ARLINGTON — Marysville Getchell was like a prize-fighter taking one on the chin, only to get up and deliver a knockout blow in Friday’s 69-62 nonconference boys basketball victory over Lakewood.
Lakewood jumped all over the Chargers in the first quarter, building a commanding 20-2 lead that became a 26-8 advantage after the first eight minutes thanks to a swarming trapping press that created turnover after turnover.
“The first quarter — it was tough to just kind of watch our guys just going through the motions,” Marysville Getchell head coach Corby Schuh said. “We played (Thursday) night against Oak Harbor who slowed it down and was really methodical and just kind of lulled us to sleep. … We just came out kind of expecting that same thing and these guys came out and punched us in the mouth.”
Six of the eight first quarter points that the Chargers scored came from Omar Sakin-Romulus, but aside from him they had little offense to speak of.
In the second quarter, the Cougars continued to score seemingly at will, but Marysville Getchell’s offense woke up and kept the Chargers in the game. Guard Elijah Jordan scored 13 points in the quarter and guard Nathen Grimm added seven to keep the Getchell within 13 at 46-33 at halftime.
“We had a good little talk at halftime and the guys kind of figured it out that they know when they step on this floor they have to bust their butt and they have to play hard,” Schuh said.
His team responded with not only another great offensive quarter after the break, but more importantly, a heightened defensive effort in the third period. By the time the third quarter ended, the Chargers had gotten to within one at 56-55.
Once again it was Jordan and Grimm leading the way. Jordan added nine more points in the third and Grimm scored eight.
“He (Jordan) has been hitting big shots for us all year,” Schuh said. “Sweet stroke, good 3-point shooter, attacks the basket, I’m very proud of the way he played in the second half to kind of put us on his shoulders. I thought Grimm did a great job. I thought Kaleb Seymer did a good job coming off the bench in the second half. He brought a lot of energy and a lot of rebounds.”
After getting outscored by 18 points in the first quarter, the Chargers outscored the Cougars in every quarter the rest of the way.
“Their coaches did a heck of a job at halftime,” Lakewood head coach Matt Hart said. “They figured out what we were doing and they put a stop to it. We couldn’t score in the second half. They did a heck of a job. They kept grinding it out and kept playing hard. I was really impressed with their squad as far as not getting down, especially after getting blasted like that in the beginning.”
Hart said the way the Cougars played in the first quarter is typical of what they try to do against every team, but they couldn’t keep it up for 32 minutes.
“We averaging 691/2 points per game and our goal is to score 70 every night,” Hart said. “That’s our thing, we want to push the ball and we want to press. We are tiny. We have a small squad this year. So that’s our M.O., that’s how we do it. Unfortunately it didn’t work in the second half and we weren’t able to adjust.
The Chargers pulled away in the fourth quarter outscoring the Cougars 14-6 for the seven-point victory. Lakewood wasn’t helped by the fact that its do-everything guard Justin Peterson fouled out with 3:05 remaining in the game as well as guard Ryan Alford fouling out late in the third quarter following a personal foul and a technical foul, which counts as a personal foul also.
“It (Peterson fouling out) hurt a ton and we lost our point guard in the third quarter,” Hart said. “Justin was our primary ball-handler and when he goes out we are having to Band-Aid the situation. So that’s what really hurt.
Marysville Getchell outscored Lakewood 9-2 after Peterson fouled out of the game.
Jordan’s game-high 24 points led the Chargers. He said falling behind early is what motivated the team to the comeback when.
“Honestly, that punch in the face (changed things),” he said. “When coach just reminded us how we lost the first quarter. That should not happen at all.”
Grimm added 22 points for the Chargers. Paul Coleman led Lakewood with 17 points, Peterson added 12.
For the Chargers, a comeback win like this could turn out to be a signature win for the team.
“We can always come back to this and say, ‘remember the first quarter and Lakewood.’ Let’s not let that happen again,” Schuh said. “Let’s not let a team come out and punch us in the mouth and just take it to us and make us look like we are middle-school players. That’s kind of what they did.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on twitter @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com. At Lakewood H.S.
Marysville Getchell8252214—69
Lakewood2620106—62
Marysville Getchell—Zander Seymer 0, Kaleb Seymer 8, Nathen Grimm 22, Omar Sakin-Romulus 11, Elijah Jordan 24, Jordan Hurtado 0, Cody Probst 0, Austin Miller 0, John McClinton 4. Lakewood—Brady Camp 0, Adam Oppliger 0, Ryan Alford 7, Blaine Kelly 8, Hunter Fritz 4, Justin Peterson 12, Kendal Kippen 4, Paul Coleman 17, Chance Schueller 6, Eljay Johnson 4. 3-point goals—Jordan 4, Grimm3, K. Seymer 1, Kelly 1, Peterson 1, Coleman 2. Records—Marysville Getchell 4-6 overall, Lakewood 3-5.
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