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Sports

Boys Basketball: Gig Harbor Fall in Fourth Quarter Nail-biter

Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Brandon Gagliardi each scored 15 points for the Tides in a valiant effort against Kentridge.

Gary Bell's 34 points led Kentridge (18-6) to come from behind and claim victory over the Tides boys basketball team on Monday afternoon, 62-59, in the West Central District 4A Boys Basketball Tournament at Auburn High School. Gig Harbor (13-11) will now have the number seven seed from the West Central District for this weekend's Regional Round of the State Tournament.

The Tides came out early and took the game right to Kentridge as they bolted out to a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. Gig Harbor was led by the inside-out game of Sam Madek and Brandon While Gagliardi hit several three-point shots, senior Austin Seferian-Jenkins led the Tides along with Gagliardi with 15 points apiece in the contest.

"We were extremely focused, we played tough and not on our heels," Gig Harbor Coach Tom Adams said after the game.

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Gig Harbor would continue to control the game over the next two and a half quarters stretching their lead out to 54-45 in the middle of the fourth quarter. However, Kentridge adjusted to a full-court pressure defense and put the game in the hands of Bell on the offensive end to get them back in the contest.

"Gary [Bell] had a bit of a grinder of a game tonight," Kentridge coach Dave Jamison said."Gig Harbor did a really good job him on defensively."

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The game would come down to the final possession as Gig Harbor tied the game at 59 thanks to Madek's three-point shot from the far right hand corner with ten seconds left, then Kentridge's Jawan Stepney answered with a three point shot on the right hand corner with five seconds left gave the Chargers the lead for good at 62-59.

After the game, Seferian-Jenkins and Adams each lauded the efforts of their team.

"We played fantastic the game down to the end," Seferian-Jenkins said. "They have the best player in the state, and they just made one more play than we did."

"We played a great game," Adams said. "It was two good teams battling hard, the little things just decided it, Kentridge won the game they were good."

Gig Harbor will play Ballard High School on Friday in the Region 3 regional round of the State Tournament at Puyallup High School. The start time is yet to be announced, but Gig Harbor Patch will post the information on the site as soon as they become available.

Box Score

1 2 3 4 Final Gig Harbor 13 19 16 11 59 Kentridge 12 17 14 18 62

Gig Harbor: Austin Seferian-Jenkins 15, Brandon Gagliardi 15, Sam Medak 14, Troy Castle 9, Cody Williams 2

Kentridge: Gary Bell 34, Denzel Daniels 11, Brendan Westendorf 8,Jawan Stepney 5, Roddy Hanson 4, Caleb Smith 2

Team Fouls: Gig Harbor 18 , Kentridge 13

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