We've all been really busy at the Tacoma Dome with the Class 4A tournament, but it's important to remember that the Class 3A teams are punching their ticket to state this week, too. So far, these teams are heading there:

Boys

Rainier Beach
Mercer Island
Seattle Prep
West Seattle
Lakes
Auburn
Renton
Enumclaw
Squalicum
Peninsula
Columbia River
West Valley (Yakima)
Mt. Spokane

One of these two teams will make it: Meadowdale, Mt. Vernon
One of these two teams will make it: Kennedy, Mt. Rainier
One of these two teams will make it: Kennewick, Eastmont

Girls

Ferndale
Seattle Prep
Bellevue
Lakeside
Bainbridge
Lakes
Kennedy
Auburn Riverside
Fort Vancouver
Kelso

One of these two teams will make it: Meadowdale, Shorecrest
Two of these three teams will make it: Olympic, Auburn, Enumclaw
Three of these four teams will make it: Hanford, Kamiakin, West Valley (Yakima), East Valley (Spokane)

Federal Way just might make the championship game.

The most interesting part about the Eagles victory against Franklin yesterday, I though, was how much potential they showed to play even better. There were some gimmes left out on the floor, and some late turnovers (but I should point out they were a perfect 9-for-9 at the stripe in the fourth).

The fans that walked in later in the day expressed shock about Federal Way's win, but most of the coaches from the Seattle-Tacoma area weren't surprised. The Eagles have great size and athleticism. The most important thing from them -- I'm gonna go all coachspeak on you right here -- is putting it together for a whole game. When they do that, they're as good as anyone.

The most impressive teams on Wednesday two teams from Spokane and one from WesCo. Ferris and Shadle Park both controlled their first-round games, with Ferris' DeAngelo Casto and Shadle Park's Zack Humphrey each having big days. Then there was Edmonds-Woodway, which shocked just about everyone by not only beating Kentridge, but controlling the game from the outset. That was a blowout, through and through. Just when WesCo teams looked headed to a second consecutive 0-3 first round, the Warriors came to the rescue.

Once it got going in the 9 a.m. game, Decatur looked solid, and the Gators should challenge Shadle Park today. Bellarmine Prep showed why its guards are regarded as two of the country's best, combining for 52 in a win. And Foss looked very dangerous in a last-second 53-51 win against Prairie. It's a shame more people weren't around to see LuQuam Thompson's winning shot with 1.4 seconds left.

The biggest surprise? Maybe that KingCo teams went 0-2, though Garfield had a tough draw. There were probably at least 10 teams the Bulldogs could have gone toe to toe with Wednesday, but Ferris definitely wasn't one of them. It doesn't get any easier; they get Kentridge in a loser-out game today.

And again, it's not like Franklin had an easy draw either. Federal Way showed why, as Lincoln coach Aubrey Shelton said, "Federal Way is one of the best teams around."

So many big games and big moments Wednesday. Franklin's second-ranked boys lost, as did No. 6 Kentridge. On the girls side, Jackson of Mill Creek is in the loser's bracket.

Top-ranked Ferris boys team and Kentwood's girls cruised to big wins.

How about Bellarmine Prep's Avery Bradley going off for 37 points with Washington coach Lorenzo Romar in attendance. Bradley says he has scholarships from all the Pac-10 schools, Kansas, Kentucky, Kansas State and more. Where will he end up?

How about the small schools? Bellevue Christian's boys survived in overtime. Bear Creek's boys lost their first state game in the school's history.

But it's all about you. What stands out in your mind?

So it didn't take long for my pick in the 4A boys tournament to leave the championship round.

It took only three games.

Franklin's gone, a 63-58 loser to Federal Way, and I'm sure I'll be eating my words from yesterday for quite some time. I'll have to revise my pick after tonight; that's for sure.

A reminder that tomorrow, Times writers -- myself included -- will be live-blogging all day on The Seattle Times Full-Court Press Blog. We'll have several updates for each game and we'll try to give you a feel for the atmosphere for anyone who can't make it. I recommend checking it out.

I'll be giving my overall thoughts, plus each day's top players, each day here on the high school sports blog.

Congrats to Ferris and Rainier Beach boys and girls from Lewis & Clark and Auburn Riverside. They finish as the season's top-ranked teams in The Seattle Times' rankings.

Yet I'm sure this isn't the No. 1 they are looking for.

Boys

Class 4A

1. Ferris (Spokane) 25-0
2. Franklin 21-2
3. Lincoln (Tacoma) 22-4
4. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 22-3
5. Shadle Park (Spokane) 21-4
6. Kentridge 21-5
7. Decatur 20-6
8. Snohomish 20-3
9. Garfield 17-7
10. Federal Way 18-6

Class 3A

1. Rainier Beach 23-1
2. Auburn 22-0
3. Lakes (Lakewood) 20-1
4. Mercer Island 21-2
5. Renton 20-2
6. Seattle Prep 19-4
7. Squalicum (Bellingham) 21-1
8. Mt. Rainier (Des Moines) 19-4
9. Kennedy (Burien) 18-4
10. West Valley (Yakima) 18-5

Girls

Class 4A

1. Lewis & Clark (Spokane) 25-0
2. Prairie (Brush Prairie) 18-3
3. Jackson 22-1
4. Lake Stevens 21-2
5. Skykview (Vancouver) 22-3
6. Ballard 21-2
7. Kentwood 21-4
8. Moses Lake 21-5
9. Inglemoor 19-3
10. Mt. Tahoma (Tacoma) 21-5

Class 3A

1. Auburn Riverside 19-3
2. Lakes (Lakewood) 19-0
3. Kennedy (Burien) 20-1
4. Issaquah 21-2
5. Meadowdale 20-3
6. Bellevue 19-4
7. Ft. Vancouver 17-4
8. Seattle Prep 20-5
9. Bainbridge 18-5
10. Lakeside 18-5

It always seems like each year in each tournament, there's one side of one bracket that everyone thinks is the strongest. For example, on the girls side this year, some coaches on the upper half were legitimately upset about an eight-pack of teams that includes No. 1 Lewis & Clark, No. 2 Prairie, No. 4 Lake Stevens, No. 9 Inglemoor and No. 10 Mt. Tahoma. Although No. 3 Jackson, No. 5 Skyview, No. 7 Kentwood and No. 8 Moses Lake, all in the same quarter of the bracket, might be wondering how they're so lucky to be on the lower half.

(My girls pick: Prairie 47, Jackson 43).

But on the boys side, no one said a word about the different halves of the brackert. This might be one of the WIAA's most balanced brackets ever, and it sets up some potential compelling matchups in each round. And you could sense the excitement from the coaches -- we are about to have a great tournament.

For starters, only two teams have gone through this season without losing to a Washington team: Franklin and Ferris. They're on different sides of the bracket.

After that, the general consensus has been that Lincoln, Kentridge, Bellarmine Prep and Shadle Park have been the next four strongest teams. Lincoln and Shadle Park ended up on Franklin's side, and Bellarmine Prep and Kentridge ended up on Ferris' side. The two final "true" No. 1s -- district champs Prairie and Snohomish -- also ended up on different halves.

In other words, no one's fluking their way to the finals, or even the semifinals, for that matter. This could be one of the state's most hard-fought tournaments.

Three first-round matchups stick out to me:

Snohomish vs. Decatur, 9 a.m. A rematch from a year ago, when Decatur handed Snohomish its only loss of the tournament.

Franklin vs. Federal Way, noon. Federal Way is too well-rounded to be considered a gimme for the second-ranked Quakers.

Ferris vs. Garfield, 5 p.m. I'm not sure how this game will go down -- it might not be close -- but with Garfield, you always know it will be interesting.

Picking high-school games can be so difficult because they are about as unpredictable as possible. It's extremely difficult for a bad team to make state, so essentially every team is capable of winning any game. Throw in that these teams are playing four games in four nights, and it becomes near impossible to predict.

But you know what? Let's have fun and give this a shot:

Quarterfinals: Decatur over Shadle Park, Franklin over Lincoln, Ferris over Kentridge, Bellarmine Prep over Prairie

Semifinals: Franklin over Decatur, Ferris over Bellarmine Prep

Finals: Franklin 80, Ferris 78

Why? Right now, I'm wondering if I'm crazy myself. I surely don't have any inside information; Franklin goes into press lockdown in the week before the state tournament.

But for what's been an area Goliath, this Franklin team has a whole lot of David in it. They shouldn't have beaten Rainier Beach. They shouldn't have beaten Fairfax of LA. Those teams had more size, more experience, more of almost everything. Ferris will have all of that, and the Saxons might just run everyone out of the building. But based on what I've seen this season, Franklin finds a way.

The people on the East side of the state are saying the same thing about Ferris right now. They're completely right. Shadle Park pushed Ferris to brink three times this season, but Ferris won each time. For 54 games running, all the Saxons have done is win.

And this is why they play the tournament.

Tomorrow is the beginning of two weeks of mayhem, with the opening tip of the Class 4A state tournament at 9 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome. And The Seattle Times is your state tournament headquarters.

We're excited, your excited and we imagine the teams involved are excited.

So let's talk state hoops, basketball fans. This is your open thread for all things pre-tournament. Meaning, let's hear your predictions, players to watch, sleepers, etc. in the comments.

And please keep the trash talk to a minimum.

We're less than 24 hours to state! See ya there!

We want to know who you'll be cheering for in the 4A, 1A and 2B boys and girls tournaments this week.

Show your school spirit by sending a short message and a photo (optional) supporting your favorite team. And with the help of Google Maps, we'll find out where the fans are across the state.

Check it out!

Zach asked the readers last week for their all-area teams, and today, we showed you who we came up with with our 30th anniversity Star Times edition.

As always, when you're boiling down 2,500 or so basketball players to five girls and five boys, the picks are never easy, and we discuss the choices for hours. Here are our selections:

2008 Star Times boys basketball team

Peyton Siva, Franklin, 6-1, Jr., G
Josh Smith, Kentwood, 6-9, So., C
Reggie Moore, Rainier Beach, 6-0, Sr. G
Renado Parker, Kentridge, 6-5, Sr., F
Tony Wroten, Garfield, 6-5, Fr., G,
Mike Downs, Bellevue Christian coach

2008 Star Times girls basketball team

Kristi Kingma, Jackson, 5-11, Sr., G
Katie Grad, Auburn Riverside, 5-8, Sr., G
Eryn Jones, Meadowdale, 5-8, Sr., G
Lindsey Moore, Kentwood, 5-10, Jr., G
Brittany Gray, Bainbridge, 5-11, Jr., F
Karen Blair, Ballard coach

OK, you've had a few hours to digest yesterday's 4A state draws, so it's time to voice your predictions. Who will win the titles?

My picks? You'll have to wait until our four-page pullout appears in Wednesday's paper. Tom, Craig, Zach, Joshua and I all will be forecasting the scores for both championship games.

Remember, you have to abide by the draw possibilities. Even if you believe the two best girls teams are Lewis and Clark of Spokane and Prairie of suburban Vancouver, for instance, you can't pick them to play in the final because they are both in the upper half of the bracket. That would be a dynamite semifinal, barring any upsets.

Speaking of upsets, how about predicting one or two of those? Most years, there are at least a couple. After all, it's why they play the games, right?

On the boys side, do you have Ferris and Franklin penciled into Saturday's championship game? That's tempting, of course, but who else do you like?

First-round tip-offs are just a little over 48 hours away. It's time to state your case. And feel free to predict the 1A and 2B champs, too.

The first-round pairings for the boys 4A tournament draw are out. All games are Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome.

9 a.m.: Snohomish vs. Decatur
10:30 a.m.; Shadle Park vs. Mountain View
Noon: Federal Way vs. Franklin
2 p.m.: Mariner vs. Lincoln
3:30 p.m.: Edmonds-Woodway vs. Kentridge
5 p.m.: Garfield vs. Ferris
7 p.m.: Richland vs. Bellarmine Prep
8:30 p.m.: Foss vs. Prairie

These are the Wednesday pairings for the first round of the WIAA Class 4A girls basketball tournament:

9 a.m.: Lake Stevens vs. Mount Tahoma
10:30 a.m.: Inglemoor vs. Prairie
Noon: Snohomish vs. Bellarmine Prep
2 p.m.: Puyallup vs. Lewis & Clark
3:30 p.m.: Skyview vs. Kentwood
5 p.m.: Moses Lake vs. Jackson
7 p.m.: Rogers (Puyallup) vs. Ballard
8:30 p.m.: Graham-Kapowsin vs. Pasco

Draw coming later Sunday afternoon...

