ARLINGTON — Nick Brown was fed up.
After watching his team slog through an uninspired practice on Monday, the coach was fuming on the sideline on Tuesday. The reason: Brown’s Arlington High School boys basketball team looked lethargic on its way to a 7-0 deficit in its biggest game of t
he season.
Not known for expressing explosive anger on the court, coach Brown made an exception. He called timeout, hollered intensely at his players and desperately hoped they would respond.
The Eagles heard Brown’s message loud and clear.
Following a rough start, Arlington woke up and roared to a 75-64 victory over the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors. Ignited by senior guard Griffin Ginnis’ outside shooting, the Eagles outscored E-W 38-22 over the final 13 minutes, 30 seconds of the first half and then were never seriously challenged in the first-round Class 4A District 1 tournament game.
Ginnis scored 11 points — including three 3-pointers — in the first quarter, and point guard Zach Cooper (20 points, eight assists, four steals) and reserve guard Terry Dawn (16 points with two 3s and a powerful right-handed dunk) made big contributions for Arlington (16-5), the Western Conference North Division No. 2 seed.
Thanks to the Eagles’ victory in their first-ever 4A district game on their home court, they advance to play Wesco South champion Jackson (19-2) in a winner-to-state-regional game at 8 p.m. Friday in Mill Creek.
Jackson beat North No. 4 seed Stanwood (8-13) 57-31 on Tuesday in a first-round district game. Last month Jackson, currently ranked 4A No. 3 by the Tacoma News Tribune, beat Arlington 77-66 in a league crossover contest on the Eagles’ home floor.
“We have a tough task ahead of us,” Brown said. “They are quality all around. This is where we get to see what we can do. Hey, we have great respect for them but we don’t fear anybody. We have everything to gain.”
Arlington has never qualified for the 4A state tournament. The Eagles went to the 1A state tournament in 1962 and were eliminated with two straight losses. Arlington made three 3A regional appearances in the early 1970s (1970, 1971, 1973).
“We’ve just got to keep up with their pace. They’re a fast team,” said Cooper, who displayed plenty of speed against South No. 3 seed E-W (9-12), scoring several transition layins in the second half and artfully swiping steals on defense.
Senior forward Zack Berg, a University of Wyoming football recruit, scored a game-high 23 points (three 3s) for E-W, which played a decent first half but — thanks to Arlington’s hot shooting — fell behind 38-29 by the end of the second quarter.
In the second half, the Warriors attempted to rally by applying full-court defensive pressure but Arlington handled it well and expanded its lead.
“They did a good job of breaking the pressure that we put on them and got some easy layins,” said E-W coach Todd Rubin, whose team plays a loser-out game against Stanwood at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Edmonds.
Stanwood routed E-W 66-48 last month.
“We’ll look at the film and we’ll be ready for them Thursday,” said Rubin.
On Jan. 13, Arlington edged E-W 56-53 in a league crossover game in Edmonds. Berg scored a game-high 25 points that night for E-W, which led by seven points in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles rallied in the final minutes. Ginnis (17 points) and Eric Carlson (13 points) combined to score 30 points for Arlington, which took the lead on Ginnis’ layin with 53 seconds to go and used two free throws by Bo Brummel to clinch victory.
In the rematch, Ginnis was once again a huge factor for Arlington. He hit three 3s in a span of 2 minutes in the first period, helping the Eagles turn a 7-0 deficit into an 11-11 tie. Arlington looked much more confident after that.
“He’s totally come around this year,” Cooper said. “He’s really slowed down and worked on his form. If he’s hitting he’s hitting, and he won’t miss. And he can shoot from really anywhere so that makes it a lot easier for us to give him the ball.”
At Arlington H.S.
Edmonds-Woodway 16 13 17 18 — 64
Arlington 18 20 20 17 — 75
Edmonds-Woodway — Pattison 7, Choi 8, Berg 23, Douglas 6, Jordan 5, Joseph 2, Bakken 11, Hull, Brudevold 2, Nealey, Olson. Arlington — Carlson 10, Cooper 20, Ginnis 11, Brummel 9, Petersen 4, Dawn 16, Goheen 1, Ladines 2, Davis, Cummings, Boyden 2, Struiksma. 3-point goals — Choi 1, Berg 3, Douglas 2, Cooper 2, Ginnis 3, Dawn 2. Records — Edmonds-Woodway 9-12. Arlington 16-5.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
