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Sports

The Tides Roll Over the Royals in 4A Washington State Championship Tournament

Gig Harbor Tides take care of business against Kent-Meridian Royals in a battle of 4A power houses.

The recent University of Washington football signee and Gig Harbor center, Austin Seferian-Jenkins dominated on both ends of the court. With 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, Seferian-Jenkins led 's boys basketball team past Kent-Meridian, 55-45, on Friday night at Puyallup High School for the West Central District III 4A boys basketball tournament.

“We have to make people play our style game, at our tempo,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “I knew if we stuck to the game plan, we would have a chance to win.”

Brandon Gagliardi scored 13 of his team-high 21 points in the first half to boost the Tides' offense.

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“We’re playing for the state championship, we have to stay composed,” Gagliardi said. “We have to play our game and attack the rim." 

Seferian-Jenkins set the tone four minutes into the game with the first of his monster dunks and gave the Tides a 28-15 halftime lead.

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Kent-Meridian’s Jordan Thompson-Walker hit 6 three-pointers and had a game-high 23 points to keep the Royals within 10 points for the entire game.

Gagliardi served a no-look pass to Seferian-Jenkins for his final highlight reel dunk and seal the victory, with a 51-35 lead with 1:43 to play.

“Austin [Seferian-Jenkins] is unstoppable when he comes to play,” Gig Harbor's Coach Tom Adams said after the game. “When he can make plays like that, it makes it easier for the rest of the team.” 

Gig Harbor moves on to play Mt. Tahoma Saturday, Feb. 19 at Rogers High School. The teams tip off at 2:30 p.m. 

Looking to avenge a 61-57 regular season loss against Mt. Tahoma, Adams is familiar with the Thunderbirds and has a strategy.

“[Against Mt. Tahoma,] we have to stop the dribble penetration," Adams said.

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