Boys

Who's in:

Franklin
Garfield
Edmonds-Woodway
Snohomish
Mariner
Bellarmine Prep
Lincoln
Kentridge
Foss
Federal Way
Decatur
Prairie
Shadle Park
Ferris
Mountain View
Richland

Girls

Who's in:

Ballard
Inglemoor
Jackson
Lake Stevens
Snohomish
Kentwood
Mt. Tahoma
Bellarmine Prep
Puyallup
Graham-Kapowsin
Rogers (Puyallup)
Prairie
Lewis & Clark
Pasco
Skyview
Moses Lake

Saturday's morning stars

1. Antonio Gonzales, Kennedy, boys basketball. Scored 28 points to lead the Lancers in a win against North Thurston.

2. Jenika Swanson, Bellevue, girls basketball. Led the Wolverines with 23 points as they move on in the Sea-King district tournament.

3. Mark Golike, Shorecrest, boys basketball. Scored a game-high 26 points to lead Shorecrest to a 58-56 victory win against Arlington.

Saturday's top games

Lake Stevens vs. Jackson, girls basketball, 8 p.m. at Jackson. The game everyone up north has been waiting for. Two top-four teams, WesCo division winners, finally square off. Edmonds-Woodway plays Snohomish in the boys game.

Redmond vs. Skyview, girls basketball, 5 p.m. at Heritage High School in Vancouver. If the Mustangs are going to make state, they'll have to get past fifth-ranked Skyview, which has beaten every team it's played this season aside from one: Prairie. Bothell plays Mountain View in the boys' winner-to-state game afterward.

Block? Or charge?

There's less than a minute left, and Roosevelt trails Bothell by one point. Bothell grabs a defensive rebound, and but Roosevelt strips it right back and the ball ends up in the hands of the Roughriders 5-foot-9 speedster, Portland State recruit Glen Dean. Dean storms toward the basket. Bothell's Neddy Dirini steps in front as Dean goes up for a layup. A whistle blows as the ball drops in the basket.

Block? Or charge?

"I thought it was a charge," Bothell coach Ron Bollinger said. "I thought he was there."

"That's just being in good defensive position at the right time," Dirini said. "I knew it was Glen Dean, he's going to be super-aggressive and he's going to be fast. I just tried to predict where he was going to go, and I just stepped in. I knew I was going to get it."

As you can probably guess by now, the call is a charge. With 45 seconds left, the layup is wiped out and Bothell keeps the lead. Dean, the Roosevelt coaches, and, especially, the Roosevelt fans make it clear they don't agree.

In between a pair of fruitless Roosevelt possessions, the Cougars sink one more free-throw to make it a two point lead. On the final Roosevelt possession, Amin Tufa's mid-range jumper misses, and then the ball pinballs out to Dean, who desperately throws up a three-pointer. The shot is short, the horn blows, and Roosevelt is looking for a foul on the final shot. There is none. Bothell wins, goes to a winner-to-state game. Roosevelt's season ends.

Block? Or charge?

It's easy to sum it up that way, right? To boil a 36-minute game down to one play, one judgement call. Half of the gym left Juanita last night convinced the ref was right, and the other half left fuming because they thought the ref got it wrong.

They'll be arguing block/charge calls until the end of time. This will never change.

But to say that Bothell won, or that Roosevelt lost, because of one call is to trivialize the other 36 minutes. To say this game was decided because of that call is to ignore that Roosevelt had two chances to tie or take the lead and missed, or to forget that Bothell had to make a comeback late in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

This is what Roosevelt coach Bart Brandenburg said: "I thought we had great shots all night. We have to be able make shots and make plays, and we just did not make enough of them."

Block? Or Charge?

Frankly, it just doesn't matter.

Morning stars

1. Malcholm Love, West Seattle, boys basketball. Love scored 26 points in an 82-76 overtime win against No. 9 Bellevue.

2. Brittany Gray, Bainbridge, girls basketball. Led the Spartans with 21 points in a win against No. 9 Lakeside.

3. Darious Walker, Decatur, boys basketball. Scored 22 points, giving state-bound Decatur an inside presence in a 66-55 win against Gig Harbor.

Tonight's top games

1. Mariner vs. Stanwood, boys basketball, 6 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck. Winner-to-state, loser-out? It doesn't get much more intense than this. Mariner's looking for a return trip to state.

2. Garfield vs. Franklin, boys basketball, 8:15 p.m. at Juanita. Second-Franklin can make it a three-game sweep against its biggest city rival -- or Garfield could hand the Quakers their first in-state loss. The Sea-King top seed is on the line. Ballard and Inglemoor will play in the girls championship game at 6 p.m.

3. Federal Way vs. Graham-Kapowsin, 6 p.m. at Auburn. Winner goes to state as the West Central fifth seed, loser sees its season end. Neither team made state last season.

A trio of interesting boys results to report so far tonight:

West Seattle 82, Bellevue 76 (OT). First they beat defending champ O'Dea. Now the West Seattle Wildcats have upset Bellevue, a top-10 3A team for all but one week this season. Bellevue wiped out a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, but West Seattle, led by Malcholm Love's 26 points, reigned in overtime.

Mount Vernon 49, Meadowdale 45. No, this isn't a huge upset; Mt. Vernon had a solid season in the Northwest Conference. But regardless, the top WesCo 3A team is going to have to really work for a trip to state. Mt. Vernon moves on to a winner-to-state game. Michael Caswell led Mt. Vernon with 24 points.

Federal Way 51, Kentwood 44. Haven't seen the box score on this one, and it's not like this is a big upset, either. But it does mean one of the state's best players, Kentwood's Josh Smith, won't be in the state tournament next week. Big win for Federal Way, which is headed to state.

Roosevelt and Bothell are tied at 17 at the half here at Juanita. And no, they aren't playing football.

UPDATE: Bothell survives Roosevelt with a 42-40 overtime win. Somewhat of a stunner. I'll have more on this game tomorrow.

As the state tournament nears (4A starts next week!), it's time to determine who has been among the area's best this season.

Names like Josh Smith, Eryn Jones and Reggie Moore have been among the many names that dominate the headlines -- and, of course, the "Morning stars" feature we like to run.

Time to turn it over to you.

Who are your top five players, boys and girls, this season? The cream of the proverbial crop. You don't have to rank them or give explanations if you don't like -- but anything goes!

Morning stars

1. Lindsey Moore, Kentwood girls basketball -- The 5-foot-10 junior had a season-high 28 points and nine assists in a 65-56 win over No. 9 Bellarmine Prep in a West Central 4A District semifinal.

2. Joseph Holifield, Renton boys basketball -- Capped a 16-point performance with the game-winning back shot in a 59-57 win over Peninsula in the West Central/Southwest 3A bi-district tournament. It was his second highest scoring total of the season.

3. UW football recruits from Lakes -- Jermaine Kearse (27) and Kavario Middleton (17) combined for 44 points in a 94-78 win over Mount Rainier in a winner-to-state game.

Tonight's top games

1. West Central 4A district boys at Auburn H.S. -- Two state-worthy match-ups in loser-out games. Federal Way faces SPSL North rival Kentwood at 6 p.m. and Decatur plays Gig Harbor at 8 p.m.

2. Roosevelt vs. Bothell, boys basketball, 8:15 p.m. at Juanita H.S. -- The Roughriders won 57-53 in a harmless December match-up, this time it's a loser-out game.

3. Lakeside vs. Bainbridge, girls basketball, 6:30 at Bellevue Community College -- These Metro rivals split their regular season match-ups. The winner advances to a winner-to-state game in the Sea-King 3A district tournament.

As the district championships finish up this week in Class 4A, I thought this would be as good a time as any to remember how last year's state qualifiers finished.

Teams that have qualified for the 2008 state touranment in bold.
Teams that have have been eliminated in 2008 in italics.

Boys

Sea-King District

1. Franklin
2. Garfield
3. Redmond

Northwest District

1. Edmonds-Woodway
2. Mariner
3. Snohomish

West Central District

1. Decatur
2. Bethel
3. Federal Way
4. Curtis
5. Kentridge
6. Kentwood

Eastern Regional

1. Ferris
2. Pasco
3. Eisenhower

Southwest District

1. Prairie

Girls

Sea-King District

1. Roosevelt
2. Bothell

Northwest District

1. Jackson
2. Snohomish
3. Lake Stevens

West Central District

1. Kentwood
2. Mt. Tahoma
3. Kentlake
4. Central Kitsap
5. Bellarmine Prep
6. Puyallup

Eastern Regional

1. University
2. Lewis & Clark
3. Mead

Southwest District

1. Prairie
2. Skyview

Tuesday night means we'll have a new Class 3A boys champion. West Seattle, in coach Bob Wilzen's final year, upset the defending champs, O'Dea. O'Dea's not a high-scoring team, but West Seattle still showed up with the defense to stay with the Irish and then pull off a 39-37 upset. Said O'Dea coach Phil Lumpkin: "We can't win it every year."

Tuesday night means that one very good South-side team is going to state, but another isn't. Because Kentwood and Federal Way are meeting in a winner-to-state, loser-out game on Thursday night, after Kentwood beat Curtis and Federal Way beat Bethel (not the best night for the SPSL South). Kentwood beat Federal Way 69-60 in December, but the Eagles returned the favor in January with a 58-41 win.

Tuesday night means that the Narrows league gets the last word. The SPSL North has been the division that's gotten all the attention this year, but it will be Bellarmine Prep and Lincoln, two Narrows team, squaring off for the championship. Third-ranked Bellarmine Prep cruised by Foss, and sixth-ranked Lincoln survived fifth-ranked Kentridge.

Tuesday night means Bothell and Roosevelt are going to meet again, and this game, on Thursday, if for a chance to play in a winner-to-state game Saturday. Roosevelt won both meetings this season. And on the KingCo girls side, Redmond will face Eastlake.

Tuesday night means that the Eastern teams we thought were good are still good. Top-ranked Ferris routed Walla Walla, and Shadle Park beat Eisenhower -- the team that eliminated the Highlanders last year -- 72-67. The top-ranked girls team, Lewis & Clark, also cruised against Richland. One upset on that side of the mountains: University boys beat Wenatchee, an off-and-on top 10 team this season.

Tuesday night means these girls teams will meet in a winner-to-state game: Oak Harbor and Snohomish. Snohomish won their two meetings this season by a combined six points.

Morning stars

1. Josh Smith, Kentwood, boys basketball. Hulking sophomore -- whom I profiled yesterday -- scored 33 points in a win against Curtis.

2. Carlie Wolken, Skyline, girls basketball. Led the Spartans with 24 points in a win against Metro Sound champs Ingraham.

3. Marcus Tibbs, Decatur, boys basketball. Tibbs helped keep Decatur alive with 32 points in a win against Central Kitsap, setting up a winner-to-state game against Gig Harbor on Friday.

Tonight's top games

1. Mt. Rainier vs. Lakes, boys basketball, 8 p.m. at Clover Park. The eighth-ranked Rams face the third-ranked Lancers in a Class 3A winner-to-state game.

2. Kentwood vs. Bellarmine Prep, girls basketball, 8 p.m. at Puyallup. Two top 10 teams, both with their state trips already booked, square off in a West Central District semifinal.

3. North Thurston at Auburn, boys basketball, 8 p.m. at Auburn. Undefeated Auburn can secure a state spot tonight.

Blog-Daddy Tom told you last week that Rainier Beach is the team to beat in the 3A boys state tournament.

For the girls? Well, two defending champs will likely be the favorites to be defending champs this time next year, too. In Class 4A, Lewis & Clark of Spokane is undefeated and the top-ranked team. In 3A, Auburn Riverside has emerged as the team to beat again.

But in 4A, keep an eye on star guard Ashley Corral and Prairie (suburban Vancouver). Then there's the WesCo squads -- Lake Stevens and Jackson -- which will square off Saturday for the NW 4A district title. The winner of that game could be a force at state.

At the 3A level, undefeated Lakes could be Riverside's biggest threat. The third-ranked 3A team, Kennedy, lost by 15 to Riverside over the weekend.

The 4A state tournament starts in eight days. Who's excited?!

Tonight's top games

1. Kentridge vs. Lincoln, 8 p.m., boys basketball, at Puyallup HS. Fifth-ranked Chargers take on Tacoma's sixth-ranked Lincoln in a West-Central district showdown.

