Emerald Ridge was cruising comfortably most of the game, but Redmond closed the gap in the fourth quarter and was threatening to spoil the party.

Mychal Turner had an answer: a tough, contested shot on the low block off the glass and on the next possession, a 3-pointer. Nothing but net.

The plays gave Emerald Ridge a 48-39 lead with under four minutes to play and ended any hopes of a comeback from the opposition.

“I knew they went on a run so we just had to stay locked in,” Turner said. “I ended up hitting a big shot. Any of our guys could’ve hit that same shot, so we’ve just gotta trust in one another. One of us is gonna hit it.”

Emerald Ridge coach Pat Mullen is thrilled to have Turner back on the court after he missed the past few games (academics).

“It’s nice to have him back,” Mullen said, smiling. “We’ve missed him for five games and he’s done a lot of work, he hasn’t pouted, hasn’t complained. He’s done a great job on our scout team. … Those are the type of plays he can make.”

Emerald Ridge forward Jamaize McGriff scored a game-high 16 points, Jordan Bennett added 14 and Turner had 13. Matthew Grabarski scored a team-high 14 points for Redmond.

“Some teams have one or two scorers, so when you have three or four, it’s always great to share the ball,” Turner said.

Mullen said his team’s unselfish play makes them difficult for teams to match up against. While McGriff is usually the best player on the floor, it’s not a one-man show.

“I think that’s sometimes overlooked with our team,” Mullen said. “Jamaize is averaging only 14 a game. You think he should be averaging more. But we have four guys who are almost in double figures. So that’s pretty big for a high school team to have that opportunity to have guys that can step up and score for you like that.”

Up next: No. 1 Mount Si in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

“We fear nobody,” Turner said. “We’re gonna go out there and play like we play everybody.”

Prior to Wednesday’s win, Emerald Ridge had never reached the quarterfinal round in its program history.

“We’re gonna come out, play hard and see what happens,” Mullen said.