12/17/25
Emerald Ridge Jaguars 52, Sumner Spartans 49
(Sumner, WA) The SPSL-North is one of the toughest divisions to win in the state. Three of the last four State Championship Games have featured a team from the SPSL-North. This year, the Emerald Ridge Jaguars have an early lead on the division, after their nail-biting victory over Puyallup last week. The Sumner Spartans could pull even with Emerald Ridge with a victory on their home floor, which would make it a three-way tie at the top of the division through the first round of SPSL-North action. This mid-December matchup felt like a late February to early March game, and it came down to the final buzzer in the first of two games between the two SPSL foes.
Defense dominated the first quarter, with the score at 3-2 in favor of Emerald Ridge all the way until the 2:20 mark of the quarter. Emerald Ridge’s Jamaize McGriff was shooting two free throws and made the first to make it 4-2. He then missed the second free throw, but secured the rebound. McGriff went up with authority and threw down a one-handed dunk to make it a 6-2 lead for the Jaguars. Emerald Ridge led 8-2 as Sumner used an early timeout to cool off the Jaguars’ run. The Spartans rallied with Jerius Isabell hitting a couple of shots, but Emerald Ridge was out in front 10-8 after the first eight minutes.
In the second quarter, the offenses came alive as the two teams traded baskets. Isabell had 10 points in the quarter to lead Sumner, but his teammate, Will Norton, came off the bench and chipped in with four points. Darius Alexander had a nice quarter for the Jaguars, as he had six points, including draining a triple. Ellis Mosley came off the bench for Emerald Ridge and logged good minutes as he had six first-half points. Sumner had 17 points in the second quarter, the most either side would have in a quarter this game, to overtake Emerald Ridge and lead 25-23 on their home floor at the halftime break.
Emerald Ridge tied the game after the quarter began with over two minutes of scoreless ball. Jamaize McGriff used his second one-handed slam of the night to give the Jags a two-point lead, and on the next possession added another dunk. This time, it was off a lob from Mychal Turner, and McGriff took flight for the third time in the game to force another Sumner timeout. Sumner took the lead at 31-30, but Emerald Ridge ended the quarter on an 8-2 run. Ellis Mosley and Jordan Bennett connected on triples as the Jaguars led 38-33 on the road, heading into the final stanza.
The fourth quarter was energetic, with Ellis Mosley putting Emerald Ridge up 40-34 after Turner had another fantastic pass to set him up. Sumner cut the deficit down to just one after a Darius Isabell three-pointer to give him 22 points. The intensity was turned up a few notches as each team was dinged with technical fouls for celebrating made threes. The game was held at 45-43 for a few minutes before Emerald Ridge had back-to-back baskets while getting fouled by Sumner. First, it was Jamaize McGriff who ran the floor beautifully to set himself up for a three-point play opportunity. He missed the free throw, but the Jaguars earned an extra possession, hustling for the rebound. On the ensuing inbound, Darius Alexander drained a midrange jumper while fouled. Alexander converted the three-point play to give the Jaguars a 50-43 lead. Sumner rallied with Goose Fredrick, who had two putback baskets to make it a 50-49 Emerald Ridge lead with 40 seconds left. With 12.5 seconds on the game clock and seven seconds on the shot clock, Emerald Ridge inbounded on the baseline. The Jags turned to McGriff one last time as he went through a triple team to give the Jaguars a three-point lead. Sumner’s shot for the tie was off, and Emerald Ridge would win 52-49.
Our Sumner Holiday Inn Express Game MVP went to Emerald Ridge’s Jamaize McGriff. His thunderous slams provided the Jaguars the spark they needed, and he had 12 points while shutting down the post players of Sumner defensively.
Emerald Ridge was led by McGriff and Darius Alexander with 12 points each. Ellis Mosley had a terrific game off the bench, scoring 11 points and had points in every quarter. Jordan Bennett had seven points, Isaiah Kilbourne had five points, Mychal Turner had three points, and Gurshane Bhandal had two points.
Sumner was led by Jerius Isabell, who was phenomenal with 26 points. Isabell had 10 points in both the second and fourth quarters. Will Norton was great off the bench with nine points and countless hustle plays for the Spartans. Goose Fredrick also had nine points, Gavin Lee had three points, and Andy Hobson had two points.
Emerald Ridge is now 5-1 overall and 5-0 in the SPSL North. The Jags maintain first place in the division.
Sumner is now 3-3 overall and 3-2 in SPSL play. Sumner slips to third in the SPSL-North behind ER and Puyallup.
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ESN Talks With Game MVP, Jamaize McGriff
Game Highlights
Game MVP, Jamaize McGriff Throws It Down
Darius Alexander Excellent Lay-Up
Sumner’s Jerius Isabell Connects From Downtown
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