Down goes number 1! Emerald Ridge upsets top-seeded Mount Si and advances to 4A semifinals

Mount Si was the No. 1 seed in the 4A state tournament, but it seemed like No. 7 Emerald Ridge was unaware of that fact. Considering how quickly the Jaguars came out of the gate on Thursday, the energy felt as carefree and relaxed as a January game on the South Hill.

Emerald Ridge was neither afraid nor intimidated by the number next to the name of Mount Si. The Jaguars started fast, leading 36-31 at the half and controlling the action for most of the game. When Mount Si finally rallied in the fourth quarter, it was too little, too late.

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Emerald Ridge held on to win, 67-62, stunning the top-seeded Wildcats.

“It’s a big win,” said guard Jordan Bennett, who scored 15 points. “No one believed we would come to this and we just eliminated the No. 1 spot. It shows how much we have built as a program and as a team.”

The quick start was key, according to Jaguars coach Pat Mullen.

“We wanted to make sure we were the first; we didn’t want to react to them, we wanted to make sure we were the ones making them react to us,” Mullen said. “We didn’t want to play on our heels, we wanted to make sure we played downhill. Our guys did a good job of that.”

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Emerald Ridge’s 6-foot-7 forward Jamaize McGriff, the heart of the team, went to the bench early in the second quarter after picking up his second foul, but Emerald Ridge never missed a beat.

“Basically, the next man up,” Bennett said. “We know we can’t play the whole season. Maybe an injury will happen. So we know we can’t play that game, just the next man up.”

Bouncy Mount Si forward Latt Ford had his moments and scored 23 points, but Emerald Ridge’s guards kept pace. Bennett scored 15, Ellis Mosley scored a team-high 19, Mychal Turner scored 13 and Darius Alexander scored seven. McGriff added nine.

Even before Thursday’s game began, Emerald Ridge had already made history. Wednesday’s win over Redmond was the program’s first state tournament victory. Now, new heights, again.

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A completely different challenge awaits: defensive-minded Gonzaga Prep No. 5, the defending state champion, which defeated Puyallup in double overtime in the game before the Emerald Ridge game.

“Probably one of the top three programs in the state in the last 10 years,” Mullen said. “They’re solid, they do things the right way, they make you work every possession. So it’s another big challenge for us. We just have to put our feet on the ground and come out the way we play.”

Emerald Ridge faces Gonzaga Prep at 7:15 pm Thursday in the semifinals at the Tacoma Dome.