2. Kentwood vs. Curtis, 6 p.m., boys basketball, at Mount Tahoma HS. Ninth-ranked Conks take on SPSL South champion Curtis in a West-Central district game. If you haven't gotten the idea yet, go watch that tournament! Great teams in the SPSL and Narrows League.

3. Newport vs. Bainbridge, 6:30 p.m., girls basketball, at Ingraham HS. Should be a good game in the Sea-King 3A district tournament.

It's been an interesting week to be a pollster, that's for sure. When it gets this close to the state tournaments, good teams start to play each other regularly. For instance, four teams in last week's top 10 lost, yet three -- Shadle Park, Decatur and Kentwood -- are still in this week's rankings. But that's because Shadle Park lost to top-ranked Ferris -- SP's only three losses are to the Saxons -- Decatur lost to third-ranked Bellarmine Prep, and Kentwood lost to fifth-ranked Kentridge. No shame in that.

The boys 3A top 10 stays exactly the same. The three teams that lost last week -- Renton, Seattle Prep and Bellevue -- all lost to higher-ranked teams. Columbia River, the GSHL champ, moves toward the top 10. Great winner-to-state game on Wednesday (corrected) night: No. 3 Lakes vs. No. 8 Mt. Rainier.

In the girls 4A top 10, state qualifier Kentwood makes its move into the top 10. Otherwise, everything stays the same. It should be an interesting week down south, though, with second-ranked Prairie and fourth-ranked Skyview competing for the GSHL 4A's only automatic state bid. The loser will have to beat the KingCo No. 3 for a trip to state. Also this week, No. 3 Lake Stevens plays No. 4 Jackson, and sixth-ranked Ballard faces seventh-ranked Inglemoor.

Fort Vancouver makes its top 10 debut this season after claiming the Greater St. Helens 3A league. Also, Bellevue moves up to seventh after winning the KingCo 3A tournament.

One final set of rankings left, next week.

Boys

Class 4A

1. Ferris (Spokane) 22-0
2. Franklin 20-2
3. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 21-2
4. Shadle Park (Spokane) 19-3
5. Kentridge 20-4
6. Lincoln (Tacoma) 20-4
7. Decatur 18-6
8. Snohomish 19-3
9. Kentwood 18-6
10. Garfield 17-6

On the radar: Edmonds-Woodway, Federal Way, Roosevelt, Wenatchee, Bethel, Foss.

Class 3A

1. Rainier Beach 22-1
2. Auburn 21-0
3. Lakes (Lakewood) 19-1
4. Mercer Island 20-2
5. Renton 19-2
6. Seattle Prep 18-4
7. Squalicum (Bellingham) 19-1
8. Mt. Rainier (Des Moines) 18-3
9. Bellevue 18-5
10. Kennedy (Burien) 16-4

On the radar: Columbia River, O'Dea, Issaquah, Meadowdale, Cleveland, West Valley (Yakima)

Girls

Class 4A

1. Lewis & Clark (Spokane) 22-0
2. Prairie (Brush Prairie) 17-3
3. Lake Stevens 21-1
4. Jackson 21-1
5. Skyview (Vancouver) 21-2
6. Ballard 20-2
7. Inglemoor 19-2
8. Mount Tahoma (Tacoma) 20-4
9. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 22-3
10. Kentwood 19-4

On the radar: Shadle Park, Moses Lake, Roosevelt, Mead, Pasco.

Class 3A

1. Auburn Riverside 18-3
2. Lakes (Lakewood) 18-0
3. Kennedy 19-1
4. Issaquah 20-2
5. Meadowdale 18-3
6. Capital (Olympia) 16-3
7. Bellevue 18-4
8. Hanford (Richland) 16-4
9. Lakeside 18-4
10. Fort Vancouver 16-4

On the radar: Seattle Prep, Lindbergh, Auburn, Kelso.

If you weren't at the Tacoma Dome over the weekend for Mat Classic XX, the state wrestling championships, you missed quite an emotional rollercoaster.

Sometimes, big boys do cry. And little ones, too.

Josh Monson of Lake Stevens couldn't hold back his tears after winning the 4A title at 135 pounds. Wrestling with a knee injury all season, he saw his hard work and dedication pay off with a win over previously unbeaten Stefan St. Marie of Snohomish -- a guy who had beaten him the previous two weekends.

Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes is firey guy, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a bigger fist pump and smile from him than those that came with Monson's victory, and not just because it gave the Vikings a better chance to win the team title.

It was such an emotion-packed two days. So much elation. So much deflation. You can't help but smile for the winner and wince for the loser. Sometimes, even the champions seem to feel a bit badly for the guy they just beat, offering a hug along with the required handshake. Many of these opponents are friends off the mat and sometimes club teammates. All put in a ton of hard work and sacrifice so much.

Occasionally, you see some sore losers. But I was impressed with the class many of the wrestlers demonstrated after suffering emotional defeats. Imagine what it's like to win a state title one year, then lose the next. That's what Kevin Tao of Tahoma, Brandon Rodgers of Kentwood and Zach Zweifel of Lake Stevens did Saturday, among others. But all three handled the disappointment with grace and all seemed to agree with one comment: "That's wrestling."

The quality of the girls wrestling tournament continued to impress. One of the most exciting matches of the whole weekend was the girls 125-pound title, where Danielle Curtis of Yelm edged Kelsey Klein of Hoquiam in four overtimes! Talk about exhausting -- that one wore you out just watching.

So, where were you over the weekend? Wrestling? Gymnastics? Swimming? Basketball? What performances were you impressed with? There were so many champions to write about, but we don't have the opportunity to give all their due. Here's a hats off to all of them.

Once again, with the help of the WIAA Web site, I've assembled all the 3A and 4A playoff schedules for the upcoming week. The Class 3A districts are finally getting underway after a week of playing for seeding, but only the West Central-Southwest Bi-District will have state qualifiers this week. The rest will qualify next week, while the 4A teams are in Tacoma.

Each local 4A district has already qualified at least two teams for state, but there are still four more spots (one Northwest, one Sea-King and two West Central) available for area teams in both the girls and boys draws.

Winner-to-state games in italics

Northwest District (2 to state)

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Everett at Meadowdale
Game 2: Lynnwood at Mount Vernon
Game 3: Ferndale at Arlington
Game 4: Shorecrest at Squalicum

Thursday, at Arlington
Meadowdale vs. Mt. Vernon, 6 p.m.
Squalicum vs. Ferndale, 8 p.m.

Friday, at Arlington
Everett vs. Lynnwood, 6 p.m.
Arlington vs. Shorecrest, 8 p.m.

Sea-King District (4 to state)

Tuesday, at Ingraham
Game 1: West Seattle vs. O'Dea, 4:45 p.m.
Game 2: Bainbridge vs. Skyline, 8:15 p.m.

Tuesday, at Sammamish
Game 3: Bishop Blanchet vs. Issaquah, 4:45 p.m.
Game 4: Newport vs. Cleveland, 8:15 p.m.

Thursday, at Bellevue C.C.
West Seattle vs. Bellevue, 4:45 p.m.
Skyline vs. Rainier Beach, 8:15 p.m

Friday, at Bellevue C.C.
Issaquah vs. Seattle Prep, 4:45 p.m.
Cleveland vs. Mercer Island, 8:15 p.m.

Wednesday, at Clover Park
Game 1: Lakes 94, Mt. Rainier 78
Game 2: Fort Vancouver 70, Auburn Riverside 55

Wednesday, at Auburn
Game 3: Renton 59, Peninsula 57
Game 4: Auburn 64, North Thurston 57

Wednesday, at Rogers (Puyallup)
Game 5: Clover Park 48, Bonney Lake 43
Game 6: Kennedy 57, Port Angeles 49

Wednesday, at Hudson's Bay
Game 7: Enumclaw 37, Columbia River 23

Wednesday, at Mount Rainier
Game 8: Auburn Mountainview 59, Capital 57

Friday, at Mount Tahoma
Mt. Rainier vs. Ft. Vancouver, 6 p.m.
Peninsula vs. Clover Park, 8 p.m.

Friday, at Clover Park
Columbia River vs. Auburn Mountainview, 6 p.m.
North Thurston vs. Kennedy, 8 p.m.

Winner-to-state games in italics

Northwest District (3 to state)

Already in: Snohomish, Edmonds-Woodway

Wednesday, at Jackson
Game 1: Mariner 64, Marysvillle-Pilchuck 52
Game 2: Stanwood 49, Jackson 43

Friday, at Marysville-Pilchuck
Mariner vs. Stanwood, 6 p.m. (3rd)

Saturday, at Jackson
Snohomish vs. Edmonds-Woodway, 6 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Sea-King District (2.5 to state)

Already in: Franklin, Garfield

Tuesday, at Juanita
Game 1: Inglemoor vs. Bothell, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Juanita vs. Roosevelt, 8:15 p.m.

Thursday, at Juanita
Bothell vs. Roosevelt, 8:15 p.m. (3rd)

Friday, at Juanita
Franklin vs. Garfield, 8:15 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Saturday, at Heritage
Kingco 3 vs. Greater St. Helens 2, 8 p.m.

West Central District (6 to state)

Already in: Kentridge, Lincoln, Bellarmine Prep, Foss

Tuesday, at Puyallup
Game 1: Foss vs. Bellarmine Prep, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Lincoln vs. Kentridge, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, at Mount Tahoma
Game 3: Curtis vs. Kentwood, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Federal Way vs. Bethel, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, at Foss
Game 5: Central Kitsap vs. Decatur, 6 p.m.
Game 6: Gig Harbor vs. North Kitsap, 8 p.m.

Thursday, at Auburn
Kentwood vs. Federal Way, 6 p.m. (5th)
Decatur vs. Gig Harbor, 8 p.m. (4th)

Saturday, at Puyallup
Foss vs. Kentridge, 4 p.m. (3rd, 6th)
Bellarmine Prep vs. Lincoln, 8 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Winner to state games in italics

Northwest District (3 to state)

Already in: Lake Stevens, Jackson

Tuesday, at Marysville-Pilchuck
Game 1: Kamiak vs. Snohomish, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Oak Harbor vs. Marysville-Pilchuck, 8 p.m.

Thursday, at Marysville-Pilchuck
Snohomish vs. Oak Harbor, 8 p.m. (3rd)

Saturday, at Jackson
Lake Stevens vs. Jackson, 8 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Sea-King District (2.5 to state)

Already in: Ballard, Inglemoor

Tuesday, at Juanita
Game 1: Redmond vs. Roosevelt, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Franklin vs. Eastlake, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, at Juanita
Redmond vs. Eastlake, 6:30 p.m. (3rd)

Friday, at Juanita
Ballard vs. Inglemoor, 6:30 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Saturday, at Heritage (Vancouver)
Kingco 3 vs. Greater St. Helens 2, 8 p.m.

West Central District (6 to state)

Already in: Kentwood, Bellarmine Prep, Mount Tahoma, Puyallup

Wednesday, at Puyallup
Game 1: Puyallup vs. Mt. Tahoma, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Bellarmine Prep vs. Kentwood, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, at Mount Tahoma
Game 3: Tahoma vs. Graham-Kapowsin, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Kentlake vs. Federal Way, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, at Foss
Game 5: Rogers vs. Jefferson, 6 p.m.
Game 6: Olympia vs. Foss, 8 p.m.

Friday, at Auburn
Graham-Kapowsin vs. Federal Way, 6 p.m. (5th)
Rogers vs. Foss, 8 p.m. (4th)

Saturday, at Puyallup
Puyallup vs. Bellarmine Prep, 2 p.m. (3rd, 6th)
Kentwood vs. Mt. Tahoma, 6 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Winner-to-state games in italics

Northwest District (2 to state)

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Lynnwood at Meadowdale
Game 2: Shorecrest at Mount Vernon
Game 3: Squalicum at Everett
Game 4: Arlington at Ferndale

Saturday, at Arlington
Lynnwood vs. Shorecrest, noon
Squalicum vs. Arlington, 2 p.m.
Meadowdale vs. Mt. Vernon, 6 p.m.
Everett vs. Ferndale, 8 p.m.

Sea-King District (4 to state)

Tuesday, at Ingraham
Game 1: Holy Names vs. Seattle Prep, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Bainbridge vs. Newport, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, at Sammamish
Game 3: Rainier Beach vs. Issaquah, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Skyline vs. Ingraham, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, at Bellevue C.C.
Seattle Prep vs. Mercer Island, 3 p.m.
Bainbridge vs. Lakeside (Seattle), 6:30 p.m.

