Published: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Snohomish boys hang tough in loss
SNOHOMISH — Snohomish did a lot of the things young basketball teams are expected to do Wednesday in its game against Todd Beamer.
There were early turnovers and problems with the press. The length of some opposing post players proved a problem.
Despite all that, the Panthers kept it close until the closing moments.
Napa Mefi scored a team-high 16 points — including the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Todd Beamer Titans pulled away down the stretch from the Snohomish Panthers 54-44 in a 4A non-conference basketball game at Snohomish High School.
“I knew I had to get into the paint to get my shot (warmed up),” Mefi said of his 3-pointer, the only one of the game for either team. “after I did that, … I just put it up.”
Mefi was aided by 6-foot-8 senior wing Kevin Davis, who had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. Together the two proved to be a difficult duo to defend. Mefi penetrated early and kicked out to open teammates, while Davis was there to clean up the glass on the offensive or defensive end.
“Those guys are fast off the dribble,” Snohomish sophomore guard Luke Hamlin said of Todd Beamer. “Their point guard penetrated and got it to their big man. … We gave up too many easy lay ups. … (Davis) definitely altered a lot of our shots … if you went to take a lay up you knew he would be there. And on the defensive end we had to double him. It was hard to keep him off the boards.”
Despite trailing most of the game, Snohomish, which was playing its second game in as many nights, stayed within striking distance until the end. Hamlin (13 points) hit a jumper with 6:48 remaining in the game to give Snohomish a 39-38 advantage, its first lead since the first quarter, and Snohomish senior post Jonathan McGee (13 points) hit two free throws to put the Panthers up 44-43 with 2:53 remaining in the game.
Todd Beamer (1-1) didn’t shrink from the challenge, scoring the final 11 points of the game to close out its first win of the season. Mefi answered McGee’s free throws with a 3-pointer to take the lead for good, and Davis split a pair of free throws, and then blocked a shot to mid-court that Terelle Loggins (10 points) scooped up and turned into an easy lay up.
It might be a loss, but there were encouraging signs for a Snohomish team in the unaccustomed position of rebuilding its program.
Snohomish (0-2), a traditional basketball powerhouse, split into two high schools with Glacier Peak two years ago. Last year, Snohomish did not qualify for state, breaking a string state appearances.
“We got to watch a lot of games at the end of the year,” Snohomish head coach Len Bone said when asked what it felt like not to make state. “It’s fun to go to state but you don’t always get to do that.”
The challenge only increased this year: the Panthers returned only one player with varsity experience, the 6-foot-5 forward McGee.
“We gotta lot of guys that got to get used to varsity basketball in a hurry,” Bone said. “Sometimes it takes more than a couple games to do that.”
Todd Beamer used a press to get ahead early in the first quarter, and back-to-back turnovers off that press handed the Titans a 12-8 lead.
Davis paced Todd Beamer with five points and five rebounds in the first quarter. He followed that up with five more rebounds in the second, along with a block and an alley-oop dunk that put Beamer up 20-11.
Still, the Panthers did anything but quit against Beamer, which qualified for Class 4A state last year but did not place.
Snohomish forward Gabe Reichenberger tipped in a missed free throw as time expired in the first half, which pulled Snohomish to within three points. He also scored again as time expired in the third quarter to tie the game at 37-37 entering the fourth.
“We’re a really young team,” Hamlin said. “The first two games we faced a big challenge (playing against more experienced teams Mt. Vernon and Todd Beamer). … I think going into league play (next week) we’ll be in good shape.”
At Snohomish H.S.
Beamer 14 10 13 17 — 54
Snohomish 8 13 16 7 — 44
Todd Beamer — Mefi 16, V. Aficiuc 7, M. Aficiuc 5, Davis 12, Flanigan 0, Gridley 2, Holcomb 2, Loggins 10, Moore 0, Rhodes 0. Snohomish — Yates 0, Hamlin 13, Sterley 4, Simpson 2, Carlson 3, Savage 0, Reichenberger 4, McGee 13, Steele 5, Caldwell 0. 3-pointers — Mefi 1.
