Published: Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Reloaded Arlington outlasts Sultan
Carlson steps to front as the Eagles hold off the Turks in season opener
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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Sultan forward Sam Hatton (right) looks for room to pass against Arlington’s Eric Carlson (left) and Blake Petersen in the first quarter.
SULTAN — New season. New heroes.
After graduating six seniors from its 2008-2009 squad that advanced to the Class 4A District 1 tournament, the Arlington High School basketball team needs a fresh crop of leaders to emerge.
Enter Eric Carlson.
Carlson, a versatile 6-foot-3 junior guard/forward who played a complementary role on the Eagles varsity team last season, scored a game-high 22 points to help lead 4A Arlington to a 57-51 season-opening victory over the 2A Sultan Turks on Tuesday.
Arlington led 25-15 by halftime and then fought off Sultan’s impressive comeback in the non-league game. Both teams struggled at times with turnovers, fouls and poor execution but they enjoyed plenty of bright spots too.
“The first game, it’s going to be a struggle no matter how much you practice,” said Carlson, who scored 16 of Arlington’s 25 first-half points. “It was a little bit sloppy but that’s going to happen the first game. We played through it and got a good win.”
Sultan did a better job against Arlington’s full-court defensive pressure in the third quarter and outscored Arlington 16-7, cutting the deficit to 32-31. That set up a thrilling fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes and three ties.
After struggling from the foul line all game, Arlington made a much better percentage of its free throws in the final quarter. Over the final 31.1 seconds, senior guard Andy Smith was 4 of 6 at the foul line.
Smith scored all seven of his points in the final period, including a 3-pointer from the right side that turned a 42-41 Sultan lead into a 44-42 edge for Arlington with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to go. Sultan never regained the lead.
“We feel like we’re more relaxed now. We got that first win under our belts so we’re good to go,” said Carlson, whose team was picked to finish fourth in the nine-team Wesco North by the division’s coaches.
Sultan’s top scorer was junior guard Theo VandenEkart (21 points, three 3-pointers). The Turks had 10 turnovers in the first half but VandenEkart and his pals looked like a different team in the third quarter, draining open shots and handling the ball better.
“It’s a credit to them,” Arlington coach Nick Brown said. “They’re not a bad team. They played better than they did last year.”
In last season’s opener, Sultan lost 85-57 against the Eagles at Arlington High. This time, Sultan didn’t have star guard Jordan Nicholes, The Herald’s 2008-2009 All-Area Player of the Year, who helped propel the Turks to the state tournament for the first time since 1961. He graduated this past spring as the program’s career leader in games played, points (1,598), assists and steals, as well as other categories.
But just as Arlington had new leaders emerge on Tuesday, Sultan got promising performances from VandenEkart and senior guard Matty Ruddock (14 points). And Sultan rebounded well despite not having returning starter Zach Beebe, who will be out with a broken thumb until next week, Trichler said.
“We did a good job on the boards for most of the night and that made it so we could control the game a little bit more and get out and run a little bit,” Sultan coach Nate Trichler said.
One key during Sultan’s rally was the Turks’ defense on Carlson. The Arlington standout scored just two points in the third quarter, thanks largely to Clayton Knoles, Sultan’s pesky senior forward.
“He was our best defensive player last year too and he’s doing it again,” said Trichler. “He played a heck of a game.”
Still, Carlson had a fine season debut.
“I liked everything about his game,” coach Brown said. “I liked his leadership. I liked how he was positive with the kids and he never got frustrated. They put a lot of pressure on him and he (handled it).”
Added Brown, “When you take away six seniors, someone’s got to step up. And he did.”
Three Arlington players achieved double-digit scoring: Carlson, junior guard Griffin Ginnis (13 points) and junior forward Blake Petersen (11 points).
At Sultan H.S.
Arlington 10 15 7 25 — 0
Sultan 6 9 16 20 — 0
Arlington — Carlson 22, Cooper 1, Petersen 11, Ginnis 13, Smith 7, Brummel 2, Davis 1, Robertson 0. Sultan — Ruddock 14, Knoles 7, VandenEkart 21, Hatton 7, Hall, Pruitt, Rutz, Cotterill, Alwood 2. 3-point goals — Carlson 1, Smith 1, Knoles 1, VandenEkart 3, Hatton 1. Records — Arlington 1-0 overall. Sultan 0-1.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
After graduating six seniors from its 2008-2009 squad that advanced to the Class 4A District 1 tournament, the Arlington High School basketball team needs a fresh crop of leaders to emerge.