Friday, at Bellevue C.C.
Issquah vs. Hale, 3 p.m.
Skyline vs. Bellevue, 6:30 p.m.

West Central Bi-District (7 to state)

Thursday, at Clover Park
Game 1: Lindbergh vs. Lakes, 8 p.m.
Game 2: Auburn Mountainview vs. Kelso, 6 p.m.

Thursday, at Puyallup
Game 3: Olympic vs. Kennedy, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Capital vs. Auburn Riverside, 8 p.m.

Thursday, at Rogers (Puyallup)
Game 5: Yelm vs. Mount Rainier, 8 p.m.
Game 6: Port Angeles vs. Enumclaw, 6 p.m.

Thursday, at Hudson's Bay
Game 7: Auburn vs. Fort Vancouver, 7 p.m.

Thursday, at Bonney Lake
Game 8: Hazen vs. North Thurston, 7 p.m.

Feb. 23, at Mount Tahoma
Loser 1 vs. Winner 2, 6 p.m.
Loser 3 vs. Winner 5, 8 p.m.

Feb. 23, at Clover Park
Loser 7 vs. Winner 8, 6 p.m.
Loser 4 vs. Winner 6, 8 p.m.

The following teams have qualified tonight for berths in the 4A tournament:

Girls

Ballard (beat Eastlake 56-48)
Puyallup (beat Foss 56-51 in OT)
Mount Tahoma (beat Jefferson 81-48)
Bellarmine Prep (beat Federal Way 56-49)
Kentwood (beat Graham-Kapowsin 72-51)
Inglemoor (beat Roosevelt 54-37)

Boys

Snohomish (beat Stanwood 58-40)
Edmonds-Woodway (beat Marysville-Pilchuck 61-54)

4A update from Josh Mayers:

What a day for WesCo swimmers. Sure Snohomish captured its third-straight title, but the conference had three teams in the top four and won seven events.

Panthers sophomore Garren Riechel was named 4A Swimmer of the Year and broke a meet record in the 100-yard breaststroke that had stood since 1990.

Here are the individual winners:

200 medley relay--Snohomish, 1:36.87
200 free--Sean Nesheim, Cascade, 1:41.17
200 IM--John Hu, Oak Harbor, 1:54.64
50 free--Jake Kaija, Wilson, 21.94
Diving--Ben Nicholas, Bothell, 413.70
100 fly--Cody Roberts, Richland, 49.23
100 free--Seth Parker, Central Kitsap, 46.90
500 free--Bryan Michaels, Shorewood, 4:35.20
200 free relay--Kamiak, 1:28.19
100 back--Cole Scarbrough, Mount Tahoma, 51.77
100 breast--Garren Riechel, Snohomish, 56.06
400 free relay--Snohomish, 3:13.38

Mercer Island just won the Class 2A/3A with the most points and the largest margin of victory in the meet's history. The Islanders finished with 374 points, 204 ahead of second-place Newport. Kennedy finished third.

Winners:

200 medley relay: Kennedy
200 freestyle: Murray Longbotham, Mercer Island
200 IM: Owen Wurzbacher, Lakeside
50 freestyle: Ethan Hallowell, Eastside Catholic
Diving: Beau Riebe, Mercer Island
100 butterfly: Tyler Hayden, Shorecrest
100 freestyle: Ethan Hallowell, Eastside Catholic
200 free relay: Kennedy
500 freestyle: Mac Lowry, Mt. Rainier
100 backstroke: Peter Lee, Timberline
100 breaststroke: Kevin Munsch, Kennedy
400 free relay: Mercer Island

Latest update from Sandy:

Through the 7/8th place matches for 4A: Lake Stevens 131, G-K 125.5.

This update is from Sandy Ringer at the T-Dome:

Through the semifinals in 4A, Lake Stevens clings to a half-point lead over Graham-Kapowsin, 125-124.5.

There are some key consolation matches yet to come. G-K has four wrestlers in the finals to Lake Stevens' three.

Two returning champions fell in the semifinals. Zach Zweifel of Lake Stevens lost to G-K's Efran Aguilar. Brandon Rodgers of Kentwood lost to Zach Nally from Davis of Yakima.

Another upset came at 103 where Josh Martinez of Oak Harbor stunned previously unbeaten Ruben Navejas from Kentwood in overtime.

One of tonight's most exciting 4A championship matches should be at 130, where Tahoma's Kevin Tao faces Brian Owen from University of Spokane. Tao won the 119-pound title last year. Owen was a state champion in 2005, then finished second the past two years.

In Class 3A, it’s a three-team race between Enumclaw (110.5), Yelm (109.5) and Auburn (103.5). Enumclaw and Auburn both have three wrestlers in the finals and go head-to-head at 125, where Matt Sencenbaugh (Auburn) battles Jason Gray. Sencenbaugh was the 119-pound champ last year but missed the first half of the season with a broken hand. He is 1-2 against Gray.

Auburn has another defending champion in Jack Swartz, who is in the 171-pound final.

Yelm has two finalists.

Michael Mangrum of Auburn Riverside goes for his third straight title tonight, pinning his way to the finals at 145. He was won 99 straight matches since losing the championship match as a freshman. Teammate Eric Jones (152) also remains unbeaten and goes for a second crown.

One defending 3A champ went down in the semis as White River's Justin Purves lost to Patrick Mucha of North Thurston.

The championship bouts for both boys and girls begin at 5 p.m.

Morning stars

1. Gwen Smithburg, Kennedy, gymnastics. Had the best all-around score Friday with a 37.55 and was the top beam qualifier.

2. Tony Wroten, Garfield, boys basketball. Scored 29 points to lead an ultra-young Garfield team to the state tournament with a win against Roosevelt.

3. Reggie Moore, Rainier Beach, boys basketball. Led the Vikings with 25 points in a six-point win against Seattle Prep for the Metro championship.

Today's top games

1. Inglemoor vs. Roosevelt, girls basketball, 8:15 at Juanita. Roosevelt won these two teams only meeting 48-42. This time, a trip to state is on the line.

2. Renton at Auburn, boys basketball, 6 p.m. at Auburn. Can Auburn stay undefeated against the Seamount champs? Winner gets the top seed in the district tournament.

3. Auburn Riverside vs. Kennedy, 8 p.m. at Auburn. Neither the first-ranked Ravens nor the third-ranked Lancers have lost an in-state game this season. That's about to change for one of them.

The following teams have claimed state berths tonight:

Boys

Garfield (won 61-55 against Roosevelt)
Franklin (won 70-38 against Bothell)
Kentridge (won 62-48 against Kentwood)
Lincoln (won 61-50 against Bethel)
Foss (won 75-58 against North Kitsap)
Bellarmine Prep (won 66-62 against Decatur)

Girls

Lake Stevens (won 58-38 against Marysville-Pilchuck)
Jackson (won 66-54 against Snohomish)

This from correspondent Terry Wood at the Tacoma Dome:

Newport wins its third straight state 3A/2A gymnastics title and ninth since 1994, edging Issaquah by 1.25 point (177.425-176.4). Newport beat Issaquah by 1.575 point to win last year's state meet. The Knights opened by "bombing" on beam, as coach Farrah Griffin described it, when four Newport gymnasts fell during their beam routines. Newport rallied and had four gymnasts place among the top 25 in all-around.

Gwen Smithberg of Kennedy wins the all-around with a career-best 37.55. The 5-foot-6 junior took first on vault (9.5) and qualified to compete for individual crowns in three events. Smithberg placed fourth in the state meet in all-around last year.

Woodinville has looked good defending its 2007 title in the 4A meet now in progress. Sienna Viltz of Lake Washington turned in a glittering floor routine that earned a 9.5. Viltz won the Sea-King district all-around title last week.

This from Josh Mayers, who took over for me for the 4A swimming:

200 medley relay: Snohomish, 1:37.81
200 free: Sean Nesheim, Cascade (Everett), 1:43.65
200 IM: Trevor LeValley, Marysville-Pilchuck, 1:55.20
50 free (tie): Jake Kaija, Wilson (Tacoma) and Whale Vincent, Shorewood, 22.00
100 fly: Cody Roberts, Richland, 49.95
100 free: Seth Parker, Central Kitsap, 47.25
500 free: Bryan Michaels, Shorewood, 4:38.31
200 free relay: Kamiak, 1:29.61
100 back: Cody Roberts, Richland, 52.57
100 breast: Garren Riechel, Snohomish, 57.09
400 free relay: Snohomish, 3:16.00

A great showing from the WesCo swimmers, who had at least a share of the best time in seven of the 11 events. Five different schools contributed, not just Snohomish.

Snohomish's Garren Riechel, Cody Roberts from Richland and the Panthers team impressed the most on Friday. It was a shame to see the 50 free's top seed, Cole Scarbrough of Mount Tahoma, receive a disqualification for a false start after posting the fastest time.

Here are the top finishers from the 2A/3A swimming prelims, which Mercer Island appears to have all but wrapped up:

Diving: Beau Riebe, Mercer Island
200 medley relay: Kennedy
50 free: Ethan Hallowell, Eastside Catholic
200 IM: Kevin Munsch, Kennedy
100 fly: Tyler Hayden, Shorecrest
200 free: Murray Longbotham, Mercer Island
100 free: Austin Hallett, Bainbridge
200 free relay: Kennedy
100 back: Zack Ponchene, Ellensburg
500 free: Brant Kersten, Issaquah
100 breast: Kevin Munsch, Kennedy
400 free relay: Mercer ISland

This from our correspondent Barry Pump at the Tacoma Dome:

With 25 1/2 points, East Valley of Spokane has a two-point lead over top-rated Enumclaw and No. 2 Auburn in Class 3A, as the opening bouts of the 20th Mat Classic completed at the Tacoma Dome Friday afternoon.

But in Class 3A, the top 10 is tightly bunched. Sunnyside has 19 points, defending champion Sedro-Woolley have 17.5 for fifth place, and Eastmont has 17 for sixth.

Both the Hornets and the Trojans have advanced seven wrestlers in the championship bracket. Sedro-Woolley and Kelso have moved five on apiece.

There were few upsets in the early rounds in 3A. The Nos. 1 and 2 wrestlers from each weight division advanced. One of the closest matches was at 215, where second-ranked Erik Magnussen of Eastmont edged out a 3-2 win over unrated Colby Grobschmit of Sedro-Woolley.

You probably don't need me to tell you this is a huge weekend, but here I am, telling you anyway: this is a huge weekend for high-school sports. It might just be the most significant weekend of the school year.

Consider this: not only will we determine our state champions in gymnastics, wrestling and boys swimming (I'm writing this from the 2A/3A prelims), half of the field for the 4A state basketball tournaments will be determined this weekend. Meanwhile, the Metro League and KingCo 3A will determine their league champions tonight, and the SPSL 3A and Seamount will have first-place showdowns on Saturday night.

See what I told you? Huge weekend.

So get ready, because we've got a lot of action ahead of us. I'll try to keep you posted with updates as often as I can.

Morning stars

1. Candace Chambers, Seattle Prep, girls basketball. Came up big with 25 points in a win against Ingraham, sewing up Metro's third seed in the Sea-King tournament.

2. Jae Shin, Mercer Island, girls basketball. Scored 20 points, including 9 in the last two minutes, to lead the Islanders to a shocking upset of fourth-ranked Issaquah, 61-60.

3. Leroy Lutu, Mercer Island, boys basketball. Led the Islanders with 22 points in a 52-49 overtime victory against Skyline (another tough overtime loss for the Spartans, who should at least go to Sea-King knowing they can play with anyone).

Today's top games (extended "This day is awesome" edition)

1. State meets: Boys swimming, at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way; Gymnastics, at the Tacoma Dome; Mat Classic, at the Tacoma Dome. The question is: how do you decide which one?

2. Kentridge vs. Kentwood, boys basketball, 8 p.m. at Puyallup. Round three between these two SPSL North rivals, this time with a trip to state on the line. There are three other West Central District winner-to-state games tonight, including this beauty: No. 3 Bellarmine Prep vs. No. 6 Decatur, which is 8 p.m. at Mt. Tahoma.

3. Rainier Beach vs. Seattle Prep, boys basketball, 6:30 p.m. at Roosevelt. Metro League championship game between the two first-place finishers in each division. Beach won in their first meet, 96-82.