Records — Todd Beamer 1-1 overall. Snohomish 0-2.
There were early turnovers and problems with the press. The length of some opposing post players proved a problem.
Despite all that, the Panthers kept it close until the closing moments.
Napa Mefi scored a team-high 16 points — including the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Todd Beamer Titans pulled away down the stretch from the Snohomish Panthers 54-44 in a 4A non-conference basketball game at Snohomish High School.
“I knew I had to get into the paint to get my shot (warmed up),” Mefi said of his 3-pointer, the only one of the game for either team. “after I did that, … I just put it up.”
Mefi was aided by 6-foot-8 senior wing Kevin Davis, who had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. Together the two proved to be a difficult duo to defend. Mefi penetrated early and kicked out to open teammates, while Davis was there to clean up the glass on the offensive or defensive end.
“Those guys are fast off the dribble,” Snohomish sophomore guard Luke Hamlin said of Todd Beamer. “Their point guard penetrated and got it to their big man. … We gave up too many easy lay ups. … (Davis) definitely altered a lot of our shots … if you went to take a lay up you knew he would be there. And on the defensive end we had to double him. It was hard to keep him off the boards.”
Despite trailing most of the game, Snohomish, which was playing its second game in as many nights, stayed within striking distance until the end. Hamlin (13 points) hit a jumper with 6:48 remaining in the game to give Snohomish a 39-38 advantage, its first lead since the first quarter, and Snohomish senior post Jonathan McGee (13 points) hit two free throws to put the Panthers up 44-43 with 2:53 remaining in the game.
Todd Beamer (1-1) didn’t shrink from the challenge, scoring the final 11 points of the game to close out its first win of the season. Mefi answered McGee’s free throws with a 3-pointer to take the lead for good, and Davis split a pair of free throws, and then blocked a shot to mid-court that Terelle Loggins (10 points) scooped up and turned into an easy lay up.
It might be a loss, but there were encouraging signs for a Snohomish team in the unaccustomed position of rebuilding its program.
Snohomish (0-2), a traditional basketball powerhouse, split into two high schools with Glacier Peak two years ago. Last year, Snohomish did not qualify for state, breaking a string state appearances.
“We got to watch a lot of games at the end of the year,” Snohomish head coach Len Bone said when asked what it felt like not to make state. “It’s fun to go to state but you don’t always get to do that.”
The challenge only increased this year: the Panthers returned only one player with varsity experience, the 6-foot-5 forward McGee.
“We gotta lot of guys that got to get used to varsity basketball in a hurry,” Bone said. “Sometimes it takes more than a couple games to do that.”
Todd Beamer used a press to get ahead early in the first quarter, and back-to-back turnovers off that press handed the Titans a 12-8 lead.
Davis paced Todd Beamer with five points and five rebounds in the first quarter. He followed that up with five more rebounds in the second, along with a block and an alley-oop dunk that put Beamer up 20-11.
Still, the Panthers did anything but quit against Beamer, which qualified for Class 4A state last year but did not place.
Snohomish forward Gabe Reichenberger tipped in a missed free throw as time expired in the first half, which pulled Snohomish to within three points. He also scored again as time expired in the third quarter to tie the game at 37-37 entering the fourth.
“We’re a really young team,” Hamlin said. “The first two games we faced a big challenge (playing against more experienced teams Mt. Vernon and Todd Beamer). … I think going into league play (next week) we’ll be in good shape.”
At Snohomish H.S.
Beamer 14 10 13 17 — 54
Snohomish 8 13 16 7 — 44
Todd Beamer — Mefi 16, V. Aficiuc 7, M. Aficiuc 5, Davis 12, Flanigan 0, Gridley 2, Holcomb 2, Loggins 10, Moore 0, Rhodes 0. Snohomish — Yates 0, Hamlin 13, Sterley 4, Simpson 2, Carlson 3, Savage 0, Reichenberger 4, McGee 13, Steele 5, Caldwell 0. 3-pointers — Mefi 1.
Records — Todd Beamer 1-1 overall. Snohomish 0-2.
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