Who: Eastside Catholic (20-5, second seed Sea-King district) VS. Timberline (13-11, fourth seed District 3/4)
When: Friday, Feb. 28, 6 p.m., Bellevue College
How they got here: The Blazers were the eighth seed to the 3A District 3/4 tournament, and beat Peninsula in a loser-out game 63-55 to get things started.
They came back with a 69-61 win over top-seeded Enumclaw to earn a semi-final berth and Regional spot, before falling to eventual champ Lincoln 68-66, and then Foss by six points in the third place game.
Eastside Catholic won its division, and made the conference’s final four as a result.
The Crusaders beat O’Dea for the second time on the year before falling to Rainier Beach narrowly in the title game.
In the Sea-King district tournament, Eastside Catholic beat Franklin handily to get the program to the state’s round of 16 for only the third time, before beating Bellevue to reach the tile game. The result was not as close in the team’s third meeting, and ended in another loss to the Vikings.
What’s at stake: A second seed in the 3A state quarterfinals and chance to continue on the road to a 3A state title
Players to watch: Timerberline – Donaven Dorsey, SR., Guard; The future Washington Husky scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half, in his team’s win over top-seeded Enumclaw in the district tournament that sent them to the Regional round.
Eastside Catholic – Mandrell Worthy, JR, Guard; Twin brothers Ian and Nathan Christie do plenty for the Crusaders on both ends of the floor, but it could be Worthy’s ability to maneuver in the lane, extend the defense with three-pointers and find open teammates that opens things up offensively, especially if the Blazers aren’t handing over easy buckets with turnovers.
On paper, Eastside Catholic’s 3A Regional matchup with Timberline may look like a mismatch.
But Crusaders’ coach Bill Liley knows games, especially playoff games, are never decided in print.
“They are a good basketball team,” he said of the Blazers. “Their record might not tell everybody that.”
Timberline scuffled during the middle of the season after losing University of Washington commit Donaven Dorsey to an ankle injury early in mid-January. But with their leading scoring threat and one of the top players in the state back on the floor, Liley knows the Blazers are plenty dangerous, and eager to prove they can emerge as postseason threat.
“He is going to present a challenge for us,” Liley said of Dorsey. “It isn’t going to be an easy game.”
Another quality opponent will be nothing new for Eastside Catholic.
Liley’s squad has played three games against Rainier Beach, a team ranked as high as second in the nation by MaxPreps.com, along with a lopsided district win over the then-second ranked Bellevue.
The Crusaders also made the finals of a holiday tournament in California with its only loss coming in the championship game to Chaminade, which was recently selected for the CIF Open Division playoffs.
“Our kids are very confident,” Liley said. “I don’t think our kids are going to back down from a challenge.”
A win would be another historic achievement for a program that has climbed out Metro League obscurity to reach the conference and district title games in Liley’s third year.
The next step is to make the program’s first quarterfinal appearance, a goal not lost on the head coach.
“It would be a big win for our program,” he said. “We’re really excited for this game and excited to have our kids be able to play in the biggest game in the history of this program.”