4. Garfield vs. Roosevelt, boys basketball, 6:30 p.m. at Juanita. The winner between these two goes to state, the loser enters a long fight for the spot that KingCo 4A shares with the Greater St. Helens League. Franklin and Bothell play in the other winner-to-state game.

5. Jackson vs. Snohomish, girls basketball, 8 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck. The winner between these top-10 teams goes to state. When they met in December at Bellevue Community College, Snohomish handed Jackson its only loss of the season. Lake Stevens plays Marysville-Pilchuck in the other winner-to-state game.

6. Bellevue vs. Mercer Island, boys basketball, 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue Community College. The KingCo 3A championship game. These two teams met twice in the regular season, with Mercer Island sweeping both. The same two teams will meet in the girls final, at 8:15 p.m.

7. Enumclaw vs. Mt. Rainier. How packed is tonight's schedule? This game between 3A contenders is seventh on the list.

I spoke with Franklin junior Peyton Siva, a 6-foot-1 guard with springs for legs, tonight on his trip last weekend to Louisville. The Cardinals are one of four schools Siva is looking at (along with the UW, Arizona and Kansas. Not such a bad list, eh?).

Following Franklin's 24-point win against rival Garfield on Friday night, Siva jumped on a 6 a.m. plane Saturday. He made it to the 'Ville in time to meet up with former Rainier Beach star Terrence Williams for a bite before heading to Freedom Hall, where Louisville beat then sixth-ranked Georgetown in front of a huge crowd.

"It was far out," Siva said. "It was so loud."

He already liked the Cardinals enough to put Louisville in his fave four, and after his trip, he said, "I like it a lot now ... They play just like Franklin. They get out and run. They play hard-nosed defense."

Ideally, The Seattle Times would be everywhere. We could give a scouting report on every high school team and wouldn't miss a game, note or story idea.

While certain players like Peyton Siva, Kristi Kingma and Josh Smith command attention with their play, there are certainly others that are very deserving as well.

So the question I pose to you: Who are some of the teams and players that might have slipped through our grasp? Who is having an unappreciated year and deserves more coverage in your opinion?

Morning stars

1. Connor Donaldson, Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball -- The 6-foot-6 senior returned to action Wednesday from a dislocated knee to score a game-high 20 points in a 51-37 win over Lake Stevens in the Northwest 4A District boys basketball tournament.

2. Renado Parker, Kentridge boys basketball -- Parker, a 6-5 senior, scored a season-high 33 points on 13-of-15 shooting to lead the Chargers to a 87-75 win over SPSL 4A South Division rival Kentlake in the first round of the West Central 4A District tournament.

3. Brittany Gray, Bainbridge girls basketball -- The junior scored a season-high 34 points and had 18 rebounds to lead the Spartans to a 72-53 win over Bishop Blanchet in the Metro Tournament. Bainbridge earned a spot in the Sea-King District 3A tournament next week.

Tonight's top games

1. West Central District girls basketball, games at 7 p.m. at various locations -- The girls tournament starts tonight, giving local fans the chance to see ranked teams like Mount Tahoma and Bellarmine Prep for the first time.

2. KingCo 3A tournaments at Bellevue Community College -- Both the boys and girls tournaments are in the semifinals with a couple ranked teams on both sides -- No. 4 Mercer Island boys, No. 9 Bellevue boys, No. 4 Issaquah girls and No. 9 Bellevue girls -- seeing action.

3. Metro tournaments at Roosevelt High School -- O'Dea faces Cleveland on the boys side in a seeding game into districts (remember Cleveland's last-second win over the Irish in the season opener?) and on the girls side, Seattle Prep hopes to turn things around against an Ingraham team that has won five of its last six games.

Meet Brittney Griner. She's 6 feet 8 with a wingspan like a Boeing 747.

Oh, yeah, and she can dunk. Easily.

Griner, a junior, goes to school at Nemitz High School in Houston, Texas, and is committed to Baylor University.

You can watch her other YouTube video here.

Our Craig Smith opened his story about Rainier Beach today with this line: "Talk about streaks!" The Vikings' run of 11 consecutive appearances in the Metro League title game is undoubtedly impressive. But more impressive is how the 11th team has gotten there.

The average score of a Rainier Beach game this season? Vikings 80, Opponent 54. That includes the Vikings' only loss, which came against Franklin, the second-ranked team in 4A, in overtime. Since that game, Rainier Beach has won only one game by fewer than 10 points -- an eight-point win against O'Dea in January. But last night, the Vikings convincingly beat the state champs 75-53, and proved why the Vikings are the favorites to be the champs this time around.

You're welcome to say what you want -- many already have -- about how many Vikings are transfers from other schools. But there's no denying the talent Rainier Beach has at each position, and how difficult it will be for any team to match up with the Vikings in March.

The next team with a shot at Beach? Sixth-ranked Seattle Prep, which does have depth and strong players at each position. But the Panthers can tell you how difficult it is to run with Beach. In their first meeting, way back in December, Rainier Beach won 96-82.

Morning stars

1. Jack Hanley, Seattle Prep, boys basketball. Scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning basket against Cleveland with only six seconds left. Then he went down on the other end and secured the rebound.

2. Karri Gallagher, Lake Stevens, girls basketball. Led third-ranked Lake Stevens to a first-round victory against Mountlake Terrace with 33 points.

3. Tony Wroten, Garfield, boys basketball. Scored 29 points, with 12 rebounds and five assists -- and drew a game-changing charge -- in a 73-62 victory win against Inglemoor.

Tonight's top games

1. Federal Way at Decatur, boys basketball, 7 p.m. What a first-round matchup! These two teams split in the regular season, and the winner faces a winner-to-state game, possibly against Bellarmine Prep.

2. Franklin at Roosevelt, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. The Roughriders face a tough draw to state, starting tonight against Franklin, which beat Roosevelt 41-38 earlier this season.

3. Gig Harbor at Kentwood, boys basketball, 7 p.m. We've got a good big-man matchup here, with Gig Harbor's Mathias Ward against Kentwood's Josh Smith.

Many league and district tournaments begin tonight. And because most first-round games are at home sites, it got me thinking: what are the best home-court advantages in the area?

I've never seen a game at Kentridge, but the Chargers fans have been impressive at the tournaments where I've seen them. The Marysville-Pilchuck gym is one of those great gyms that can get nice and loud. And I imagine seeing a game at the legendary Mount Vernon gym would be a blast.

But you folks out there are the fans that contribute to the best home-court advantages. Make the case why your home gym is the toughest place for an opponent to play in the state.

Tonight's top games

1. O'Dea at Rainier Beach, boys basketball, 7 p.m. Top-ranked 3A team will get test from defending state champs.

2. Inglemoor at Garfield, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. Tenth-ranked Bulldogs look to make it three in a row over Inglemoor.

3. Oak Harbor at Jackson, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. Top-seeded Jackson begins it NW 4A district title defense against 14-6 Wildcats.

Boys 4A

1. Ferris (Spokane) 20-0
2. Franklin 18-2
3. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 19-2
4. Shadle Park 18-2
5. Kentridge 18-4
6. Decatur 17-5
7. Kentwood 17-5
8. Snohomish 17-3
9. Roosevelt 16-5
10. Lincoln (Tacoma) 18-4

On the radar: Edmonds-Woodway, Curtis, Bethel, Federal Way, Garfield, Wenatchee.

Boys 3A

1. Rainier Beach 20-1
2. Auburn 20-0
3. Lakes (Lakewood) 18-1
4. Mercer Island 18-2
5. Renton 19-1
6. Seattle Prep 17-3
7. Squalicum 17-1
8. Mt. Rainier (Des Moines) 17-3
9. Bellevue 17-4
10. Kennedy (Burien) 15-4

On the radar: Meadowdale, Issaquah, Kelso, North Thurston, O'Dea, Cleveland, Enumclaw.

Girls 4A

1. Lewis & Clark (Spokane) 20-0
2. Prairie (Brush Prairie) 17-3
3. Lake Stevens 19-1
4. Jackson 19-1
5. Skyview (Vancouver) 19-2
6. Ballard 18-2
7. Inglemoor 17-2
8. Mount Tahoma (Tacoma) 18-4
9. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 20-3
10. Snohomish 16-4

On the radar: Roosevelt, Kentwood, Shadle Park, Mead, Moses Lake, Pasco, Walla Walla, Heritage.

Girls 3A

1. Auburn Riverside 17-3
2. Lakes (Lakewood) 18-0
3. Kennedy 19-0
4. Issaquah 19-1
5. Meadowdale 16-3
6. Capital 16-3
7. Hanford (Richland) 15-3
8. Seattle Prep 17-4
9. Bellevue 16-4
10. Lakeside 16-4

On the radar: Auburn, Bainbridge, Kelso, Lindbergh, Mt. Rainier.

I noted in Saturday's "morning stars" that Alfie Miller and Jon Morine, Mt. Rainier's top two scorers, returned from suspensions on Friday night, just in time to help the Rams secure the second spot in the Seamount League. They'll play Enumclaw on Friday for seeding in the West Central-Southwest bi-district tournament.

Perhaps there, Miller can recreate the theatrics of the previous postseason. In the next installment of my occasional looks back at last year’s state tournaments, I remember Miller's buzzer-beater against Seattle Prep

As our Craig Smith wrote for the next day:

Alfie Miller, a junior guard for Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, hit an 18-foot jumper with two seconds remaining to beat Seattle Prep 71-69.

That kind of excitement before a pumped-up crowd of about 3,000 was what (Hec) Edmundson had in mind when he and another Huskies coach, Tubby Graves, organized the first state tournament in 1923.

The Rams were actually down 60-49 midway through the fourth of the first-round game, and Seattle Prep looked well on its way to victory. But Miller, who scored a game-high 25, and the Rams surged back and finished the game on a 22-9 run. With the game tied at 69, Mt. Rainier called a timeout with 32.9 seconds left. The Rams ran down the clock. From the left wing, Mark Otero drove and dished to Miller, who made the jumper.

This year, both teams are well-positioned for a return to state. But just maybe it will take a shot like Miller's to get there.

OK. I think, with the help of the WIAA Web site, I've put together every local playoff game this week. There are a few ties that need to be settled, but otherwise, all of the blanks have been filled in.

I'll do the same thing next Sunday, when things really start to get interesting.

Winner-to-state games in italics

Northwest District (3 to state)

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Snohomish 48, Kamiak 24
Game 2: Stanwood 70, Mariner 65 (OT)
Game 3: Marysville-Pilchuck 69, Jackson 57
Game 4: Edmonds-Woodway 51, Lake Stevens 37

Saturday, at Jackson
Kamiak vs. Mariner, noon
Jackson vs. Lake Stevens, 2 p.m.
Snohomish vs. Stanwood, 6 p.m.
Marysville-Pilchuck vs. Edmonds-Woodway, 8 p.m.

Sea-King District

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Franklin 76, Woodinville 40
Game 2: Bothell 59, Juanita 51
Game 3: Roosevelt 48, Redmond 35
Game 4: Garfield 72, Inglemoor 63

Friday, at Juanita
Woodinville vs. Juanita, 3 p.m.
Redmond vs. Inglemoor, 4:45 p.m.
Roosevelt vs. Garfield, 6:30 p.m.
Franklin vs. Bothell, 8:15 p.m.

West Central District

Wednesday, times TBD
Game 1: North Kitsap 71, Curtis 63
Game 2: Foss 57, Spanaway Lake 49
Game 3: Decatur 67, Federal Way 61
Game 4: Bellarmine Prep 69, Beamer 55
Game 5: Lincoln 62, Puyallup 48
Game 6: Bethel 62, Central Kitsap 56
Game 7: Kentwood 49, Gig Harbor 39
Game 8: Kentridge 87, Kentlake 75

Friday, at Mount Tahoma
North Kitsap vs. Foss, 6 p.m.
Decatur vs. Bellarmine Prep, 8 p.m.

Friday, at Puyallup
Lincoln vs. Bethel, 6 p.m.
Kentwood vs. Kentridge, 8 p.m.

No winner-to-state games this week, with leagues figuring out which teams will have what seeds in next week's district tournaments.

