The "Sealth to State" warmup T-shirts with "We Are Family" on the back continued to be prophetic at the Auburn High School gym on Friday, Feb. 25.
For the No. 10 Chief Sealth Seahawks boys' basketball team, the road to the Tacoma Dome got one game shorter after its 68-46 Class 3A loser-out state regional victory against Foss.
Keon Lewis (21) and D'Nique Harris-Welch (19) combined for 40 points to lead the acrobatic Seahawk scorers.
"The flow didn't show much in the first quarter," said Sealth head coach Colin Slingsby. "I was pleased with our first half. A couple of guys stepped up. the defensive effort was good. They (the Falcons) were aggressive, so we had to match their level of intensity. This is what we've been playing for all year."
The teams fought competitively with the Seahawks (20-8) holding a 15-11 edge after one quarter.
Charlie Smith's three-pointer had Chief Sealth in front 20-13 early in the second quarter.
As Lewis and Harris-Welch soared high and wide, the Sealth "high flyers" gained a 31-18 dominance with 3:15 remaining in the half following a Harris-Welch put back basket.
Foss (15-10) rallied to close within 36-28 with just less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but it was its last gasp.
Harris-Welch connected on a left corner three-pointer to defuse the Falcon surge and ignite a Seahawk rally.
Lewis's steal and and breakaway basket followed as the Seahawks out soared the Falcons, building a 22-point bulge at the end.
"Our team chemistry was important," said Harris-Welch. "We knew what we needed to do. We executed our plays and canceled out their point guards."
Six-foot, eight-inch Abdi Mohamed scored 11 points and was pivotal in the Seahawk control of the boards.
Dezmyn Trent paced the Foss point production with 19 points.
Chief Sealth moved on to a winner-to state quarterfinal loser-out game against Lincoln of Tacoma Saturday.