With go-to player – 6-foot-9 center Zach Banner – on the bench with foul trouble for much of the game, a pair of undersized guards lifted Lakes High.

Dequam Walls and Phillip Winston hit clutch shots in key moments of the 3A boys basketball sub-district loser-out contest Saturday afternoon, leading Lakes to a 78-65 win over Enumclaw and keeping the defending state champion’s season alive.

“Dequam Walls kept us in the game,” Lakes coach JoJo Rodriguez said, “and Phillip Winston brought us home.”

Ninth-ranked Lakes owned a double-digit lead for most of the second half, but when leading scorer Banner fouled out with six minutes to play, Enumclaw made a run at the Lancers.
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Click here to watch video of Cedric Dozier’s announcement

Between bites of pasta and chicken during lunch Tuesday, Cedric Dozier dialed up California football coach Jeff Tedford.

“We were just talking and something just hit me, telling me ‘Hey, right now is your time, this is what I want you to do,’” Dozier recounted. “It was Cal. I said ‘Hey coach, I think it’s time that I recommit.’”

Later in the day, the fleet receiver reaffirmed his oral commitment to the Golden Bears when he told a crowd full of supporters that he picked Cal over Washington State.

The U.S. Army All-American gave an oral commitment to the Bears in the fall, but he reevaluated his options after two coaches, including receivers coach Eric Kiesau, left for position at the University of Washington.
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Lake High receiver Cedric Dozier will let the world know if he’s headed to California or Washington State at a news conference today at 2:30 p.m. at Lakes.

We’ll live stream the announcement.

Personally, I’d like to thank Dozier for doing this today because it gives me a reason to stop by the new Five Guys in Lakewood for lunch.

The stream will go live shortly before 2:30 p.m. (Just tested it at 2:15 and it works, don’t be alarmed.)

I spoke briefly with Cedric Dozier today at Lakes High after Zach Banner announced he’s headed to USC.

Dozier said he’ll have a similar news conference at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when he’ll announce if his headed to Cal or Washington State.

Where’s Dozier going? I don’t know. He did enjoy his official visit to WSU a week ago and he’s raved about Cal the times I’ve spoken with him about that.
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(Click here to watch video of his announcement)

All it took was a feeling.

For Zach Banner, the feeling of where he should play college football hit him a few days ago and finally sunk in before he fell asleep Sunday evening.

“It’s just that feeling,” the Lakes High offensive tackled said. “I can’t really describe it. I think all the other recruits that commit and sign, they understand what it’s like to commit and just get that feeling that, this is right.”
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NOTE: We’re going to stream Zach’s announcement online on Monday. You can find it here on the blog.

Zach Banner’s mind is made up.

“I know where I’m going to school,” Banner said Sunday evening. “I can’t wait for Monday.”

The elite offensive tackle from Lakes High will let the public in on his choice at a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the performing arts center at Lakes.

Banner’s three finalists are Oklahoma, USC and Washington. Predicting what direction the 6-foot-9, 330-pound prospect is leaning is difficult because Banner has been mum since returning home from an official visit a week ago to USC.

The media-friendly Banner cancelled radio interviews and turned down interview requests from reporters until he spoke to The News Tribune on Sunday evening, opting instead to focus this week on his decision.

Rated as the No. 16 prospect in the country by Rivals.com, Banner also cancelled scheduled in-home visits with coaches from the three schools, saying he has all the information he needed to pick a school.

With no distractions, Banner discussed his options with his parents, Ron and Vanessa, and few others.
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A couple high-profile football recruits played basketball at Alaska Airlines Arena at UW on Monday when Lakes took on Garfield at the King Holiday Hoopfest.

Garfield wasn’t the only team putting a full-court press on Lakes. At least six University of Washington football coaches turned out to watch recruits Zach Banner and Cedric Dozier. During most of the first quarter, Huskies coaches were stationed at three of the four tunnels that lead onto the court.

After the game – Lakes won 73-68 in double-overtime – Dozier, a defensive back/receiver, confirmed that he remained committed to Cal. Earlier in the day Cal coach Tosh Lupoi accepted a position with the Huskies and there was speculation that might sway Dozier to take an official visit to Washington.

“I’m not going to take an official,” he said. “I don’t see it happening. It would have to come to me in a dream or something spiritual. I’m still committed to the University of California.”
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SEATTLE – Lakes High boys basketball coach JoJo Rodriguez likes to say that guard Andrew Holloway plays his best in the biggest games.

Holloway proved Rodriguez right on Monday against Garfield High at the King Holiday Hoopfest.

Holloway led the Lancers rally that turned a 28-point third-quarter deficit into a 73-68 double-overtime win at Alaska Airlines Arena.

“He drives me crazy in the mediocre games,” Rodriguez said of Holloway, “but in the big games, the big moments, the dude always does it.”

Holloway scored all 20 of his points after halftime. He converted a three-point play with 1 minute, 24 seconds left that pulled Lakes even with the fifth-ranked Bulldogs, 55-55, for the first time in the game.
Garfield regained the lead moments later, but Dequam Walls sent the contest into overtime when his floated tied the score at 57 with eight seconds left in regulation.
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