WesCo

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Shorecrest 43, Everett 41 (loser 5th)

Thursday, at Meadowdale
Lynnwood 64, Shorecrest 54 (3rd, 4th)
Meadowdale 69, Arlington 59 (1st, 2nd)

KingCo League

Tuesday, at Bellevue CC
Game 1: Issaquah 80, Mount Si 56
Game 2: Skyline 65, Newport 57

Wednesday, at Sammamish
Game 3: Newport 65, Mount Si 53 (Winner 5th, loser out)

Thursday, at Bellevue CC
Game 4: Bellevue 60, Issaquah 59
Game 5: Mercer Island 52, Skylikne 49 (OT)

Friday, at Bellevue CC
Issaquah vs. Skyline, 3 p.m. (3rd, 4th)
Bellevue vs. Mercer Island, 6:30 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Metro League

Monday, 7 p.m.
Game 1: West Seattle 54, Eastside Catholic 49
Game 2: Bishop Blanchet 56, Chief Sealth 45

Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Rainier Beach 75, O'Dea 53
Game 4: Seattle Prep 63, Cleveland 60

Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Game 5: Bainbridge 62, West Seattle 61
Game 6: Bishop Blanchet 63, Ingraham 51

Thursday, at Roosevelt
O'Dea 54, Cleveland 48 (3rd, 4th)

Friday, at Roosevelt
Rainier Beach vs. Seattle Prep, 6:30 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Saturday, at Roosevelt
Bainbridge vs. Bishop Blanchet, 2 p.m. (5th, 6th)
West Seattle vs. Ingraham, 3:45 p.m. (Winner 7th, loser out)

SPSL/Seamount sub-district

Tuesday, at Kennedy
Lindbergh 71, Highline 68 (determines Seamount 4 and Semount 5)

Tuesday, at Sumner
Bonney Lake 55, Auburn Riverside 47 (determines SPSL 3 and SPSL 4)

Thursday, 7 p.m.
Game 1: Auburn Riverside 58, Highline 52
Game 2: Auburn Mountainview 56, Lindbergh 48

Friday, at Auburn
Enumclaw vs. Mt. Rainier, 6 p.m. (3rd, 4th)

Saturday, at Auburn
Auburn Riverside vs. Auburn Mountainview, 11 a.m. (7th, 8th)
Bonney Lake vs. Kennedy, 2:30 p.m. (5th, 6th)
Auburn vs. Renton, 6 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

No winner-to-state games this week, with most leagues figuring out their seeding for next week's district tournament.

WesCo sub-district
Wednesday, at Arlington
Game 1: Arlington 59, Lynwood 33 (loser 5th)

Friday, at Meadowdale
Arlington vs. Shorecrest, 6 p.m. (3rd, 4th)
Meadowdale vs. Everett, 8 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

KingCo League

Tuesday, at Bellevue CC
Game 1: Newport 53, Mount Si 39
Game 2: Mercer Island 61, Skyline 41

Wednesday, at Sammamish
Game 3: Skyline 61, Mount Si 48 (winner 5th, loser out)

Thursday, at Bellevue CC
Game 4: Bellevue 45, Newport 30
Game 5: Mercer Island 61, Issaquah 60

Friday, at Bellevue CC
Mercer Island vs. Newport, 4:45 p.m. (3rd, 4th)
Bellevue vs. Mercer Island, 8:15 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Metro League

Monday, 7 p.m.
Game 1: Bishop Blanchet 59, Cleveland 54
Game 2: Holy Names 64, Chief Sealth 31

Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Lakeside 44, Ingraham 39
Game 4: Nathan Hale 39, Seattle Prep 38

Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Game 5: Bainbridge 72, Bishop Blanchet 53
Game 6: Rainier Beach 58, Holy Names 47

Thursday, at Roosevelt
Seattle Prep 49, Ingraham 45 (3rd, 4th).

Friday, at Roosevelt
Lakeside vs. Nathan Hale (1st, 2nd), 7:45 p.m.

Saturday at Roosevelt
Bainbridge vs. Rainier Beach (5th, 6th), 5:30 p.m.
Bishop Blanchet vs. Holy Names (Winner 7th, loser out), 7:45 p.m.

SPSL/Seamount sub-district

Tuesday, at Kennedy
Renton 46, Highline 24 (winner is Seamount 5)

Tuesday, at Hazen
Lindbergh 49, Mt. Rainier 32 (to determine Seamount 2 and Seamount 3)

Tuesday, at Sumner
Enumclaw 37, Auburn Mountainview 36 (to determine SPSL 3 and SPSL 4)

Thursday, 7 p.m.
Game 1: Auburn Mountainview 41, Renton 22
Game 2: Hazen 48, White River 45

Friday, at Auburn
Auburn vs. Lindbergh, 8 p.m. (3rd, 4th)

Saturday, at Auburn
Auburn Mountainview vs. Hazen, 12:45 p.m. (7th, 8th)
Enumclaw vs. Mt. Rainier, 4:15 p.m. (5th, 6th)
Auburn Riverside vs. Kennedy, 8 p.m. (1st, 2nd)

Winner-to-state games are in italics

Class 4A

Northwest District (3 to state)

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Lake Stevens 69, Mountlake Terrace 36
Game 2: Marysville-Pilchuck 55, Kamiak 45
Game 3: Snohomish 44, Edmonds-Woodway 25
Game 4: Jackson 55, Oak Harbor 53

Thursday, at Marysville-Pilchuck
Kamiak 61, Mountlake Terrace 49
Oak Harbor 55, Edmonds-Woodway 39

Friday, at Marysville-Pilchuck
Lake Stevens vs. Marysville-Pilchuck, 6 p.m.
Snohomish vs. Jackson, 8 p.m.

Sea-King District (2.5 to state)

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Inglemoor 82, Garfield 50

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Game 1: Ballard 49, Lake Washington 34
Game 2: Eastlake 56, Redmond 53
Game 4: Roosevelt 52, Franklin 48

Saturday, at Juanita
Lake Washington vs. Redmond, 3 p.m.
Garfield vs. Franklin, 4:45 p.m.
Ballard vs. Eastlake, 6:30 p.m.
Inglemoor vs. Roosevelt, 8:15 p.m.

West Central District

Thursday, times TBD
Game 1: Puyallup 43, Gig Harbor 35
Game 2: Foss 56, Tahoma 49
Game 3: Jefferson 50, Bethel 41
Game 4: Mt. Tahoma 51, Kentlake 39
Game 5: Bellarmine Prep 59, Rogers 39
Game 6: Federal Way 59, South Kitsap 41
Game 7: Graham-Kapowsin 58, Olympia 34
Game 8: Kentwood 86, Spanaway Lake 22

Saturday, at Puyallup
Puyallup vs. Foss, 2 p.m.
Jefferson vs. Mt. Tahoma, 4 p.m.
Bellarmine Prep vs. Federal Way, 6 p.m.
Graham-Kapowsin vs. Kentwood, 8 p.m.

If you have the opportunity to see the Franklin boys basketball team this postseason, I want you to do this for me: find one time a Quaker player quits on a play, or lags back to cherry pick, or doesn't go full on for a rebound.

In five games, I have yet to see one such play.

Coach Jason Kerr talks about "lapses" the Quakers go through now and then, but as far as I can tell, those have little to do with effort. At one point during last night's 79-55 win against 10th-ranked Garfield, I turned to another reporter and said, "Watch Franklin. They never stop moving."

And this could be the best reason why the Quakers have put together one of the area's best seasons this year (arguably the best). This could be why Franklin beat ocean-deep Rainier Beach in December, and why it scaled the nation's top-ranked forward, Renardo Sidney, and beat Fairfax of LA in January.

This also might be why the Quakers could come out on top in March.

Morning stars

1. Alfie Miller, Mt. Rainier, boys basketball. Miller and teammate Jon Morine, in their first games back from suspensions, combined for 55 points -- 33 from Miller and 22 from Morine -- in a 97-49 victory against Hazen.

2. Ellie Martinez, Eastlake, girls basketball. Scored 26 points in a victory against Lake Washington.

3. Ryan Snowden, Auburn, boys basketball. Scored 24 points to help the Trojans lock up an undefeated regular season. They'll face Renton in the SPSL/Seamount sub-district for the district's top seed.

Tonight's top games

1. Kentridge vs. Curtis, boys basketball, 6 p.m. at Puyallup. The SPSL's two division winners square off for the SPSL's top seed in the district tournament.

2. Sea-King district meets (4A and 3A), gymnastics, Sammamish. More times than not recently, the 4A and 3A winners have come out of this meet. Look for a battle between Woodinville and Bothell in 4A, and Issaquah and Newport in 3A.

3. Bellevue vs. Issaquah, boys basketball, 6 p.m. at Redmond. These two KingCo 3A teams split in the regular season. Now they'll play for the second seed in the KingCo 3A tournament and a guaranteed spot in the Sea-King district tournament.

KingCo 3A wrapped its league play up last night, and the SPSL 4A is already getting started on its conference tournament.

But elsewhere tonight, there's still some sports to be settled in KingCo 4A, the Seamount and the SPSL 3A. Here's a look at the games that will have an effect on next week's tournaments, and when I get information on possible tie-breakers, I'll fill them in.

BOYS

Bothell at Roosevelt, 8 p.m. Bothell is only a game behind Roosevelt for first place in the KingCo Mountain, and first-place is big: the winner avoids Franklin's side of the KingCo district bracket.

Renton at Kennedy, 8 p.m. If Renton wins, it clinches the Seamount alone. If it loses, it could end up as a three-way tie with Renton, Kennedy and Mt. Rainier (which would have to beat Hazen tonight).

Auburn Mountainview at Franklin Pierce, 7:30 p.m. This one, between teams tied for fifth in the SPSL 3A, will decide which team moves on to the SPSL/Seamount playoff.

GIRLS

Bothell at Roosevelt, 6:30; AND Redmond at Ballard, 6:30. After Roosevelt beat Ballard on Wednesday night, the teams are tied for the lead in the KingCo Mountain. So both teams need to win to keep that tie intact.

Morning stars

1. Bren Hobzek, Issaquah, boys basketball. Scored 24 points in a triple-overtime win against Skyline, setting up a tie with Bellevue for second in KingCo 3A. They'll settle that tie -- the winner gets an automatic spot in the Sea-King district tournament -- Saturday at 6 p.m.

2. Camille Depew, Seattle Lutheran, girls basketball. Led all area scorers -- boys or girls -- with 27 points in a win against Mt. Rainier Christian.

3. Ashley Martin, Sammamish, girls basketball. Martin scored 20 points in a loss to Mercer Island, but this is a good time to salute Martin and fellow senior Ali Stillwell for sticking through four years at Sammamish even when the team rotated through three coaches and won just four games in their four years. As their coach, Alan Guffey, points out, "I'm sure these girls could have said 'See ya,' when they got their drivers licenses, but they didn't. They stayed with it." For these two girls, and all the other seniors who stuck through the worst of times, congratulations on finishing your high school careers.

Signing day has come and gone. Along with many media sources, we devoted a lot of time and energy into covering the event. Here's our list of Husky signees, those who will play over at the Palouse and the remaining Div. 1 signees in the state.

There are also a number of other stories from the day, including a student faking a commitment and one of the nation's top recruits, Terrelle Pryor, postponing his decision.

So I ask you all: Is too much made of signing day? Are we in the media glorifying the accomplishment of going to college to play football? Only a couple of these student-athletes will be superstars, and a couple of them will probably never be heard from again.

What do you think?

Morning stars

1. Frannie Hemmelgarn, Roosevelt girls basketball -- Scored a game-high 10 points to help the Roughriders hand Ballard it's first league loss of the season, 44-31.

2. Carlie Wolken, Skyline girls basketball -- Had a season-high 24 points in a 55-48 win over Mercer Island.

3. Makenzie Brandon, Seattle Academy girls basketball -- The junior guard was the high scorer in all of last night's games with 25, which matches her season high.

Tonight's top games

1. Bainbridge at O'Dea, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. -- The 11-4 Irish host the 10-5 Spartans for second place in the Metro Mountain Division.

2. Skyline at Issaquah, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. -- Second place is on the line in the KingCo 3A Conference. Issaquah hopes to avenge a 62-57 loss in January.

3. Jackson at Edmonds-Woodway, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. -- The Warriors can wrap up the WesCo South Division title with a win over fourth-placed Jackson.

An important thing to remember about the poll: some voters turn in their votes on Tuesday, even though the voting deadline isn't until Wednesday. (Your trusted voter always waits until late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning). So, for instance, for many, Decatur's win against Kentwood on Tuesday wasn't a factor. Or Kennedy's win against Mt. Rainier. So please take that into account when looking at the poll.