Enter Eric Carlson.
Carlson, a versatile 6-foot-3 junior guard/forward who played a complementary role on the Eagles varsity team last season, scored a game-high 22 points to help lead 4A Arlington to a 57-51 season-opening victory over the 2A Sultan Turks on Tuesday.
Arlington led 25-15 by halftime and then fought off Sultan’s impressive comeback in the non-league game. Both teams struggled at times with turnovers, fouls and poor execution but they enjoyed plenty of bright spots too.
“The first game, it’s going to be a struggle no matter how much you practice,” said Carlson, who scored 16 of Arlington’s 25 first-half points. “It was a little bit sloppy but that’s going to happen the first game. We played through it and got a good win.”
Sultan did a better job against Arlington’s full-court defensive pressure in the third quarter and outscored Arlington 16-7, cutting the deficit to 32-31. That set up a thrilling fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes and three ties.
After struggling from the foul line all game, Arlington made a much better percentage of its free throws in the final quarter. Over the final 31.1 seconds, senior guard Andy Smith was 4 of 6 at the foul line.
Smith scored all seven of his points in the final period, including a 3-pointer from the right side that turned a 42-41 Sultan lead into a 44-42 edge for Arlington with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to go. Sultan never regained the lead.
“We feel like we’re more relaxed now. We got that first win under our belts so we’re good to go,” said Carlson, whose team was picked to finish fourth in the nine-team Wesco North by the division’s coaches.
Sultan’s top scorer was junior guard Theo VandenEkart (21 points, three 3-pointers). The Turks had 10 turnovers in the first half but VandenEkart and his pals looked like a different team in the third quarter, draining open shots and handling the ball better.
“It’s a credit to them,” Arlington coach Nick Brown said. “They’re not a bad team. They played better than they did last year.”
In last season’s opener, Sultan lost 85-57 against the Eagles at Arlington High. This time, Sultan didn’t have star guard Jordan Nicholes, The Herald’s 2008-2009 All-Area Player of the Year, who helped propel the Turks to the state tournament for the first time since 1961. He graduated this past spring as the program’s career leader in games played, points (1,598), assists and steals, as well as other categories.
But just as Arlington had new leaders emerge on Tuesday, Sultan got promising performances from VandenEkart and senior guard Matty Ruddock (14 points). And Sultan rebounded well despite not having returning starter Zach Beebe, who will be out with a broken thumb until next week, Trichler said.
“We did a good job on the boards for most of the night and that made it so we could control the game a little bit more and get out and run a little bit,” Sultan coach Nate Trichler said.
One key during Sultan’s rally was the Turks’ defense on Carlson. The Arlington standout scored just two points in the third quarter, thanks largely to Clayton Knoles, Sultan’s pesky senior forward.
“He was our best defensive player last year too and he’s doing it again,” said Trichler. “He played a heck of a game.”
Still, Carlson had a fine season debut.
“I liked everything about his game,” coach Brown said. “I liked his leadership. I liked how he was positive with the kids and he never got frustrated. They put a lot of pressure on him and he (handled it).”
Added Brown, “When you take away six seniors, someone’s got to step up. And he did.”
Three Arlington players achieved double-digit scoring: Carlson, junior guard Griffin Ginnis (13 points) and junior forward Blake Petersen (11 points).
At Sultan H.S.
Arlington 10 15 7 25 — 0
Sultan 6 9 16 20 — 0
Arlington — Carlson 22, Cooper 1, Petersen 11, Ginnis 13, Smith 7, Brummel 2, Davis 1, Robertson 0. Sultan — Ruddock 14, Knoles 7, VandenEkart 21, Hatton 7, Hall, Pruitt, Rutz, Cotterill, Alwood 2. 3-point goals — Carlson 1, Smith 1, Knoles 1, VandenEkart 3, Hatton 1. Records — Arlington 1-0 overall. Sultan 0-1.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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