Tony Wroten's overtime block helps secure Garfield win over Gonzaga Prep

TACOMA — Right before regulation ended, his chance to give Garfield the win had passed him by. But as time dwindled in overtime, Tony Wroten had his chance to protect the win.

And this time, Wroten came through. Emphatically.

As Gonzaga Prep's workhorse forward, Ryan Nicholas, tried to muscle through for one more basket in the paint, Wroten soared from the other side of the key to clobber a block off the Tacoma Dome court.

"Oooooo, that was ridiculous," teammate DeAndre Taylor said. "In one word: ridiculous."

That secured a 48-44 overtime victory for Garfield, which survived a tight, physical defensive battle with Gonzaga Prep, the champion from the Greater Spokane League.

"To be the best, you have to beat the best, and that is a great team," Garfield coach Ed Haskins said of the Bullpups.

Garfield (22-3) advanced to an 8:30 semifinal game tonight against Foss, which beat the Bulldogs 50-46 on Jan. 24.

Taylor, one of second-ranked Garfield's few seniors, had missed his first nine shots before overtime, but he scored four of Garfield's first six overtime points.

"I kept telling him he's a player, so be a player," Haskins said.

Wroten finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Teammate Glen Brooks had 10 points, including a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left to cement the win.

"I was thinking about Tony, and what he'd say if I missed," Brooks said.

Garfield had taken a 40-36 lead with more than two minutes left after a seven-point run, in which Wroten made a three-pointer and turned a steal into a fast-break layup.

Then Garfield hit a dry stretch at the worst time, missing three free throws down the final stretch and opening the door for Gonzaga Prep (24-4). So, with 15 seconds left, Nicholas banked in a runner to tie it at 40. Wroten had a shot to tie, but his leaner missed with about three seconds left.

Federal Way 52,

Walla Walla 37

Cole Dickerson is finally feeling comfortable in the Tacoma Dome, and that's trouble for Eagles opponents.

The 6-7 junior forward scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and had 11 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and three assists to lead top-ranked Federal Way (26-2) to a quarterfinal win against the Blue Devils (20-8).

"I'm just getting used to playing here, and it's helping me out a lot," said Dickerson.

Federal Way had trouble getting into its offensive sets after point guard Michael Hale III was kneed in the thigh early in the game. Then Dickerson took over, scoring the first eight Eagles points of the game and leading a 15-2 run in the second quarter to take control.

"Cole's a great player, and whenever you have a great player on the big stage he's going to do well," Hale said.

Foss 66, Curtis 59

Second-half magic doesn't strike twice.

The seventh-ranked Vikings trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half and pulled to three points in the final minute. Still, they couldn't overcome the third-ranked Falcons from Tacoma in a state quarterfinal Thursday.

"The West Central District is the hardest district in the state," said Foss coach Mike Cocke, who team joins districts foes Federal Way and Kentridge in the final four. "We knew if we could get second place out of that district, we could compete for a state championship."

In the first round on Wednesday, Curtis (19-8) came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Eisenhower of Yakima.

With the Vikings student section chanting "Si se puede!" — which is Mexican for "Yes you can! — senior guard Darnell Williams hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 61-58 with 29 seconds left, but Foss (22-5) made just enough free throws to win.

Falcons guard LuQuam Thompson scored a team-high 21 points and went 11-of-12 from the line despite playing just 20 minutes with foul trouble. Curtis' Williams also had 21 points, 19 in the second half.

Freelancer Joshua Mayers

contributed to this report.