Records provided by the Associated Press. First-place votes in parentheses.

Class 4A

1. Ferris (6) 18-0 60
2. Franklin 17-2 54
3. Bellarmine Prep 18-2 47
4. Shadle Park 17-2 39
5(t). Kentridge 17-4 32
5(t). Kentwood 16-4 32
7. Decatur 17-4 29
8. Curtis 15-5 9
9. Snohomish 16-3 8
10(t). Roosevelt 15-5 4
10(t). Garfield 15-5 4
10(t). Kentlake 11-10 4
Others receiving votes: Edmonds-Woodway 3. Lincoln 3. Wenatchee 2.

Class 3A

1. Rainier Beach (5) 19-1 59
2. Auburn (1) 19-0 55
3. Lakes 17-1 47
4. Mercer Island 17-2 40
5. Renton 18-1 37
6. Squalicum 17-1 30
7. Seattle Prep 16-3 20
8. Kennedy 15-3 18
9. Mt. Rainier 16-3 7
10. Meadowdale 16-3 6
Others receiving votes: Bellevue 5. Kelso 4. West Valley (Yakima) 2.

Class 2A

1. Mark Morris (4) 15-3 48
2. Burlington-Edison 14-2 40
3. Pullman (1) 15-1 39
4(t). River Ridge 12-5 24
4(t). Prosser 13-3 24
6(t). Ephrata 14-2 22
6(t). Lynden 11-5 22
8. Centralia 11-6 20
9. Port Townsend 16-1 14
10. Tumwater 13-5 8
Others receiving votes: W. F. West 7. East Valley (Yakima) 4. Cheney 1. Hockinson 1. R.A. Long 1.

Class 1A

1. Bellevue Christian (4) 18-2 48
2. King's (1) 14-4 44
3. Vashon Island 18-1 41
4. Chelan 16-3 25
5. River View 17-2 21
6. Winlock 17-2 20
7. Connell 17-3 19
8. Castle Rock 15-3 17
9. Meridian 14-5 13
10. Lake Roosevelt 16-3 12
Others receiving votes: Nooksack Valley 6. White Swan 4. Cascade Christian 4. Colfax 1.

Class 2B

1. Riverside Christian (2) 20-0 47
2. Toutle Lake (1) 18-0 43
3. Northwest Christian (Colbert) (2) 18-1 42
4. Reardan 16-3 30
5. St. George's 18-2 28
6. Liberty Bell 16-3 25
7. LaConner 17-2 15
8. Adna 11-7 13
9. Naselle 13-6 11
10. LaSalle 14-5 7
Others receiving votes: Oroville 4. Waitsburg 4. Wahkiakum 3. Tacoma Baptist 1. Lind-Ritzville 1. Northwest Christian (Lacey) 1.

Class 1B

1. Liberty Christian (5) 15-4 50
2. Lopez 16-1 43
3. Sunnyside Christian 14-5 41
4. Entiat 14-2 34
5. Lake Quinault 16-3 26
Others receiving votes: Garfield-Palouse 6.

As always, records provided by the Associated Press. First-place votes in parentheses. All No. 1s stay the same.

Class 4A

1. Lewis and Clark (7) 18-0 79
2. Prairie (1) 17-3 73
3. Lake Stevens 18-1 54
4. Ballard 17-1 52
5. Jackson 18-1 45
6. Skyview 18-2 43
7. Mead 15-3 21
8. Shadle Park 16-3 16
9. Inglemoor 16-2 15
10. Moses Lake 15-4 14
Others receiving votes: Mount Tahoma 12. Bellarmine Prep 9. Snohomish 5. Pasco 2.

Class 3A

1. Auburn Riverside (6) 16-3 78
2. Lakes (2) 17-0 71
3. Kennedy 18-0 64
4. Issaquah 18-1 54
5. Meadowdale 16-3 50
6. Capital 16-2 38
7. Hanford 14-3 25
8. Bellevue 15-4 21
9. Seattle Prep 16-4 17
10. Bainbridge 14-4 8
Others receiving votes: Lakeside (Seattle) 7. Newport 3. Fort Vancouver 3. Kelso 1.

Class 2A

1. Anacortes (7) 17-1 70
2. Pullman 15-1 55
3. River Ridge 16-2 53
4. Tumwater 14-3 41
5. Othello 15-2 38
6. East Valley (Yakima) 12-4 30
7. Black Hills 12-5 27
8. Ellensburg 14-3 25
9. West Valley (Spokane) 14-3 21
10. Woodland 12-5 13
Others receiving votes: Mark Morris 7. Hockinson 3. Archbishop Murphy 1. Prosser 1.

Class 1A

1. Lynden Christian (7) 19-0 70
2. Freeman 18-1 61
3. Colfax 17-4 49
4. Columbia (Burbank) 16-3 47
5. Granger 16-2 38
6. Brewster 17-3 30
7. Connell 15-5 27
8. Chelan 14-4 21
9. Forks 16-2 20
10. Seattle Christian 15-4 10
Others receiving votes: Zillah 6. LaCenter 5. Tonasket 1.

Class 2B

1. LaSalle (5) 19-0 59
2. Napavine (1) 18-1 52
3. Shoreline Christian 18-1 45
4. White Pass 14-3 40
5. St. George's 18-2 36
6. Northwest Christian (Colbert) 17-3 27
7. Liberty Bell 17-2 23
8. Mossyrock 15-4 21
9(t). Orcas Island 14-3 9
9(t). Toutle Lake 13-7 9
Others receiving votes: Lind-Ritzville 5. Raymond 3. DeSales 1.

Class B

1. Sunnyside Christian (4) 16-2 58
2. Garfield-Palouse (2) 14-3 53
3. Colton 17-2 48
4. Entiat 16-2 44
5. Lake Quinault 15-2 31
Others receiving votes: Tekoa-Oakesdale 6.

This just off the wire from the Associated Press:

RENO, Nev. -- A Fernley High School football player who had claimed he was duped into believing he was recruited to play at a Pac-10 school admitted Wednesday he made up the story.

Kevin Hart, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman, offered a broad apology in a statement he issued Wednesday afternoon through the Lyon County School District. He said he had wanted to play football at a Division I school "more than anything."

"When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality. I am sorry for disappointing and embarrassing my family, coaches, Fernley High School, the involved universities and reporters covering the story," Hart said.

Lyon County sheriff's detectives had said earlier Wednesday that they had been unable to corroborate Hart's claims that he had been duped by a man he had paid to help promote him in his bid to play college football.

Hart spoke with deputies Saturday, a day after he announced at a school assembly and a press conference that he would sign with University of California, Berkeley.

We've had some response today to my story on Tony Wroten, the freshman at Garfield who has been ranked first in the country for the Class of 2011. To some, it seemed like a bit much to do for a 14-year-old.

So I'll let you in on the thought process behind this story. First of all, it's rare, even in today's ranking-obsessed culture (anyone see VH1 lately?) to meet anyone ranked first in the country for anything, particularly in sports. That Wroten had been given that ranking, among so many kids playing basketball is the country, I thought that alone was compelling. But also, he had carried a role that few, if any, freshmen have had on a team in the city's history. So I was interested from the beginning.

When I proposed the story to the Wrotens a couple months ago, these are what I thought were the two main questions:

1) How do you become the top freshman in the country?

2) How do you handle being named the top freshman in the country?

You'll have to decide how well I answered those two questions, but that was the intent. If you do get a chance to read it, make sure to check out all the extra content online. We have a photo gallery, game video shot by our staff and links to video clips on the Internet, not to mention an audio clip with his affable mother, Shirley.

Once again, the Tri-City Herald's Rene Ferran has compiled the state's scoring leaders. The stats, I believe, are through Sunday.

Morning stars (wild 30s edition)

1. Antonio Gonzalez, Kennedy, boys basketball. Scored 30 points in a big win against Mt. Rainier that puts Kennedy in position to tie Renton for the league title with win Friday.

2. Taylor Stevens, Marysville-Pilchuck, boys basketball. Scored 30 points in a 62-40 win against Arlington.

3. Vince Allers, Hazen, boys basketball. Scored -- you guessed it -- 30 points, almost 22 more than his average, to lead Hazen to a 79-67 win against Evergreen.

Tonight's top games

Ballard at Roosevelt, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. The Beavers can make their best season in school history even better tonight. With a win at Roosevelt, Ballard would clinch the KingCo Mountain division.

Edmonds-Woodway at Jackson, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. Jackson can finish off an undefeated WesCo South season with a win tonight.

Today is the much anticipated National Signing day. While we've thoroughly covered local recruits, Rivals.com has the national scene covered.

I saw this on the front page of Yahoo! and thought all you high-school (and college) football fans out there would be interested.

Here's a list of some of the top guys who have yet to sign.

Here are some predictions of where the top recruits might end up.

Here's a list of the team rankings. (Washington No.19, Oregon No. 20, Washington State No. 85).

And here are the top 100 recruits, with Lakes' Kavario Middleton No. 57.

A crazy week, as noted earlier on the blog, resulted in a lot of shuffling for the newest rankings. That's particularly true in Class 4A, where Curtis and Garfield make their debuts. Curtis won the SPSL South at 13-1, and Garfield has won seven consecutive games, with wins against Kentridge and Federal Way on its resume.

Snohomish, a preseason top-10 team, sneaks back into the girls 4A rankings after an impressive comeback victory against previously undefeated Lake Stevens last night.

Notable boys games this week:

Kennedy at Mt. Rainier, tonight, 7 p.m.
Decatur vs. Kentwood, tonight, 7:30 p.m. at Tahoma
Auburn at Auburn Riverside, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Renton at Kennedy, Friday, 8 p.m.
Franklin at Garfield, Friday, 8 p.m.

Notable girls games this week:

Lakeside at Seattle Prep, tonight, 8 p.m.
Mt. Rainier at Kennedy, tonight, 7 p.m.
Ballard at Roosevelt, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Auburn at Auburn Riverside, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Mead at Lewis & Clark, Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

Boys

Class 4A

1. Ferris (Spokane) 17-0
2. Franklin 17-2
3. Bellarmine Prep 18-2
4. Shadle Park (Spokane) 16-2
5. Kentridge 17-4
6. Kentwood 16-4
7. Decatur 16-4
8. Curtis 15-5
9. Snohomish 15-3
10. Garfield 14-5

Class 3A

1. Rainier Beach 18-1
2. Auburn 18-0
3. Lakes (Lakewood) 17-1
4. Mercer Island 16-2
5. Renton 17-1
6. Seattle Prep 15-3
7. Squalicum (Bellingham) 16-1
8. Mount Rainier (Des Moines) 16-2
9. Kennedy 14-3
10. Meadowdale (Lynnwood) 15-3

Girls

Class 4A

1. Lewis & Clark (Spokane) 16-0
2. Prairie (Brush Prairie) 15-3
3. Lake Stevens 18-1
4. Ballard 17-1
5. Jackson 17-1
6. Skyview (Vancouver) 17-2
7. Inglemoor 16-2
8. Mt. Tahoma (Tacoma) 17-4
9. Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma) 18-3
10. Snohomish 15-4

On the radar: Mead, Shadle Park, Roosevelt, Kentwood, Heritage, Moses Lakes, Snohomish, Puyallup, Walla Walla.

Class 3A

1. Auburn Riverside 15-3
2. Lakes (Lakewood) 16-0
3. Kennedy 17-0
4. Issaquah 18-1
5. Meadowdale 16-2
6. Capital (Olympia) 15-2
7. Seattle Prep 16-3
8. Hanford (Richland) 14-3
9. Bainbridge 13-4
10. Bellevue 15-4

On the radar: Auburn, Lakeside, Kelso, Newport, Mt. Rainier.

When Mariner heads to Kamiak for a boys basketball game Thursday, more will be on the line than just district playoff seeding for Mariner and a potential district playoff berth for Kamiak.

From an email sent to The Times:

Mariner High School and Kamiak High School are having their annual “Stinky Shoe” basketball game at Kamiak this Thursday, Feb. 7. This is a school-wide spirit competition for the Mukilteo District two high schools. There are three main activities that determine what school gets the Stinky Shoe trophy. The first thing is selling spirit links for 10 cents. The school that raises the most money and has the most links, wins that particular event.

Mariner High School decided to give all funds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Organization. Students in Mariner look for ways to help the community and focus on people less fortunate.

