two open shots. Only one needed to fall to keep their championship hopes alive.

"It was all a blur," senior Jack Hanley said.

But 16.7 seconds weren't enough.

Seattle Prep's chances to tie missed, and Lakes left Edmundson Pavilion with a 52-49 semifinal victory in the Class 3A state boys basketball tournament.

Lakes of Lakewood will play in the first state-championship game in school history tonight at 7 at Edmundson Pavilion against Rainier Beach, a 65-45 winner against Squalicum in the other semifinal.

"Lakes made, probably, one more play than we did," Seattle Prep coach Mike Kelly said.

That play came with exactly three minutes left.

Seattle Prep, once trailing 34-23 in the third quarter, had fought back to tie the score at 42 by holding Lakes scoreless for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.

"That was a pretty exciting moment," Kelly said.

Lakes guard Anthony Enriquez shot a three-pointer that rimmed in and out, and both teams punched the rebound around like a beach ball.

The final bounce soared higher than the rim and fell into the hands of Lakes guard Jermaine Kearse. Lancers coach JoJo Rodriguez tried to call a timeout, but officials couldn't hear him above the crowd. Lucky for Lakes. Kearse was fouled as he put the rebound back in, and his free throw put the Lancers ahead, 45-42.

"That was huge," Rodriguez said.

On the next possession, sophomore Jamaal Kearse, Jermaine's brother, rebounded an Enriquez miss, and his putback put Lakes ahead 47-42.

"My brother's a tough player; he's probably as tough as me," said Jermaine Kearse, a Washington football signee. "He does all the dirty work, all the rebounds, takes the charges."

But Seattle Prep wasn't done. Hanley scored seven of his 14 points in the final two minutes, and his basket with 21 seconds left cut the lead to 51-49. With 16.7 seconds left, Lakes guard Andre Winston Jr. toed the free-throw line, needing to make both to put Seattle Prep away.

The Seattle Prep students chanted "Pressure!" as Winston, a sophomore, sank the first one. They screamed "Miss it!" during the second, and he did just that, giving Seattle Prep one more chance.

The Panthers bolted to the other end, and junior Patrick Nyeko took an open three-pointer from the left wing. Kelly, standing right behind him, knew right away it missed left. But Seattle Prep's Jon Humphrie pulled down the rebound and found Hanley at the top of the key.

Hanley's shot went off the rim a second before the horn.

"I was scared," Jermaine Kearse said. "I thought it was going to go in. My heart dropped."

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

SEATTLE PREP — Jon Humphrie 1-3 0-2 2, Patrick Donnelly 3-4 0-0 6, Philip Stanford 0-1 0-0 0, Shamsu Said 1-2 2-2 4, Jack Hanley 6-17 2-3 14, Patrick Nyeko 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Hamilton 7-15 2-3 16, Alex Cameron 3-4 0-0 7, Ian Tierney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 6-10 49.

LAKES — Anthony Enriquez 2-8 6-7 11, Andre Winston Jr. 0-3 5-6 5, Jermaine Kearse 5-5 1-2 12, Darius Waters 0-0 0-0 0, Jamaal Kearse 2-2 0-0 4, Kavario Middleton 7-14 1-1 16, Brandon Jimenez 2-6 0-0 4, Lawrence Anthony 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 13-16 52.

Three-point shooting — Seattle Prep 1-12 (Cameron 1-2, Hamilton 0-4, Nyeko 0-1, Hanley 0-2, Said 0-1, Humphrie 0-2); Lakes 3-8 (Kearse 1-1, Enriquez 1-2, Middleton 1-2, Jiimenez 0-2, Winston Jr. 0-1). Rebounds — Seattle Prep 33 (Hanley 8); Lakes 22 (Anthony 8). Assists — Seattle Prep 12 (Hanley 3, Donnelly 3); Lakes 7 (Enriquez 4). Steals — Seattle Prep 6 (Cameron 3); Lakes 6 (Middleton 3). Blocked shots — Seattle Prep 0; Lakes 2 (Middleton 1, Anthony 1). Fouled out — Donnelly, Seattle Prep. Technicals — none.