Nothing has been easy for this Renton High School boys basketball team this season — a loss against the No. 1 4A team in Auburn, followed by a loss to the No. 6 team in the country in Rainier Beach after winning a pair of games is quite the four game stretch.
Renton then fell to Liberty after holding them to three points in the first quarter, and even a buzzer-beating loss to Redmond has hampered Renton’s season.
But in the first game of the T-Town throwdown at Silas High School, Renton looked like it was finally starting to take form. The Redhawks dominated Franklin Pierce in their opening round matchup of the tournament 83-49 on Dec. 29.
“Tonight was the first night since Dec. 3 against Rainier Beach that we have played with an air of confidence. We have won games and won by large amounts, but we didn’t replicate that energy from the 3rd. It was good to see us get back to that a month later,” head coach Rashaad Powell said.
Franklin Pierce was a district finalist, falling to Bremerton and a state quarterfinal team in last year’s state tournament. The Redhawks are looking to make that sort of run in 2025-26 as they now enter the back half of their season.
Defensively, Renton clamped down on the Franklin Pierce offense, holding them to 43 total points and just 16 points in the second half. The Cardinals were held to under 50 points three times last season, twice to Bremerton. If Renton is going to make a run, defense is going to the the fuel to the fire.
“We played the way we are capable of playing. Albeit we lost the game, but we went toe-to-toe with the No. 6 team in the United States of America, like it was nothing. If you’re able to do that, you can repeat that,” Powell said.
On offense, Renton finally started seeing production across the board, especially from beyond the arc in the first half. Three-point sharp shooter Isaac Elegan had four threes in the first half, Sudan Luok had three, and Nate Omar and Blake Ervin had one. The potential to explode from three-point land has always been there, but the shots just have not fallen for the majority of the season for Renton. But on Dec. 29, they did, and it shot Renton out of a cannon.
Elegan led the way all night on offense and on defense had a few miscues that led to Franklin Pierce points, but the senior knows that’s where he needs to improve. He is also looking to take a step forward as a leader heading down a crucial stretch of games for the Redhawks.
“I definitely want to take a step up as a leader. Being a senior, I’ve been to the state tournament and I know what it takes and know what it is like. I know what it takes for us to get there,” Elegan said.
Senior Blake Ervin had missed the first eight games of the season and finally made his season debut against Franklin Pierce. He had just a made three in the second quarter, but his ability and playing style can be a great addition to a Renton team that needs some depth pieces come playoff time.
“He’s a varsity talent and has a great skill set and work ethic. For him a lot of it is confidence and understanding not to overthink what is going on in the basketball game and instead going out and playing the game of basketball,” Powell said.
Renton took a 46-29 lead into the tunnel at halftime and lost a bit of momentum in the second half. But Suhail Abdulmumin came off the bench and scored a quick four points to get Renton rolling, combining with Juice White-Kelley’s five points put Renton in a 59-38 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. Abdulmumin has an inauspicious look on the court, but he defended well and brings a physicality to a Redhawks side that needs it.
“He fills that void and comes in as a guy with a lot of skills. He can shoot the ball, he has some good IQ and is big and physical,” Powell said. “He brings a lot of good things to the table.”
Juice White-Kelly drives to the basket for Renton against Franklin Pierce. Maria Dorsten Photography.
Eight different Renton players recorded a made basket in the fourth quarter, the most in any quarter of the game. Elegan added a pair of threes to finish off his night with a team high 19 points. Juice White-Kelley finished with 14 and Luok was behind him with 11.
“During the start of the season I had a rough start, but I am gaining momentum and hitting shots. It definitely feels good to be more like myself again,” Elegan said.
The lone hiccup on the stat sheet was the Redhawks’ shooting percentage from the free-throw line, including missing seven straight shots from the charity stripe to close out the game against the Cardinals.
“We spend hours doing nothing but shooting free throws. We talked about it where it doesn’t hurt them tonight, but multiple games we have shot 15/29 and 14/31 and you lose a game by six. Those are things we have talked about that will hurt us,” Powell said.
These holiday tournaments are an interesting part of every basketball team’s season. For Powell and his players, they see this as an opportunity to right the ship and build momentum into the new year.
“We want to get back on the winning side. We took a couple L’s but we are trying to get back right and gain momentum,” Elegan said.