The Stinky Shoe competition has two other main events that take place within Kamiak during the game. The first is a cheer dance or routine and the second is a musical competition. The stands are always full during the game, cheering and hoping that their school will take home the Shoe. Since Mariner and Kamiak are district rivals, this is one of the most important games of the season and many people will be there “decked out” in their school colors.

If you're in the Mukilteo area Thursday, check it out. What's better than basketball? Basketball that supports a good cause.

Kevin Hart, a high-school offensive lineman from Fernley, Nev., had made up his mind. Two Pac-10 powers; either decision would be good: Cal or Oregon? Oregon or Cal? Well, in front of a packed gymnasium, he went with Cal. But there was a little problem. From the Reno Gazette-Journal via The Wizard of Odds:

Somebody, it appears, has been impersonating Cal coach Jeff Tedford. There never was a scholarship offer -- let alone any official contact -- from the Golden Bears.

Mark Hodges, the Fernley coach who has been a coach for more than 20 years, now says the matter is a "law enforcement investigation."

Oregon was another so-called finalist for Hart, and somebody appears to have been impersonating an Oregon representative as well. An official from Oregon confirmed Hart was not being recruited. The validity of Hart's other finalists -- Nevada, Illinois and Oklahoma State -- remain in question.

That's a practical joke that went a tad bit too far. Kavario Middleton was really recruited by Washington, right? Right?

For once, it really will be all about the shoes.

In an attempt to bring attention to the risks of cancer, the coaches of the Auburn School District boys and girls basketball teams will be making a fashion statement this week. All six coaches in the Auburn district will wear polo shirts and tennis shoes.

That’s the idea behind the national Coaches vs. Cancer program this season, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. College coaches were asked to participate in the awareness project last weekend. Many high-school coaches are doing their part in games this week.

Representatives from the American Cancer Society will be recognizing cancer survivors between games and accepting donations.

Tom Adams, Auburn Riverside boys coach and a member of the Washington State Coaches Association, spearheaded the show of support in Auburn, where it is rivalry week. Adams, who normally wears dress shoes and a tie, told our Sandy Ringer that he hopes the difference draw attention to the cause.

The Riverside boys and girls play Auburn Mountainview tonight and Auburn on Friday. Both are varsity doubleheaders. Tonight, the varsity boys play at 5:45, followed by the girls game at 7:30. The girls play first against Auburn.

For the first half of Snohomish's 47-38 win over Lake Stevens Monday night, the Vikings looked like an undefeated team. They're incredibly tall (two 6-footers in the starting lineup) and constantly are creating mismatches with speedy guards to complement the posts. Lake Stevens got to the line often in the first half (I had them, unofficially 8-12 from the stripe in the first half) and seemed they'd win going away.

But Snohomish had more fight Monday and got a pretty good win in a tough environment.

With the win, well, the win doesn't do much for the Panthers in the standings. Lake Stevens will still likely win the WesCo North division and take the top seed to next week's Northwest 4A district tournament.

I asked this hypothetically last week and had the chance to ask Lake Stevens coach Randall Edens Monday: is losing a game that doesn't hurt in the standings a good thing entering the playoffs?

"Some people look at it as a good thing," Edens said. "We’ve never really harped on it. But hey, we lost to a real high quality team. We’ll be OK. We’ll bounce back. We’re still in great shape and have everything in front of us that we want. That’s all you can ask for at this time of year."

So he kind of danced around the question. But based on the tears of some of the Lake Stevens girls and the somber mood in the gym, I'm guessing there was no silver lining for the Vikings last night.

Elsewhere in WesCo action, Kamiak pulled a big upset over fifth-ranked Meadowdale. Again, this doesn't affect Meadowdale in the standings much, but the Mavericks went through WesCo undefeated last season and now have three league losses. The difference a year can make...

Morning stars:

1. Kamiak Knights' defense. Outscored Meadowdale 21-2 in the fourth quarter to erase a lead and upset the fifth-ranked Mavericks, 67-60.

2. Erin Feeney, Jackson, girls basketball. The sophomore guard scored a game-high 21 points as the Timberwolves cruised past Shorewood.

3. Dillon Pericin, Eastlake, boys basketball. The sophomore scored a game-high 23 points in an OT loss to
Ballard.

It happens every year, if not every season: High-school athletes are deemed guilty of violating their school's athletic code or participation agreement.

A couple of weeks ago, a trio of players from the Mount Rainier boys basketball team were suspended for four weeks for that reason, the standard punishment in the Highline School District (four weeks or four events, whichever is longer). The players appealed their suspensions before a panel last Wednesday and it paid off. The suspensions were cut to two weeks and the three are eligible to return to the team this Wednesday with the opportunity to play on Friday.

There is no standard policy across the state for athletic-code violations. Would you like to see one? What's fair? Years ago, some school districts had what was known as the "death penalty," meaning it only took one violation for an athlete to be dismissed from the team for the entire season. I'm not sure if anything that drastic exits anywhere these days. Should it?

Many districts vary the penalty based on the violation and whether the athlete was a first-time offender or not. Let's say there was a party where alcohol was present. Generally, if the athlete leaves immediately, there is no sanction. If the athlete stays, he or she might receive a small sanction, like 5-10 days. If he or she drinks alcohol, it's a longer suspension. It often is longer still if it's a second offense, and any further offense generally means permanent suspension.

In some districts, though, athletes are treated the same whether they consumed alcohol at the party or not. Just being in the crowd for any length of time is considered an equal violation.

What are your thoughts? Let's hear some debate on the subject.

Tonight's top games

1. Issaquah at Bellevue, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. The fourth-ranked Eagles (17-1, 13-1) have had this once circled on the calendar since losing 53-36 to Bellevue (15-3, 13-1), now ranked No. 7, back on Jan. 4. Both teams ride eight-game win streaks.

2. Snohomish at Lake Stevens, girls basketball, 7:30 p.m. Can the second-ranked Vikings (18-0, 14-0) keep that unbeaten streak going? Snohomish (14-2, 12-2) looks for the upset.

3. Garfield at Redmond, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. Redmond (10-7, 6-6) ended a three-game losing streak with a key win over Bothell last Friday. Garfield (13-5, 8-3) is 6-0 since a two-point loss to Bothell earlier this month.

As I noted last night, Redmond and Juanita's wins against Roosevelt and Bothell helped make the KingCo 4A Mountain the most open race left in the area, with four teams left standing. The Seamount has the closest, though, with three teams within a game, and here's the best part: they all play each other down the stretch.

KingCo 4A Lake

Franklin, at 13-0, has clinched.

KingCo 4A Mountain

Roosevelt 9-3: Lake Washington, Ballard, Bothell
Bothell 9-4: at Juanita, at Roosevelt
Juanita 8-5: Bothell, Woodinville
Redmond 6-6: Garfield, at Woodinville, Ballard

SPSL North

Kentridge 11-3
Decatur 11-3
Kentwood 11-3

Based on the SPSL's power point tie-breaking system, Kentridge receives the top seed. Decatur and Kentwood will play Tuesday to determine a No. 2.

SPSL South

Curtis, at 13-1, has clinched.

WesCo North

Snohomish, at 13-1, has clinched.

WesCo South

Edmonds-Woodway 13-2: Jackson
Meadowdale 11-3: Kamiak, at Shorewood

Should E-W and Meadowdale tie at 13-3, Meadowdale has beaten E-W twice.

Metro Sound

Rainier Beach 13-0: at Cleveland, West Seattle, Chief Sealth
Cleveland 10-3: Rainier Beach, at Ingraham, at Nathan Hale

Metro Mountain

Seattle Prep 12-2: Lakeside, Seattle Prep
O'Dea 10-4: at Bishop Blanchet, Bainbridge

KingCo 3A

Mercer Island, at 14-0, has clinched

Seamount

Mt. Rainier 11-1: Kennedy, Hazen
Renton 11-1: Lindbergh, at Kennedy
Kennedy 10-2: at Mt. Rainier, Renton

SPSL 3A

Auburn, at 12-0, has clinched.

Morning stars

1. Matt Lapasin, Issaquah, boys basketball. Led the Eagles with 30 points in a win against Mount Si.

2. Eryn Jones, Meadowdale, girls basketball. Her 26 points led Meadowdale, which beat Mountlake Terrace and can clinch second place in the WesCo South on Monday against Kamiak

3. De'Andre Taylor, Garfield, boys basketball. Led the Bulldogs with 29 points (cousin Tony Wroten added 27) in an overtime win against Inglemoor (whose Will Bush stayed hot with 22 points)

4. Sarah Paponjak, Foster, girls basketball. In a 73-67 win against Steilacoom, Paponjak led Foster with 26 points.

5. Michael Crudup, Cleveland, boys basketball. Led Cleveland with 27 points in a comeback win against Chief Sealth that keeps Cleveland alive, mathematically, for the Metro Sound title (Division-leading Rainier Beach visits Cleveland today).

Today's top games

KingCo 3A meet, gymnastics, at Woodinville. Four of the past five state team champions have come from the conference.

Rainier Beach at Cleveland, boys basketball, 2 p.m. Top-ranked Beach clinches the Metro Sound with a win.

It wasn't the best night to be a team ranked by The Seattle Times on another wild night as we close the season.

For the boys, Snohomish, ranked seventh in 4A, lost 61-56 to Stanwood in overtime. The eighth-ranked team, Roosevelt, didn't fare much better, losing 51-40 at Juanita. Bothell, though, couldn't take advantage of the win because the Cougars lost at Redmond (Go Green night, it seemed, worked). Also, 7-10 Newport pulled off a 66-61 upset of 15-2 Bellevue -- ranked seventh in Class 3A -- so both Skyline and Issaquah now have a shot at stealing second place from the Wolverines.

On the girls side, Bainbridge handed Seattle Prep, ranked sixth in 3A, its first Metro League loss of the season. Also, 10th-ranked Newport lost, but that came at the hands of seventh-ranked Bellevue.

There were also some other wild games, including these four more overtime games:

Ingraham girls 70, Rainier Beach 69 (2OT)
Garfield boys 78, Inglemoor 71 (OT)
Woodinville boys 55, Ballard 48 (OT)
Jackson 65, Kamiak 60 (OT)

I'll have updated conference breakdowns heading into the season's final week coming tomorrow.

The SPSL North simply refuses to follow any narrative, other than this: this league is nuts.

Just when it looked as if Kentridge was ready to win the league outright -- with some help from Kentwood last night -- we see this: Kentlake 87, Kentridge 85 (OT). As discussed on the blog before, seemingly each of the league's top four teams have had a moment where it seemed like it was on top. And each time, we come back to a clog at the top.

After Kentwood's Josh Smith tipped in the winner against Decatur last night, there's a two-way tie at the top between Kentridge and Kentwood, and Decatur can join them tonight with a win against last-place Jefferson. In that case, Kentridge would still be the SPSL North's No. 1 seed for the conference tournament because it was the only team to beat fourth-place Federal Way twice. Then Kentwood and Decatur would play a rubber match for the 2 seed on Tuesday night at a site to be determined.

Other leagues came into better focus. In the SPSL 3A, Auburn clinched first place with a 55-53 win against Enumclaw. Class 3A's only undefeated team won on a late putback by defensive stopper Jeff Gouveia.

In the Seamount, Renton beat Mt. Rainier by 40, and it's unclear just how well the Rams can contend in the league without their top two scorers. This league might come down to Renton's game with Kennedy on Feb. 8.

Morning Stars

1. Drew Smith, Kentlake, boys basketball. He scored 30, including a three-pointer that sent things into overtime, in Kentlake's win against fourth-ranked Kentridge.

2. Josh Smith, Kentwood, boys basketball. Topped off a 28-point night with a tip-in at the buzzer that gave the Conks a 61-59 victory.

3. Monica Nevi, Hazen, girls basketball. Scored a team-high 25 points in a win against Highline.

Tonight's top games

1. Seattle Prep at Bainbridge, boys basketball, 8 p.m. Prep can put a strong grip on the Metro Mountain with a win.

2. Skyline at Mercer Island, boys basketball, 7:30 p.m. The Islanders can take one more step to an undefeated KingCo 3A conference season with a home win.

3. Bothell at Redmond, boys basketball, 8 p.m. On "Go Green" night at Redmond, held by Redmond's environmental science program, the Mustangs will try to avoid seeing too much blue from the second-place Cougars. Bothell is looking to stay close to first-place Roosevelt.