By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Rainier Beach Vikings and the Garfield Bulldogs played in the first of their two regular season “Hood Classic” matchups last night at Rainier Beach High School, where the Vikings defended their home court and took down the Bulldogs, 81-71. The game was of significant interest to Rainier Beach, as it marked the last time that the “Hood Classic” will be played in Rainier Beach’s current gym.
The Beach Boyz won the opening tip and set the tone for the game as Dre Morris quickly scored the Vikings’ first two points of the night. Garfield’s KJ Hightower responded with an and-1 but was unable to convert the extra point, tying the game at 2-2. The early minutes featured rapid possessions as both teams brought high energy to the court. Morris, after missing a three-pointer, grabbed his rebound and converted for two points. The play was followed by a steal and three-pointer by Rainier Beach’s Jaylen Petty to give the Vikings an early 7-4 lead.
Garfield faced challenges early, including turnovers like an out-of-bounds play that gave the ball back to Rainier Beach. The Vikings’ Micah Ili-Meneese capitalized on the opportunity with a two-point bucket. Garfield’s JuJu Ervin narrowed the gap with a jump shot, and teammate Doni Burkett followed with another score. The game intensified as Marques Ili-Meneese hit a deep three-point shot for the Vikings to take a 12-8 lead. Garfield countered as Ervin electrified the crowd with a dunk off an assist from Isaiah Davis, as the battle for control of the game continued.
However, the three-pointer from Marques Ili-Meneese started a fire in him, as he quickly added another two points and blocked a shot attempt by Hightower, setting up Kaden Powers for a fast-break dunk, as the Beach Boyz took a 16-10 lead.
The Beach Boyz began to showcase their great teamwork as Petty set up Morris for a wide-open jump shot to stretch out the Vikings’ lead.
In the final minute of the opening quarter, both Garfield’s BJ Roy and the Vikings’ Maceo Rivers added three-point shots, and Hightower added two points from the line right before the end of the quarter, as Beach held a tight 21-17 lead going into the second quarter.
The Vikings began the second quarter with a steal and dunk by Petty, pushing their lead to 23-17. Although Garfield’s BJ Roy drained a three-pointer, Beach answered quickly. Powers and Petty combined for six points in under a minute, as the Vikings continued to build their lead.
However, the Bulldogs started to fight back. Hightower scored four consecutive points to narrow the margin, but the Beach Boyz did not back down. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Petty added two points, Morris hit a three-pointer, and Davis put up two back-to-back three-point shots, as the Vikings took a 39-34 lead into the half.
As the second half got underway, the Vikings appeared to be a bit sluggish, and the Bulldogs were ready to play. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run, as Tripp Haywood scored five points and Hightower added two points in the opening minutes of the quarter to take a 41-39 lead.
The Vikings responded as Marques Ili-Meneese sank a jump shot to tie the game at 41, and Petty powered through Roy and Ervin for a layup to take the lead at 43-41.
After a couple of quick possessions, with a few layups, both Burkett and Ervin were sent to the line. Ervin converted one of the two shots, and Burkett converted the extra shot on his and-1. Powers added two points, alongside Petty’s successful and-1, bringing the score to 48-44 in favor of the Beach Boyz. Garfield then called a timeout in hopes of stalling Beach. However, the timeout break was exactly what Beach needed to get that second wind of energy.
After the timeout, with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Rivers assisted Morris with a successful three-pointer, extending the Beach Boyz’ lead to 51-44.
Haywood and Burkett scored five points consecutively on back-to-back plays to narrow the gap to 51-49. Yet again, Hightower struck back with another two points.
Despite the offensive efforts from Hightower and Burkett, Beach Boyz Petty and Micah Ili-Meneese stretched out the lead to 56-53 at the end of the third quarter.
At the start of the final quarter, Hightower hit a wide-open jump shot to cut the lead to 55-56. But Rivers and Petty ignited a 5-0 run by the Vikings to increase their lead to six points at 61-55.
The final quarter flew by as both teams pushed the tempo and exchanged scores. Despite the strong efforts from Haywood, the Beach Boyz, led by Davis, Marques Ili-Meneese, and Petty, took control of the game and held a 75-61 lead with two minutes left.
In the final two minutes, Davis put on a show with back-to-back three-point shots, making the score 67-75. As the score kept increasing on both sides of the scoreboard, the Beach Boyz did not let down. Morris was sent to the line and converted both shots. Haywood was also sent to the line right after for an and-1 call but missed the free throw attempt.
With 19 seconds left in the last “Hood Classic” game to be held in Rainier Beach’s current gym, Powers dunked the ball off the inbound play to end the game, 81-71.
For the community, the “Hood Classic” is a rivalry game that is not only a cornerstone of Seattle’s basketball culture, but it has also long been a source of pride, unity, and friendly competition between two historically Black schools. The game also brings two different areas of Seattle together to claim not only bragging rights but also to acknowledge the meaning behind the matchup.
According to Rainier Beach fan Brandon Vaughan, the “Hood Classic” is about bragging rights, but the true reality is that the game celebrates the spirit of the two communities, despite outside challenges that the athletes may face day to day.
“It’s about bringing people together from two areas of the inner city that have had their differences for a countless number of years. The ‘Hood Classic’ is a rivalry game between two predominantly Black schools that’s standing right in the middle of so much violence. Being able to hold the game at each school makes it more meaningful,” Vaughan said. “It brings so many impactful people together in both communities, from the mayor who was here tonight, to future NBA Hall of Famers. The game is a testament to the upbringing we have in front of us, two different but also similar communities.”
