Lakes Captures First State Basketball Championship

It was a dunk unlike any other and a historical conclusion thereafter.

Lakes senior Taylor McAllister sprinted the floor in the final seconds of the Class 3A state championship against Bellevue and with one hand slam dunked the basketball, the final points of the Lancers' 71-56 championship victory at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night.

It marks the first time in the school's history the boys basketball team has won a state championship. The runner-up finish in 2008 against Rainier Beach and landing third place this past season has all been forgotten.

Earning a state title hadn't been experienced by any of the Lancers' players. Lakes' Nate Guy, a junior transfer from Renton High School, scored a team-high 22 points on 6-for-15 shooting including three 3s and 12 rebounds. He averaged 13 points in the four-game state tournament.

"You can't express it," Guy said about winning the state title. "It's crazy. We just made history for Lakes High School. This is the best Lakes team ever."

While Bellevue's Nate Sikma went bonkers in the finale contest with a game-high 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting, a pair of three-pointers and 10 rebounds, the trio of Lakes' Isaac Winston, Zach Banner and Guy combined for the same amount of productivity as the entire Bellevue team.

The motto "Family Over Everything" played out as a coming together but also from a team-scoring perspective. Lakes head coach Jojo Rodriguez praised Sikma's performance but followed up by saying they are a true team.

"I've experienced it five times, once as a player and four times as an assistant coach at Garfield," Rodriguez said about winning a high school basketball championship. "But to be in control and be out there and win as a head coach, it's unbelievable."

Bellevue came out the gates on fire with a high-pace transition game and led 25-17 with 4 minutes, 39 seconds in the first half. But the Lancers turned the tables and went on a 16-7 run to close the half including a behind-the backboard baseline shot before the buzzer by junior guard Cedric Dozier, his only two points of the game.

It took the wind out of Bellevue's sails, Rodriguez said.

"When somebody does that, it's like 'oh it's their night.'"

The trend continued in the third quarter. Lakes grabbed its first double-digit lead with consecutive 3s by Guy and senior guard Carl Flamer, capping an 11-0 run with less than a minute remaining in the period, 51-38.

Lakes' height and size won the rebounding effort 47-26, which was the main reason why Bellevue lost, said head coach Chris O'Connor.The Lancers also won in second-shot opportunities, 23-10.

And from a team-scoring perspective, the Wolverines scored just nine field goals outside of Sikma as the Lancers' weaponry were fueled by multiple players.

Lakes junior guard Andrew Holloway said when things were going down early in the contest they ran their sets and went to the post (Banner) and did their thing.

"We played team basketball and did it together," Holloway said. "All the work paid off. We played as a team and we played well."

Lakes senior guard Isaac Winston was the most consistent player in the tournament, averaging 19 points.

Box Score

Lakes        15  18  20  18 — 71

Bellevue  17   15  10   14 — 56

Scoring summary

Lakes — Flamer 5, Holloway 2, Guy 22, Dozier 2, Winston 19 and Banner 15.

Bellevue — Locke 10, Ahrens 7, VanAckeren 5, Richard 5, Walton and Sikma 28.