MILL CREEK — The Mountlake Terrace and Glacier Peak basketball teams knew it would be a battle.
It has been all season.
The Hawks and Grizzlies, whose two games earlier in the season were both decided by three points, went back and forth Tuesday night, with Mountlake Terrace needing overtime to defeat Glacier Peak 48-44 in a 3A District 1 semifinal thriller at Jackson High School.
The Hawks’ third victory over Glacier Peak this season clinches a spot in Saturday’s district championship against Edmonds-Woodway, as well as a berth in the regional round of the state tournament.
“We talked about ‘grind.’ It’s going to be a grind and it was a grind,” Mountlake Terrace head coach Nalin Sood said. “The previous two games weren’t exactly (big) offensive games by any means and that’s how it’s been. You’ve just got to find ways to make plays. The kids made plays. You sort of throw X’s and O’s out the window. You have to keep things simple. I’m just very proud of this basketball team.”
Both teams struggled to score in the first half, but found some success offensively in the third quarter. Mountlake Terrace used an 11-0 run to take a 30-20 lead before Glacier Peak countered with a 7-0 run.
The Grizzlies led by as many as five in the third quarter and Mountlake Terrace’s biggest lead reached 10 before Justin Guffey’s free throw tied the game midway through the fourth quarter.
After Glacier Peak sophomore Bobby Martin tied the game again at 42, the Grizzlies had another chance to win the game with about eight seconds remaining, but a missed shot at the buzzer sent the game to overtime, where Mountlake Terrace outscored Glacier Peak 6-2.
The Grizzlies again had a chance to tie late but Mountlake Terrace’s Shimron Masih collected a miss and netted two free throws to put the game away for the Hawks.
“We knew it would be one of these types of games,” Glacier Peak head coach Brian Hunter said. “… I think a lot of it is both teams know each other pretty well and know tendencies. It’s hard to score sometimes when the other team is well-versed on what you do.
“This is just a very balanced, difficult league this year. It’s very deep, solid. You look at three out of the four teams in the (district) semifinals are Wesco South teams. We’ve been beating each other up and playing hard against each other all year.”
Senior Derek Anyimah led the Hawks with 19 points — 15 of which came in the second half. Anyimah got fouled going to the basket hard on a breakaway with the shot going in before he added a free throw to fire up Mountlake Terrace (16-6).
“Derek, you just saw his mindset change,” Sood said. “When he drove and had that 3-point play he went to the basket hard and finished. We had multiple guys who said we weren’t going to lose but Derek was ready to take the team on his shoulders.”
“Anyimah’s a very good player,” Hunter said. “They didn’t make the playoffs last year and that’s because Derek was hurt. I think he’s just one of those kind of players. If Nalin had him last year, they probably make the playoffs. … With him, now they’re playing in the district championship. He’s a tremendous difference.”
Anyimah is one of four Hawks seniors — including Gabe Powter, Gabe Altenberger and Masih — who are headed to regionals one year after going 6-14. Masih finished with 10 points and sophomore Khyree Armstead added eight for Mountlake Terrace.
“It’s just a team effort,” Sood said. “Gabe Powter, Gabe Altenberger, Shimron and Derek — those four seniors — were 6-14 last year and they get to go play in regionals this year. I’m pretty proud of them. That’s really cool for those guys.”
Martin starred for Glacier Peak, netting 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Martin had three key 3-pointers that each came at crucial times for the Grizzlies in the back-and-forth contest.
“He’s a hard-working kid,” Hunter said. “He’s got a lot of skill, tons of effort. He’s definitely had a very strong season as a sophomore. His game is first, and foremost, based on effort. He has a lot of good things that happen out there but it starts with his effort level.”
Seiver Southard added 15 points for Glacier Peak (12-10), which hopes to rebound in a loser-out game against Shorewood Thursday night at Glacier Peak.
“That’s the challenge,” Hunter said. “We’re going to play someone that’s excited. Someone is going to (win Tuesday) that’s going to be excited to play us, where we’re at the other end of the spectrum. We’ve bounced back and made it this route before. It just comes down to refocusing (Wednesday).
“The hope is to play on Saturday.”
At Jackson H.S.
Glacier Peak 10 7 12 13 2 —44
M. Terrace 10 6 17 9 6 —48
Glacier Peak—Zach Hatch 4, Seiver Southard 15, Brendan Tetrault 1, Justin Guffey 5, Bobby Martin 19, Kyle Dvorak 0. Mountlake Terrace—Gabe Powter 3, Daniel Johnson 2, Joey Gardner 0, Khyree Armstead 8, Gabe Altenberger 5, Derek Anyimah 19, Shimron Masih 10, Carson Dallas 1. Records—Glacier Peak 12-10 overall. Mountlake Terrace 16-6.
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