It wasn’t pretty but the Tides boys basketball team got the job done.

In a very low-scoring affair, Gig Harbor ousted Bellarmine Prep in a Class 4A West Central District playoff game Tuesday night with a 35-27 victory at Foss High School.

Gig Harbor remains alive for a 4A state playoff berth while Bellarmine Prep was eliminated. The Tides will play Auburn 6 p.m. Friday at Foss for the No. 5 seed to the 4A state playoffs.

Defensively, Gig Harbor came to play. They held Bellarmine Prep to single digits in the first and second quarter. Both teams struggled offensively. The Lions came within one point after going on a 8-0 run that lapsed halftime.

Gig Harbor junior Ted Steingraber scored a game-high nine points and opened the game with two consecutive 3s. His teammate and Brandon Gagliardi had his best game since returning from an illness. He finished with eight points and scored a few key points in the game.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit,” Gagliardi said. “Just to come out and help my team as best I can feels really good. It was a great win.”

Adams said Gagliardi is a kid who can move in the open floor and create some offense when other guys need help.

“He did a good job in transition and finding angles,” Adams said. “It was a very good defensive basketball game when we weren’t shooting very well.”

Gig Harbor held Bellarmine Prep guard Donald Gaddy to just one points. Tides junior post Austin Seferian-Jenkins was 3-for-10 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds. He blocked a number of shots.

I’m going write a story about the Tides competing in a winner-to-state hoops game on Friday. For a complete story, read the March 1 edition of The Peninsula Gateway.

Box score

Gig Harbor           10   7   7   11 — 35

Bellarmine Prep    4    6   7   10 — 27

Gig Harbor: Troy Castle 3, Andy Rothenberg 3, Brandon Gagliardi 8, David Bigelow 4, Chris Repar, Austin Seferian-Jenkins 7, Ted Steingraber 9.,

Bellarmine Prep: Imar White 4, Tommy Joyce 2, Donald Gaddy 2, Kyle Foege 2, Sefo Liufau 8, Dezmond Dupree-Turner 9.

We’re going to be at the boys West Central District playoff basketball game with the Tides facing the Lions, 6 p.m. at Foss. The winner of Tuesday’s game will play the winner of Auburn and Puyallup for the No. 5 seed to the Class 4A state tournament on Friday.

If you can’t be there, follow us at our twitter page at twitter.com/pengateway.