Garfield Ends Beach Party -- Brown's 41 Help No. 4 Bulldogs Hand No. 3 Vikings First Loss

If they weren't such good friends, this one might hurt.

Garfield Coach JoJo Rodriguez and Rainier Beach Coach Francis Williams share a 15-year friendship that dates back to their days in high school, but last night neither coach was in a friendly mood.

Lovell Brown scored a season-high 41 points and handed out seven assists to lead No. 4 Garfield to a 101-88 Metro League boys basketball victory over No. 3 Rainier Beach.

After the game, both coaches met at midcourt, hugged and were friends again.

"During the game we're going to go at it, but afterward we're going to be friends like always," said Rodriguez, who leads their head-to-head matchup 2-0.

A Garfield-Rainier Beach matchup is a neighborhood rivalry that is unsurpassed, Rodriguez said. A victory means bragging rights as well as the inside track to the Metro League championship.

"We really needed this win to earn some respect," Brown said.

Earlier in the week Garfield knocked off No. 10 O'Dea 59-53. The Bulldogs lead the league with a 9-0 record and are 12-4 overall. R.B. fell to 7-1, 13-1.

"We played kind of poor," Williams said. "We didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball."

The Garfield gym was a packed with students, parents and alumni, including Al Hairston, who coached Garfield to five state championships.

Every shot brought the crowd to its feet and there were many heroes. But no one stood taller than Brown.

"This is my game," Brown yelled to spectators in the stands.

The 6-foot junior guard was in the zone. He ran the offense, and dominated the game with steals, assists, and dead-on 18-24 shooting from the field that brought the Garfield faithful to their feet. His 41 points was just seven short of the Metro League record set by Garfield's Ron Preston in 1968.

"I had my head in the game," Brown said. "It's all mental. I was rattled at first, but then I settled down."

The Bulldogs had several big plays that were keyed by Brown, Railen Wheeler, Nolan Pinkney and Jerry Boston.

Brown stole a Viking pass to start one big play. He passed to senior forward Ajene Robertson, who went coast-to-coast for a two-hand jam in the first period. Boston's no-look pass to Gabe Rapier resulted in another dunk.

Rosell Ellis, who led R.B. with 29 points, but was held in check for most of the first half by Robertson and sophomore forward Alvin Burleson.

"He's a great player," Robertson said of Ellis. "You have to respect and watch out for him driving in the lane because he likes to dunk over people. But I think I did pretty good against him."

Robertson scored most of his 24 by filling the lane on fast breaks.

Garfield scored 10 unanswered points to begin the second half.

"They played right into my trap," Rodriguez said. "I wanted them to run with us in the first half. In the second half, tired legs start setting in and we can take advantage."

In the first half, Garfield controlled the tempo with full-court pressure and fast-breaking offense. The Bulldogs jumped to a 46-27 lead on several Viking turnovers that resulted in easy layups.

"We set the tempo early," said Rodriguez. "We're going to send 12 at you and set that fast-pace tempo. When they made their run, our guys were on the bench resting."

Beach plays Tuesday against No. 1 Franklin.

"We don't have time to worry about this one because we've got Franklin in a couple of days," Williams said.