With 25 wins, a Wesco League 2A/3A South Conference regular-season title and a second-place finish at last month’s 3A District 1 tournament, the Edmonds-Woodway High School Warriors proved that their talent, preparation and effort on the basketball court this year was exceptional. 

But could the Warriors go toe-to-toe with the state’s best 3A team, the Rainier Beach Vikings, on the biggest stage in Washington state high school basketball? The answer, as it turned out for E-W fans, was a disappointing “no.”

In front of a big crowd inside the Tacoma Dome, the Vikings validated their no. 1 seeding in the WIAA 3A Boys State Basketball Tournament and turned away the no. 5-seeded Warriors 68-48 to win their 10th state boys basketball championship.

Edmonds-Woodway, with the loss, walked away as the 2025 3A state runner-up, a first for E-W basketball, boys or girls. The second- place trophy was only the second brought home by a Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball team from a state tournament — in 2008, the Warriors finished seventh in the 4A state tourney.

While winning a state championship may have been within the Warriors’ reach, it was the reach — and athleticism — of the Vikings that proved decisive in the title matchup Saturday. Rainier Beach forced E-W into 19 turnovers in the game, leading directly to 28 (more than half) of the Vikings’ total points.

E-W Coach Tyler Geving acknowledged that it was the defensive pressure applied by the Vikings — pressure unlike any his team had faced this season — that was the biggest factor in the loss.

“Their pressure; give them credit — it’s hard to simulate that in practice,” Geving said after the contest. “The turnovers kill you … we struggled with their pressure a little bit today.”

The Warriors committed 10 turnovers in the first half alone, a total that the team works to stay under for an entire game, Geving noted. Rainier Beach finished the contest with just four turnovers.

Though the team struggled to handle Rainier Beach’s defensive pressure, the Warriors were down by just two points, 27-25, late in the second quarter. But the Vikings closed out the first half with five straight points in the final minute from Marques Ili-Meneese and went to the locker room with a 32-25 halftime advantage.

Even with the seven-point deficit, Geving still had hope for a strong Warrior finish.

“We gave them everything (we) had. We were right there at the half,” Geving said.

E-W senior Cam Hiatt also felt as though he and his teammates could mount a second-half comeback against the Vikings.

“We’ve had some really good second halves this tournament and it’s been really big for us, the second half,” Hiatt said. “(But) sometimes you run into a really good team like Rainier Beach. They’ve got a lot of talent. And it’s hard at the end of the day. But you do what you can and try your very best. 

“They hit some shots — and big ones at timely moments,” Hiatt added.

Many of those big shots came off the hands of the Vikings’ Jaylen Petty. The senior scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter, enabling Rainier Beach to push its lead to 51-38 going into the fourth and leaving little doubt to the eventual outcome of the championship contest.

Vikings senior Kaden Powers contributed 11 points in the Rainier Beach victory. Petty and Powers are considered by many the two best high school players in the state right now, something that Geving is likely not to argue. Both have already committed to playing Division 1 collegiate basketball starting this fall.

“Petty and Powers are pretty good,” Geving said. “There’s a reason they’re going to Rutgers and New Mexico. Those guys are high-level players.”

Hiatt finished his final game in a Warrior uniform with 15 points. Junior Will Alseth scored 13 points in the E-W loss.

After the game, Geving reflected on the season, his first as coach of the Warriors.

“It was kind of a Cinderella season a little bit,” Geving said. “Cam (Hiatt) deciding to come to Edmonds-Woodway was huge for us, obviously. You get a Division 1 player. (Hiatt will be playing at Dartmouth next season.) But also credit to the kids. They kind of bought into everything that we were teaching and the new system.”

Geving also stressed the work done by the Warriors’ previous coach, Robert Brown. “Robert was a big part of our success, teaching these kids to play hard,” Geving said. “I definitely want to give a shout out to Robert.”

The special relationship Geving had built with his team this year was on display as the final seconds of Saturday’s contest wound down. The first-year coach spent time with each player as they left the court, lingering a bit longer in a hug with Hiatt.

“Cam, he’s special; he’s a special kid,” Geving said. “I knew I would break down when he came off the court. He’s such a good kid, a winner, what he’s done for our program.”

Hiatt played just one season at Edmonds-Woodway after spending his freshman and sophomore years at King’s High School in Shoreline and then last year at a private academy in Ohio. He was the team’s leading scorer this season and led the program to its best finish at a state tournament.

“I am extremely proud,” Hiatt said. “I don’t think proud can really encapsulate the emotions that I’m feeling right now of this team, this community — the way we showed up is incredible.”

I’m just excited,” Hiatt said. “I feel like this is the beginning for Edmonds-Woodway basketball and for this community. And I hope that I was just able to be a part of this new whole thing, this new chapter in this program.”

You can view the entire WIAA 3A Boys State Basketball Tournament bracket here.  

Prep Boys Basketball: Edmonds-Woodway vs. Rainier Beach, Mar. 8 (WIAA 3A Boys State Basketball Tournament championship game)

Edmonds-Woodway 11 14 13 10 – 48

Rainier Beach 17 15 19 17 – 68

Edmonds-Woodway individual scoring: Cam Haitt 15, Will Alseth 13, Julian Gray 8, Grant Williams 7, DJ Karl 5, Dre Simonsen, Luke Boland, Dre Lloyd, Cavan Schillinger, Harris Dobson

Rainier Beach individual scoring: Jaylen Petty 26, Kaden Powers 11, Marques Ili-Meneese 11, Nyale Robinson 9, Micah Ili-Meneese 6, Dre Morris 3, Knowledge Wright 2, Maceo Rivers, Jay Wheeler-Burns, Dav Houfmuse, Ray Proctor-Mills Jr., Jakob Lubetich

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 25-3 overall; Rainier Beach 25-2 overall

Edmonds-Woodway next game: 2024-2025 season completed

Rainier Beach next game: 2024-2025 season completed