The Bainbridge Spartans dug themselves an early hole Tuesday night, and the Sammamish Totems were more than willing to grab a shovel and help to bury them.
The Totems, aided by several Bainbridge turnovers, jumped out to a 22-5 lead and survived a late comeback to hold on for a 67-64 victory in a loser-out game in the Sea-King 3A district tournament.
The Spartans – who trailed 43-22 at the half – closed the gap by turning the pressure on the Totems late. But instead of coughing up the lead Sammamish held on, hitting key free throws late to seal the victory.
“I’m just so speechless right now,” said sophomore John Steinberg after the victory.
Steinberg was part of an early Sammamish (15-9) attack that left Bainbridge without words early. The sophomore scored eight of the Totems first 11 points including two three-pointers – one of which came from far beyond the arc and left Steinberg pumping his fist and the Sammamish crowd going wild.
“I get so pumped when I hit those three’s,” said Steinberg, who led the Totems with 17 points. “I just came out ready to go, because this was a big one.”
The Spartans (13-9) turned the ball over six times in the first quarter alone, allowing Sammamish to build a 24-9 lead early.
“It’s just the kids, they feed off each other,” said Sammamish coach Wes Newton. “When their confidence is rolling, they’ll put the basketball in the hoop.”
Duncan Dickerson scored eight second quarter points to give the Totems the big halftime lead but Bainbridge was able to storm back in the third quarter by switching things up defensively. The Spartans turned to a 2-3 zone that seemed to trouble the Totems, taking away the easy baskets they thrived on in the first half.
“Sometimes we don’t play complete minutes of basketball and we relax a bit,” said senior Anthony Do. “That’s exactly what happened there.”
Rico Failla (15 points) and Will DiIorio (20) helped Bainbridge get within striking distance but the Totems performance at the free throw line (9 of 11) helped Sammamish stay ahead.
“Those free throws were huge,” Newton said. “It was nice to see them step up and hit them. The confidence there will help us in the rest of the battles [of the tournament].”
Sammamish will play Chief Sealth on Friday at 4:45 p.m. at Bellevue College.
