Gonzaga Prep stops Garfield, 66-53 | 4A Boys

TACOMA — Ed Haskins didn't have a speech prepared.

All season long, Garfield expected to win the state championship. That's how the Bulldogs practiced. That's how they talked. That's how they played.

It started with the heartbreak of falling in the Class 4A boys basketball title game two years ago. It continued when star player Tony Wroten Jr. tore his ACL playing football as a junior, and during a 2010 season that ended without a trip to the Tacoma Dome. It climaxed with Wroten's return to complete a talented team that opened this season as the preseason favorite to win it all.

So, while Haskins knew it was possible, the Bulldogs' coach couldn't find the words to explain Friday's 66-53 semifinal loss to Gonzaga Prep.

"For my seniors, what do you say to them?" Haskins said. "When you have your sights set all year on what you want to do and you felt like you put yourself in a position to do it, and you don't do it that's tough. There's really no speech."

The sixth-ranked Bullpups (21-3) will play in their first championship game against Curtis of University Place at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Garfield (23-4) plays Davis of Yakima for third and fifth place at 11:15 a.m.

As they did Thursday in the quarterfinals against Puyallup, the Bulldogs wanted to turn their matchup with the Bullpups into a track meet. Gonzaga Prep wouldn't let that happen, controlling the tempo throughout.

It started early with the Bullpups jumping out to a 14-4 lead. They never trailed.

"They're a senior-heavy team," Haskins said, talking about Gonzaga Prep. "They wanted it, no question about it. When you get to the state championships, sometimes it just comes down to a matter of who wants it more."

Garfield put on a press in the third quarter to force the Bullpups to make quicker decisions with the ball. It worked at first and the Bulldogs were able to make it a one-point game after Wroten's three-point play.

But, with momentum tipping toward Garfield, Gonzaga Prep seniors Chris Sarbaugh and Parker Kelly quickly swung the pendulum. Sarbaugh, who will play for Gonzaga next year and had 24 points and 12 rebounds, hit a jumper and Kelly, who scored 19 and was 4 of 6 from the three-point line, buried a three.

Momentum muted.

"Every time we made a play, kind of closed the gap and here we go, here we go, they stuck to their guns. "They stuck to their stuff and they executed," Haskins said of the Bullpups. "But I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud of them. They gave it up. It wasn't our night."

After the win, the Bullpups didn't celebrate like a group that had just upset the top-ranked team in state. They packed up their belongings and ran into the locker room. Coach Matty McIntyre's postgame speech consisted of telling his players to eat a banana and get treatment.

"There's a very quiet expectation that we came here on a business trip and we're trying to get the gold ball," McIntyre said.

With time running out and the Bullpups at the foul line, Wroten rubbed his hands over his head. He walked toward midcourt with his jersey over his face. He put his hands on his knees and looked down at the floor.

A teammate came off the bench and motioned Wroten to the sideline. The game ended with the Washington-bound senior staring at the floor. Like Haskins and his Garfield teammates, this wasn't the ending Wroten planned.

Mason Kelley: 206-464-8277 or mkelley@seattletimes.com