There may be an asterisk next to it, but it’s still a win — and a big one for the Redmond High School boys’ basketball team.
Junior Conner Floan converted a layup with 12.5 seconds left as the Mustangs held off top-ranked Garfield, 46-45, in a 4A Kingco showdown of division leaders Tuesday night at Redmond High. The heart-stopping win — Redmond’s first victory against a No. 1 team since beating Franklin in 2006 — set off a court-rushing celebration by Redmond students and fans.
“That could have went either way, we are fortunate that it went our way at the end,” said Redmond coach Jeff Larson, whose team won its fifth straight and improved to a Crest Division-leading 7-1 record and 10-4 overall.
The Bulldogs were playing without their top scorer Tony Wroten, a University of Washington-bound senior averaging 24.3 points per game. Wroten scored 29 points in a 63-58 win over Rainier Beach on Monday at the King Holiday Hoopfest, played at Bank of America Arena, after pouring in 23 points in a 78-67 loss to Morgan Park of Chicago last Saturday at the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts. With his surgically repaired knee feeling a bit sore, Garfield coach Ed Haskins chose to rest Wroten against Redmond and the Mustangs took advantage of the Wroten-less Bulldogs.
Larson said he was disappointed that Wroten didn’t play, saying before the game that this matchup will have an asterisk next to it, but after the game, he was glad to hand the Bulldogs their first league loss.
“A win is a win, make no mistake about it …,” said Larson. “Everyone is going to say Tony didn’t play, but that’s still one heck of a good team with or without Tony Wroten. They are very experienced. They are very athletic. They are very skilled and the fact that we didn’t quit is quite impressive.”
Garfield, which has lost two of its last three games, are 6-1 atop the Crown Division and 11-3 overall.
MUSTANGS NEVER QUIT
Facing a six-point deficit with a little more than three minutes to go, the Mustangs could have given up. But instead, the Mustangs dug down and rallied for a win — even after losing senior Jason Harrington, who scored a game-high 14 points, but fouled out with 2:46 left in the game.
“We were in the mindset, we were going to win this,” said Floan, a 6-foot-6 junior forward who scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter and finished with nine rebounds and three steals. “We knew we had to get stops and buckets and finish in the end.”
The Bulldogs led 43-37 with 3:13 left, before the Mustangs closed the game with a 9-2 run, capped by two inside buckets by Floan.
The Mustangs trailed 45-44 with under a minute left and had the ball, but turned it over and were forced to foul Garfield’s Glenn Brooks with 23.6 seconds left. Brooks missed the front end of the one and one, Floan grabbed the rebound and Redmond called timeout to set up the winning play.
Redmond senior guard Andrew Squires took the ball at the top of the arc and then drove down the lane, drawing three Garfield defenders before dishing off his right to Floan, who scored to give the Mustangs a 46-45 lead with 12.5 seconds left. Squires finished the game with 10 points and a game-high eight assists.
“Squires is kind of our go-to guy, so we gave it to him to see if he could get a layup and then I just happened to be open and he dished it to me and I got the layup,” Floan said of the winning play.
However, the final seconds were nerve-racking as Redmond deflected the ball off a Garfield player with 8.7 seconds left to regain possession. The Bulldogs applied their trademark pressure and Daeshon Hall, who scored a team-high 12 points, stole the inbounds pass, drove to the hoop, but missed a short shot at the buzzer as the Redmond fans went into a frenzied celebration.
“My heart is still going,” Floan said after the game.
The players and fans celebrated after the win, but Larson pointed out that there is much more work to do.
“We appreciate this win, but we have to get better.”
STANGS HITTING STRIDE
The Mustangs enter a tough stretch of games, beginning with a matchup against arch rival Eastlake (3-5, 6-8) tonight before taking on Inglemoor (5-3, 10-3) on Saturday and Newport (6-2, 10-3), which is second behind Redmond in the division standings, next Tuesday. But Larson said he likes the way his players are improving — and winning — each game.
“They’ve always have the work ethic. They’ve always had the will,” Larson said of his players. “What’s come together now is the basketball IQ and their instincts. Nothing breeds confidence like winning. As you win, it makes it easier.”
As for Garfield, Haskins said he had no regrets sitting Wroten after the game, saying “hats off to Redmond, they played a good game. … we weren’t ourselves tonight. Hopefully, we will see them again.”
To view and/or purchase more action photographs from this game, visit photographer Matt Campbell’s website at www.sportspixs.com.
